Some of you may remember Crouton, a Buddy Up Animal Society alumni pup who came to us emaciated, hairless, and crusty with mange, handpicked by yours truly off the NYACC kill list. Despite her obvious discomfort and difficult times, she made it out of the shelter system and maintained a sweet, playful disposition full of promise and quickly won over everyone she met. She has ALWAYS been a fan-favorite, even making her way into stardom on the big screen – who remembers the McDonald’s commercial!? During her time with rescue and under foster care, Crouton made a full recovery to ultimately become a “foster failure” with her person, Hallie (no one was surprised!).

Recently, Hallie reached out to former BUAS team members upon navigating some medical setbacks for her dogs and finding herself struggling through a rough patch of life while she addresses her own personal health needs, as well. We estimate Crouton will be turning 15 this year and overall is a very healthy girl for her age! However, Hallie started noticing a concerning cough and occasional “reverse sneeze” with Crouton, and upon further examination at the vet a mass was detected in her throat, and she was referred the Portland Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Care for formal diagnosis and treatment plan/surgery. Crouton had her surgical consult at PVS on 4/11/2026 and it was determined that the mass is not currently suspected to be blocking any airways, but it does cause Crouton discomfort and will need to be removed and biopsied to ensure it doesn’t get larger and is not malignant. Thankfully, we have a little time to raise some funds for her surgery before this could become a much more urgent/life threatening situation.

Hallie began fostering Crouton when she was just 17 years old and has proven to be a loving caretaker ever since, even adopting a younger friend, Nori, a few years later, who is also experiencing some medical challenges we suspect may be from severe allergies that need further investigation. I’ve started this GoFundMe as a supportive gesture to Hallie to help her through this challenging time in life, as she has always given and provided everything possible for her girls, and she deserves a little “give back” now.

While Buddy Up has dissolved, the former volunteers remain in contact with many of our alumni pets and adopters and love to see/hear updates on them as they live out their happily-ever-afters – which was the ultimate goal of our rescue mission to give them that opportunity at a comfortable, spoiled long life.

All contributions will primarily go towards Crouton’s surgical costs, estimated $3-4k, and any excess funds will be used for Nori’s medical testing/treatments. Again, the rescue has dissolved and is no longer a 501c3 nonprofit eligible for soliciting donations; all funds raised are of personal intent and ARE NOT tax deductible. I will personally be disbursing money raised via this platform directly to PSV and/or Back Cove Animal Hospital. Thank you for taking the time to catch up on Crouton with me, and for any support you can offer to her, Hallie, and Nori.