Hi Friends,

My name is Taylor Deering and I am here for my sweet english lab, Oso. Oso is almost 5 years old and he is the most affectionate, loving and playful little bear. Oso has never met a person he hasn't aggressively loved, which has helped him build quite the community of friends.

Osito was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma in his first left digit (cancer in his front toe). We found out something was wrong last week, immediately had a biopsy taken and we were lucky enough to be able to get into an oncologist first thing today where we got confirmation.

As told by the Vet at AVES (Austin Veterinary Emergency and Specialty), the recommendation is amputation of his first toe. The cancer tumor has already invaded the bone, so removing the entire toe will be the most effective way to eliminate infection and hopefully get local control of the stupid fking cancer. Another biopsy will be taken to confirm the cancer was successfully removed.

To know Oso is to love him, he has a tendency to look into your soul and there's no going back from an Oso heart hug. He loves to play ball, always wants to be touching or in the same room, likes to say "bye" when he leaves his grandma by getting one last little pet then confidently trotting off into the car, he does not like to leave anyone behind, and is always concerned about his big bro Pacho if he's not within eyesight. I have never met a dog who makes everyone feel as loved as Oso does.

It's so hard to ask for help, but I'm asking my community in a time of need, to help my pay for Osos amputation surgery so he can keep loving everyone as big has he has been. He and Pacho are my world, and I desperately want him to be around for much longer like we planned. I know he is loved by so many, so if you have the extra funds, any amount will go a long way. This is obviously an unexpected expense, which we all have from time to time, so please don't feel pressure, but if you have the means to help, my family and I are so grateful.