Help Fred live several more happy years

♥ Fred Astaire loves cuddles, sleeping under blankets, endless games of tug-of-war, broccoli, making new friends (human or dog), his little sister Lily, and his pawrents (Laina and Gabe). He is a dream companion in this family, exceeding what they could have imagined out of this beautiful boston terrier.

Fred still has so much life left to live, but he requires surgery in the coming weeks (scheduled for January 7, 2025) to allow him to live several more happy years.

In 2021, Fred faced a life-threatening bile duct obstruction caused by gallstones. He received an emergency surgery ($10,000), and years of vet visits ($1,500 to $2,000 each time) and various medications followed. Laina, Gabe, and Fred’s veterinary team care for him well and have managed his condition, keeping him stable all these years.

Earlier this month (December 2024), Fred stopped eating, lost weight and became lethargic. Blood work revealed dangerously elevated liver values. Following an appointment with his internal medicine specialist at the DMV in Montreal, it was confirmed they must now remove his gallbladder to stop the life-threatening issues.

Without surgery, Fred is likely to face an emergency where his condition becomes unstable and his risk increases every day.

Boston terriers typically live 12–15 years, and at 9 ½ years of age, Fred still has so much life left to live. With this surgery, Fred has the chance to continue thriving and could easily have up to 6 more happy, healthy years ahead of him, filled with tug-of-war, broccoli, blanket snuggles, and unconditional love.

For the surgery and aftercare needed in January 2025, the cost will be between $6,000 and $8,000 dollars, depending on several factors including Fred's reaction to the surgery. I (Kelly) am creating this GoFundMe page to help Laina and Gabe pay for this expensive surgery and aftercare, after years of pouring into vet expenses.

Those of us with animal companions know how overwhelmingly stressful it is when their life is in danger and only our money can save them. Let’s put together what we can to help alleviate some of this stress for them.