A Happy Ending for Judith & Freckles

The Backstory

Hi there, this is Judith and her adoring new companion, Freckles. Six months ago, right in the middle of her radiation and chemotherapy treatments, my grandmother lost her sweet canine companion Caesar at 15 years old. She loved watching tv in bed with Caesar, taking him for walks, his cute underbite and  his soft ears. It was a devastating loss when she needed him the most. Within 6 months it became apparent how much Caesar was aiding my grandmother with her recovery. She went from walking Caesar everyday and socializing with us, to only leaving her room for food. We watched her optimism and smiles decrease along with her progression from chemo and radiation. As her granddaughter, it has been one of the most painful things I’ve experienced to watch her go through this.

This is why, on her birthday two weeks ago, we visited an animal shelter two hours outside our county of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina to find a new companion for my grandmother. Even though Freckles was shaking, muddy, and matted, we were taken aback when he trustingly walked straight to my grandmother Judith for comfort. At that moment, we knew that Freckles had chosen her, and by the smile on my grandmother’s face we knew she had chosen him. She immediately named him Freckles and wore this smile the whole drive home (pictured above on the right)...the smile her family, friends, and community used to see everyday before her cancer diagnosis a year and a half ago. Since having Freckles, the smiles, laughs, and comfort he brings have only multiplied as his cute personality slowly reveals itself. 

When he arrived, Freckles was afraid to come inside because he had never been inside a home before…he was kept outside year-round with his owner’s belt around his neck as a collar. Loving Freckles from day one, Judith slept downstairs on the couch to stay by Freckle’s side until he became more comfortable in the house to come out of hiding. He now returns the favor and never lets my grandmother out of his sight.  So far she is the only person he responds to. My grandmother is Freckle’s person.



I think that after losing Caesar she felt so sad and alone facing her new reality with her health. Since rescuing Freckles two weeks ago, I have seen such a change in the way she carries herself. She is more animated and excitable, she is optimistic about her road to recovery, and she creates projects for herself like making dog treats from scratch. And most important to her recovery, she happily takes daily walks because of Freckles. A lot has changed about my grandmother this past year like losing her hair and her ability to speak; but because of Freckles I feel like I’m seeing glimpses of the incredibly strong and loving woman she was before all of this trauma. Having Freckles to adore and care for keeps her mind off of the awful events and memories of the previous year.



Why We Need Your Help

Due to the neglect from his previous owner, we found out Freckles had heartworms after his first visit to the vet. Heartworms is a deadly disease found in pets in the United States. It is caused by foot-long worms (heartworms) that live in the heart, lungs, and blood vessels of the infected animal. Given enough time to thrive, it causes lung disease, heart failure, and damages other organs to the body. Time is of the essence. I told the vet our situation and I asked her how much time we had before it would only be right to surrender Freckles, she recommended no later than the 30th of January.

We are humbly asking for financial donations to cover Freckles heartworm treatment so that Judith can keep him as a companion. If Freckles does not get treated, he will die in less than a year. Most dogs die within 7 months of contracting heartworms if left untreated and we do not know when he contracted them under his previous owner. After blood work the vet told us Freckles still has a fighting chance if he begins treatment by January 30th. We are racing to raise  money for Freckles’ treatment so we can keep Judith and Freckles together, instead of surrendering him. The cost of required tests and treatments for Freckle’s recovery will set my grandmother Judith back over $3,000. Needless to say, this is simply money we don’t have, especially during this time.

Just to give you a little insight into how much my grandmother has already survived, in the short span of a year and a half, she has been through two rounds of chemo, one awful round of radiation, and three serious and agonizing surgeries. My mom would take her to doctors appointments all week; sometimes their days would be as long as 14 hours. After being  poked, prodded, having blood drawn, emergency rides to the hospital, lonely and scary over-night stays, uncomfortable physical therapy, she lost her best friend Caesar during the worst of it all. She deserves to keep what she now treasures most, Freckles.

This has not just been physically, mentally, and emotionally traumatizing for her, but it has also been a massive financial strain on her fixed income. This past year and a half I have not only almost lost her twice, but I’ve watched her lose her beautiful blonde hair, her voice, her smile, her dog Caesar, and her happiness. At the very least, I’m just so grateful my grandmother is strong and alive today...but it would mean the world to me if I could give her Freckles.

Though I can never fully understand the mental, emotional, and physical pain my grandmother has been through, it has been excruciating to watch someone so sweet and loving lose everything that made them happy. We can’t take back the terrible things that have happened to my grandmother this past year, but I hope that together we can give her the happy ending she deserves.

As a college student, I really don’t have more than $100 I can give to her cause but what I can do is organize, advocate, and fundraise for her. She was devastated when she found out how much it cost for Freckles treatment plan...she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep him. I can’t even imagine how awful it would be for her to surrender him. But since telling my grandmother I was thinking of starting a GoFundMe for her she got SO excited that I knew I had to give this my best shot. 

The Costs


  As you can see above, Freckles treatment could cost  as little as $1,902.05 but can range up to $2,377 depending on how much sedation and medication he will need over 9 months. After speaking with the vet technician more about Freckles treatment plan, we were told we should be prepared to spend another $1,000 in case he has any complications when receiving treatment. So we are asking for $3,500 to include the extra $1,000 because we (my grandmother especially) would be devastated to get Freckles this far, only to fail him by not being able to treat his complications.

How You Can Help

We ask that our friends, family, and community donate whatever amount they can to help Judith and Freckles stay together. If we cannot raise the money in a few weeks, we will need to do the humane thing and surrender Freckles so he can get appropriate treatment before this progresses. 

* Because this is such a time sensitive issue I ask that if you cannot financially donate, please share Judith and Freckles’ story with as many of your friends and family members as possible. If 3,500 people donate $1 we easily can make this happen. So if you can’t donate, you are making a large contribution by putting their story on blast to reach as many people as possible. I will be posting it every 2-3  days to keep it in view since we only have two short weeks.

 You can donate to this GoFundMe page or directly to her Venmo account. Through Venmo, she can keep more of the money since GoFundMe takes about 3% and we need all the help we can get. Her venmo is @Judith-Preston-6. You can verify that it is her by looking at the profile picture showing her and Freckles.

We have all had an unprecedented year and I want to thank you for reading Judith and Freckle’s story. Any amount you choose to donate will be of great help to them both and will go directly towards sweet Freckles treatment. Should we receive more than what is needed for Freckles, my grandmother wants to give the donations to my dog Bennie who is suddenly having health issues of his own. When it rains it pours. But together we can get through it all.

Thank you all so much. Below we have made a fun countdown timer to help us remember that time is of the essence for keeping a healthy Freckles with us. You'll see on the right side there is a link to add to it your calendar. Add it to your calendar and check back with us on the 30th!

Freckles Treatment Countdown


****As of 1/13/2021 we found out that Judith is completely cancer free! This is a momentous occasion that we haven't even fully processed yet. We are so grateful.  After successfully battling cancer at 82 during a pandemic, she deserves this. We need to see that smile on her face when we get to tell her more good news....that Freckles is hers forever.