Help Astrid Heal: Support Her Medical Journey

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Shandra Carter and Jason Inoue are organizing this fundraiser.

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Last night we drove from Austin to Brenham, TX to pick up a rescued Great Dane. I saw a post on a FB Texas Rescue group I follow (Re-homing Texas Pets) indicating the need for a rehome. The "owner" posted from a FB page called KC Doberman Pups https://kcbreedersoftx.wixsite.com/kcbreedersoftx. The picture posted showed a beautiful Great Dane in a house with a cat just chilling in the background. We were told that she was 1 year old, potty trained, crate trained, no health issues, etc. The "owner" said that she was getting divorced and needed to re-home the dog. She reported that the dog was not spayed because she thought about breeding her. This all seemed reasonable. We agreed to a $200 re-homing fee.

All LIES!

The "owner" drove up with a Great Dane shoved in the back of a Challenger and just handed her over. The dog was filthy, skinny, starving, and covered in fleas. As soon as I started petting her, my hands were covered in blood from the fleas. We had to stop on the way home to get her food and flea treatment. It took 3 shampoos to address the fleas. She clearly has never seen grass and didn't know what to do in the backyard. She is afraid to walk through trees. She has never seen stairs. She has pooped and peed in the house and immediately afterward cowers and hides. She is terrified of the crate. I slept on the dog bed with her last night trying to provide her with some comfort and make her feel safe.

Took her to the vet today. She has obviously never received any veterinary care. Here is what we found out:

She is 2-3 years old
She has clearly had litter(s) of puppies
She is heartworm positive and requires expensive treatment (we are going with the fast kill option)
She has an umbilical hernia that requires expensive surgery
She requires every standard vaccination
She needs to be spayed

We just invested over $10k in Kona's cancer treatment and in-home euthanasia and Bua's obstruction surgery. Had the "owner" been honest, we would not have agreed to take this dog because of the medical costs. I am really glad we did because she is the absolute sweetest dog. She is very loving and affectionate. She is a super snuggler. The cats are very curious about her and she is indifferent to them. She is interested in Enzo and Bua but we are keeping them separated and allowing for lots of decompression time. We now have to work through the heartworm treatment, which comes with risk and potential for serious complications.

We have named her Astrid after a shield maiden in the Vikings series. We will eventually get her that strong! Any help with her medical bills would be really appreciated.