Help Save My Dog Cookie

Hi, My name is Jen. A couple of months ago, I took in a Chihuahua that was being abused by her family, with the intention of giving her a safe place to stay, decompress, and start to trust people again so that she can live the best life possible.

Cookie is a 9-year-old Chihuahua who currently has a few health conditions that need to be addressed. Although Cookie's past abuse is behind her now, she still struggles with behavioral issues because she is so fearful of people and other animals (even a squirrel on the street). I have been working on her training so that she can learn to trust humans again and build her confidence. Unfortunately, Cookie woke up the other day in severe pain, holding her eye closed. She was diagnosed with glaucoma and a heart murmur that needs to be worked up. She also has chronic stomach issues that need to be addressed. If her eye cannot be managed with daily medication, she will need to have it removed. She also needs bloodwork and an echocardiogram to see what else is going on since she was not taken to the vet for her issues by her previous owner.

I need a bit of help financially, I am a single mother with a disability and I don't have the means to pay for all the diagnostics and possible surgery this little dog needs. I would love to be able to keep Cookie forever, as she has been able to build trust with me, and we are making progress with her behavioral issues. I live alone now because my daughter has severe disabilities and recently had to move to a facility where she can get care around the clock. I took Cookie in to save her, but she saved me. I wanted to get her out of her abusive environment and put her in one where she could be in peace, but it is becoming harder and harder to pay for all her medical bills. If I cannot afford to care for her medical issues, I will of course find her a home that is able to afford her care, although I do worry that her fear aggression is not under control enough yet and I fear that someone else would not be willing to take on a dog that needs so much work. I am also concerned that rehoming her right now would ruin the progress I have made with her and the trust she has been able to start building with humans. Ultimately, I want to do the best thing possible for Cookie, and get her medical needs taken care of as well as continue to work on her fear aggression so that she can live a happy and healthy life. Thank you for reading our story, I would really appreciate you sharing this page so that we can get help for Cookie as soon as we can.