Martha's Vineyard Therapy Dog 'Moe' Needs Your Help

MARTHA'S VINEYARD, MA – An Edgartown Rottweiler, who is a certified therapy dog and competed in the 2017 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, needs some help after spending most of his life trying to help others on Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard. Moe was recently diagnosed with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and has racked up more than $40,000 in veterinarian bills in just the past two weeks.

Owns and friends of Moe have organized a GoFundMe page to help offset the cost of his treatments.

"The vet bills have become an extraordinary huge so we're all reaching out for help," GoFundMe organizers posted. "Please give what you can, reach out to animal lovers and organizations, share this page on Facebook, etc. ... Whatever you can do to help would be greatly appreciated."

Moe lives in Martha’s Vineyard and was an award-winning champion at Westminster. GoFundMe organizers said he crashed on Jan. 14 and was rushed to the Cape Cod Veterinary Specialists in Bourne. After several imaging and blood tests, it was determined Moe had the tick-borne illness Rocky Mounted Spotted Fever.

"There have been many life-threatening complications, some progress, then more complications have arisen," fundraisers said.

Fundraisers said money collected through the GoFundMe page will go directly to the Cape Cod Veterinary Specialists. Sharon Duncan, of Duncan Business Associates Inc. in Vineyard Haven, will administer the fundraiser.

In the first three days of the fundraiser, the page raised $3,057 of the $15,000 goal, as of Tuesday morning.

Duncan reported progress Tuesday after two weeks in the intensive care unit: "Moe is up on all fours even if only for a few seconds! Moe has had a very large team pulling for him. All of the staff at CCVS are so dedicated to getting him up and back in his feet. … He's a rockstar!"

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