Gonzo's Parvo Treatment
Donation protected
On New Years Day of 2021, my partner, Tim, and I lost a member of our family. Brownie was an 11.5 year old Shih Tzu and one of the best dogs I've ever had the privilege of calling part of my pack. He passed away from heart failure due to complications following an intense hernia removal and neutering. When he passed, Tim and I were crestfallen. To this day, we still miss our Brownie Bites.
Soon after Brownie passed, Tim and I began fostering (and would soon fail to foster i.e. adopt) a sweet little dog named Fozzie. Much younger than Brownie, 5 month old Fozzie was a whirlwind; he has lots of energy, loves to snuggle, and will lick your face raw if given the chance. Many a morning I have woken up to find Fozzie tongue deep into my nose NEARLY licking my brain. Given that Tim and I both have busy work schedules, we found that Fozzie was often being relegated to snuggling up underneath our desk. While Brownie, being an older dog, was happy to snuggle up at our feet, Fozzie always seemed a little bored and lonely with the arrangement. We began to think it might be wise to get him a friend.
In early April, my mom reached out to me and let me know that she had found a litter of puppies. We had been thinking it might be nice to find a friend for Fozzie, so we decided to meet up with her and see these pups. When my mom brought them to me, they were covered in ticks. My mom and I quickly went about removing these ticks as appropriately as possible. It was understandably difficult given how cute and squirmy puppies can be. In the process of removing these ticks, Tim and I fell in love with little Gonzo.
Gonzo is a small brown puppy, with Chihuahua and Terrier like features. We were told that he was about ten weeks old when we met him, but since determined that he was much younger, likely only 6-8 weeks old, and still very vulnerable to the world around him. When we met him, he was the most energetic out of his littermates, and was not afraid to protest or fight back in regards to his tick removal. We instantly fell in love with his squeaky, can-do attitude and decided to take him home that night.
While I setup a vet appointment to make sure all was good after the tick incident, my mother brought the other puppies to a rescue. She called me later that night to inform me that someone at the rescue had said that the puppies had Parvo. That night, in a panic, we rushed Gonzo to an animal hospital, where he was tested and promptly diagnosed with Parvo.
Canine Parvovirus is a deadly disease that ravages a dogs intestinal tract. The infected pups find themselves lethargic, and unable to keep down water or food due to severe vomiting and diarrhea. If the dehydration does not kill the puppies, their weakened state will finish them off, as they are unable to fight back against the disease. Unable to be cured with medicine, the only treatment for Parvo is a stay in a veterinary hospital, providing the pup with medications, fluids, and rest, so that they can properly fend off the disease. Without proper veterinary care, the mortality rate for Parvo can climb to almost 90% (Source).
The animal hospital shared with us that with proper treatment, most puppies have a recovery rate of nearly 80%. However, the cost of treatment for Gonzo would be largely dependent on how the disease progressed while he was under their care. In most cases, the average cost of treatment for a Parvo pup is anywhere between $3000-$5000.
This was a huge expense. And one that we definitely couldn't pay all upfront at once. Tim and I were still dealing with minor vet bills from Brownie's passing, and needed to pay rent, utilities, insurance, and other things. Some folks shared that we should just let Gonzo pass, while making his final days as comfortable as possible. But Tim and I have a very strong sense of family, and one day home or not, Gonzo was family.
We checked Gonzo into a pet hospital in Santa Monica and started him on his road to recovery. The staff was amazing, and after 4 days of highs and lows in the hospital, Gonzo was ready to come home.
We thought Gonzo was squirmy before, but we had no idea the levels of squirm this boy could reach. With a newfound energy, Gonzo began to really wiggle his way into all of our hearts, Fozzie included. Since Gonzo has been back, him and Fozzie have become very good pals! When they aren't working together to rip open and gut the various stuffed animals they have, they love to wrestle with one another, and play chase in the back yard. When the executive decision had to be made to keep the puppies off the bed at night(For Peeing-All-Over-Our-Nice Duvet-More-The-5-Times-In-A-Row reasons), we invested in two crates for both dogs to sleep in at night. Most nights, though, they end up sharing one, snuggled up with one another on the plush beds we bought them.
With Gonzo's arrival we found relief and joy. We also found ourselves approximately $5000 in debt to Care Credit, an org that offers lowered risk financing for people experiencing a medical emergency. In this first month that Gonzo has been home, we have been able to manage financially. But as the care credit payments are now coming due, we are finding a heightened strain on our finances. Our first payments for the Care Credit Financing are coming due Mid May and will keep coming until the debt is paid. Fortunately, if we can pay off the full balance within 6 months, their will be no interest charged on the principal amounts, making it imperative that we acquire the money necessary as soon as possible.
It would mean the world to myself and my little family, if you could contribute anything to this fund to help us erase this medical debt from our collective ledgers. We hope that you can see that our boys, Fozzie and Gonzo, have brought so much love, light, and pee (Worth it!) into our lives in a year where we lost someone so dear to us. We want to continue to provide for them, and hope that you will be able to help us in doing so.
Soon after Brownie passed, Tim and I began fostering (and would soon fail to foster i.e. adopt) a sweet little dog named Fozzie. Much younger than Brownie, 5 month old Fozzie was a whirlwind; he has lots of energy, loves to snuggle, and will lick your face raw if given the chance. Many a morning I have woken up to find Fozzie tongue deep into my nose NEARLY licking my brain. Given that Tim and I both have busy work schedules, we found that Fozzie was often being relegated to snuggling up underneath our desk. While Brownie, being an older dog, was happy to snuggle up at our feet, Fozzie always seemed a little bored and lonely with the arrangement. We began to think it might be wise to get him a friend.
In early April, my mom reached out to me and let me know that she had found a litter of puppies. We had been thinking it might be nice to find a friend for Fozzie, so we decided to meet up with her and see these pups. When my mom brought them to me, they were covered in ticks. My mom and I quickly went about removing these ticks as appropriately as possible. It was understandably difficult given how cute and squirmy puppies can be. In the process of removing these ticks, Tim and I fell in love with little Gonzo.
Gonzo is a small brown puppy, with Chihuahua and Terrier like features. We were told that he was about ten weeks old when we met him, but since determined that he was much younger, likely only 6-8 weeks old, and still very vulnerable to the world around him. When we met him, he was the most energetic out of his littermates, and was not afraid to protest or fight back in regards to his tick removal. We instantly fell in love with his squeaky, can-do attitude and decided to take him home that night.
While I setup a vet appointment to make sure all was good after the tick incident, my mother brought the other puppies to a rescue. She called me later that night to inform me that someone at the rescue had said that the puppies had Parvo. That night, in a panic, we rushed Gonzo to an animal hospital, where he was tested and promptly diagnosed with Parvo.
Canine Parvovirus is a deadly disease that ravages a dogs intestinal tract. The infected pups find themselves lethargic, and unable to keep down water or food due to severe vomiting and diarrhea. If the dehydration does not kill the puppies, their weakened state will finish them off, as they are unable to fight back against the disease. Unable to be cured with medicine, the only treatment for Parvo is a stay in a veterinary hospital, providing the pup with medications, fluids, and rest, so that they can properly fend off the disease. Without proper veterinary care, the mortality rate for Parvo can climb to almost 90% (Source).
The animal hospital shared with us that with proper treatment, most puppies have a recovery rate of nearly 80%. However, the cost of treatment for Gonzo would be largely dependent on how the disease progressed while he was under their care. In most cases, the average cost of treatment for a Parvo pup is anywhere between $3000-$5000.
This was a huge expense. And one that we definitely couldn't pay all upfront at once. Tim and I were still dealing with minor vet bills from Brownie's passing, and needed to pay rent, utilities, insurance, and other things. Some folks shared that we should just let Gonzo pass, while making his final days as comfortable as possible. But Tim and I have a very strong sense of family, and one day home or not, Gonzo was family.
We checked Gonzo into a pet hospital in Santa Monica and started him on his road to recovery. The staff was amazing, and after 4 days of highs and lows in the hospital, Gonzo was ready to come home.
We thought Gonzo was squirmy before, but we had no idea the levels of squirm this boy could reach. With a newfound energy, Gonzo began to really wiggle his way into all of our hearts, Fozzie included. Since Gonzo has been back, him and Fozzie have become very good pals! When they aren't working together to rip open and gut the various stuffed animals they have, they love to wrestle with one another, and play chase in the back yard. When the executive decision had to be made to keep the puppies off the bed at night(For Peeing-All-Over-Our-Nice Duvet-More-The-5-Times-In-A-Row reasons), we invested in two crates for both dogs to sleep in at night. Most nights, though, they end up sharing one, snuggled up with one another on the plush beds we bought them.
With Gonzo's arrival we found relief and joy. We also found ourselves approximately $5000 in debt to Care Credit, an org that offers lowered risk financing for people experiencing a medical emergency. In this first month that Gonzo has been home, we have been able to manage financially. But as the care credit payments are now coming due, we are finding a heightened strain on our finances. Our first payments for the Care Credit Financing are coming due Mid May and will keep coming until the debt is paid. Fortunately, if we can pay off the full balance within 6 months, their will be no interest charged on the principal amounts, making it imperative that we acquire the money necessary as soon as possible.
It would mean the world to myself and my little family, if you could contribute anything to this fund to help us erase this medical debt from our collective ledgers. We hope that you can see that our boys, Fozzie and Gonzo, have brought so much love, light, and pee (Worth it!) into our lives in a year where we lost someone so dear to us. We want to continue to provide for them, and hope that you will be able to help us in doing so.
Organizer
John Doe
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA