Help Otis pay for his emergency spinal surgery!

Hello! My name is Meg. I'm fundraising on behalf of my lovely brother Alexander, his wonderful partner Daniel, and their funny little bug named Otis.

Alexander and Daniel rescued Otis in 2023 through For Pete's Sake. The poor pup had a limp in his back leg, which vets were unsure was permanent or just a temporary injury - unfortunately, the original owners did not want an "imperfect" puppy, so they dumped him (they also said that if the rescue couldn't take him, they would "take care of it" on their own). Alex and Daniel stepped in and helped Otis through hydrotherapy, countless vet appointments and physiotherapy. Until two weeks ago, Otis was a completely healthy, happy boy due to their amazing care.

On April 21st, Otis experienced a very unexpected anaphylactic reaction to a round of routine vaccinations. After being rushed back to the vet's office and stabilized, he ended up back in their care on May 1st after excessive vomiting and regurgitating, which they deemed due to a worryingly enlarged stomach. They kept him overnight for observation.

After an ultrasound where they discovered his stomach was still extremely enlarged, they kept him overnight again, performed another ultrasound and sent him home with medication for digestion.

Unfortunately, Otis started to show signs of extreme neck pain the next day, and the vets were concerned that something was wrong with his spine. After an emergency neurologist appointment and a ton of pain medication, he visited the neurologist again who gave him a CT scan and discovered that he has a herniated spinal disc that requires immediate surgery tomorrow morning.

In addition to the $5,500 they have already spent on his care in the last two weeks, the neurologist quoted them an additional $10,000 for this emergency surgery.

After the surgery is completed, the poor little bug will need a month's worth of crate rest, follow-up vet appointments, and then will hopefully be all healed up and ready to be a silly little guy again.

As you can imagine, this has been an exceedingly stressful time. We appreciate any help you can give in saving little Otis, as well as alleviating some of the unexpected financial burden currently facing Alexander and Daniel. Seriously, we cannot thank you enough!

UPDATE 5/9/25

We are devastated to say that Otis has passed away.

Before his scheduled surgery on May 8th, he regurgitated and aspirated, causing him to go into cardiac arrest. There was a team working on him around the clock since 11 AM yesterday, but he unfortunately could not become stabilized, and passed away this afternoon.

The deposit that Alexander and Daniel paid for his surgery has covered the cost of his emergency care. Any donations from this point on will help my brothers recover in their grieving period, and will be in Otis' memory.

Thank you all so much for your support of the baby bug. We are so blown away by the amount of donations received. When it is time, we would love to thank you all individually, but we hope you understand that it may be a little while.