Help GSD puppy Ollie beat pneumonia!

Meet Ollie, our (very strong) now 8-month old rescue. This little fighter came to us after being attacked by an older dog and nearly dying from a sustained head wound that caused him to lose a lot of blood. But he pulled through, and we took him in at 2.5 months old. This German Shepherd pup recovered from that injury and has been quickly growing (from 15 pounds to 64 now!), playing with other dogs (no fear of them) at Point Isabel in Richmond, CA, and so far living a full, active & engaging life.

He became suddenly very ill the night of Monday 2/12 from what doctors suspect is aspiration pneumonia, caused by the inhalation of regurgitated matter, though they aren't completely sure the cause. Ollie has been in the ICU for oxygen support since, with no signs of improved respiratory rate. He ate his first meal in the last 24 hours and has not regurgitated since, which is a sign of improvement & a hope he may be able to return home where I can provide oral antibiotics. The issue is providing him with oxygen, which I can't support from home.

The doctors say it’s typically a 24-48 hour period they recommend for oxygen support before they see improvement -- Now that we're entering his second full day, his respiratory rate is still at 100/minute, (40/min is normal), and so he's suspected to be oxygen dependent for another few days. The doctor says if he sent him home now, he has less than a 50-50 chance of recovery, but that he’s a strong pup and could pull through if we can afford enough time for him to stay on oxygen support.

If we cant afford more time there, its either he comes home on those <50/50 odds, or they recommend we think about euthanasia (which drives me crazy to consider when his condition is treatable, and I've already sent payments totaling $7K for diagnostics and the first 48 hours of hospitalization.) My issue now is that I've maxed out Ollie's pet insurance, Care Credit & Scratch Pay and it costs anywhere from $2k- $3k/day going forward for his hospitalization. We don't want "the system" and our inability to pay more at this time to be the reason he doesn't survive, when it's completely treatable and he's fought & survived so much already.

We're looking for community support to raise funds for 2 additional days of oxygen support to buy him the time he needs to breathe more easily on his own, so we can take over his care at home. Asking for donations was our last resort, but we love this pup so much and want to give him the best chance at survival, whatever that looks like.

** Funds will go directly to OakVet Animal Specialty hospital (where he's being cared for) as new daily estimates are created (we're estimating a total of roughly $5k for an additional 2 days based on current daily estimate).

Thanks for reading, donating, sending well wishes and/or advice xx

-Ollie's parents, Sam & Al

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