Meet Gauge:
Gauge is a full blooded senior German Shepherd that I adopted on April 24th from an animal shelter in Richmond, IN.  He had a very rough life previously, his owners did not care about him and left him outside on a chain all the time. The didn't pay attention or maybe didn't care, but one day his chain got wrapped around his hind leg. They did nothing. Eventually the animal shelter got so many calls about him they finally went and picked him up... but it was too late, his leg wasn't salvageable. (Warning: graphic photo)After getting Gauge to a vet and amputating his leg, it was time to find him a family. I found him on petfinder and instantly fell in love.  I finally went and picked him up about a month after his amputation. I was greeted by a very timid, skinny boy, Gauge weighed a lousy 62lbs... He was so skinny you could see nearly every bone in his body. We did learn, he loves car rides. He lit right up when we got him in. As I was leaving the shelter, I was informed he was Heart Worm positive, something that was not mentioned until after I signed the paper to adopt him. After only having him at home for a couple hours, I could tell something else was wrong with him. He had very runny stools and it seemed very painful for him. I took him to a vet to get him checked out. 

They did a fecal test that came back negative for parasites. They then thought it could be caused by the heart worm infection, but prescribed him some antibiotics just in case. About two weeks later, after meeting 3 different vets, we finally found one and it was time to start his treatment for heart worm. He needed xrays, blood work and other testing first. Now, if you do not know about the treatment of heart worm, it is very dangerous and painful for the dog. It made Gauge very inactive and sleepy, but he was very strong.
Flash forward to now... It has been about 2 weeks since Gauge's HW injection and a little over a month since I adopted him. He still has not had one solid stool. It's a very painful process for him to try and pass stool. After trying as many remedies at home as I could (pumpkin, different food, fasting, bland diet, etc.) I took him to the vet again yesterday. She didn't have good news for us. Gauge had lost 4lbs (which may not seem like a lot, but he didn't have the weight to lose). He also has a huge mass back by hind area. Its very painful to touch. He has a lot of issues even finding a comfortable position to lay on. So she recommended we see a specialist. The appt. is made for this afternoon, but I am concerned about how to pay for his treatment.  I am still working on paying for his $1,100 heart worm treatment, $700 of which is due in two weeks for his next two injections. The specialist is wanting to do testing and possibly surgery today. I want my poor boy healthy, but I fear I won't have the means to do so.  It amazes me how happy he is even with his past and the pain he is currently in. He never leaves my side and I can't fathom the idea of sending him back to the shelter. I wasn't prepared for the health issues that have presented themselves. So as a last resort, I created his gofundme page. Please help get my poor guy healthy. He has had such a rough and hard life already, he deserves happiness with no pain. Anything helps.
Thank you for reading,
Alyssa and Gauge