Hello y'all. Tarrah here. If you know me, you already know these two things about me:

1) I love to care for, spoil, and cherish the people around me as a way of life around the spiritual belief that service is the highest form of worship.

2) My dog Zephyr is *my whole actual life* outside of that service to other humans.

I need help y'all.

Zephy is sick. He needs emergency surgery.

He has a huge sac of infected fluid inside his body cavity from a gastropexy that never healed correctly from a year ago! There was a spot on his belly that he's been licking ever since his gastropexy, but he's never let my vet look at it for more than a few seconds every time we have gone. We were under the impression that it was a skin issue and have been treating it as such, but we just learned it is much much more serious than that!

I brought him in for sedation yesterday to cut his nails and give him his yearly shots because he has turned reactive at the vets over time (GSDs remember EVERYTHING! ). When he was knocked out, she got to really get in there and poke around to see what was going on. She took X-rays and an ultrasound and found a huge fluid sac in his body cavity! It's so big she couldn't see it via ultrasound or feel with a huge needle where it might even end. This is soo scary for me!

She removed some fluid and tested it to find they are inflammatory cells and believes he likely has infected (bad) or necrotic (REALLY BAD) tissue surrounding or attached to the sac, but they basically have no idea what they will find until they cut into him. The poor boy was licking because this giant sac has been LEAKING all along! My poor baby!

They will do exploratory surgery this coming Wednesday morning to remove the sac/fluid and cut away infected/necrotic tissue and go from there, but he's in a real bad way with this thing. This surgery will ultimately save his life.

It's been too long for the vet center I had it done at to help me in any way, and I'd prefer to work with my own vet who has worked with Zephy regularly since he was a bitty puppy at this point anyhow.

I can't afford this surgery upfront, and I really can't afford to put it on my credit cards, though I will do anything I need to.

I'm not ready to lose my boy or let him rot on the inside! Oh god, even writing that turns my stomach and makes my knees weak . I love this being with every ounce of energy in every cell of my body. He's truly my best friend. The being I spend the most time with. My sunshine boy. My Ride or Die. The best dharma teacher I've ever had and likely ever will. He saved my life when I brought him home. He's truly a living healing medicine and a bringer of joy to everyone around him!

I've worked so hard for my entire life and only just started making enough to afford life AND pay off our poor-young-working-class-survival debts, but this will still cause alot of grief and worry if I have to swing this on my own.

I feel insane, like I'm making a stupendously insanely huge ask. I almost feel like I deserve to be laughed at or made fun of by asking for help with the full amount, but I'm gonna put it out there anyhow and see what happens. I know how to be incredibly grateful and happy for whatever help I get. I think finding reasons to be grateful and happy are a couple of my best superpowers.

If you know me in person or well enough in any capacity, you know I'm not a liar, a cheat, or a full-of-shit person. I'm fkn terrible at being dishonest. I tell on myself about everything. I work hard to walk my talk, live with an open heart, and practice dana, or generosity, as a matter of course. I have confidence in saying this about myself because I truly think my Noble Friends would attest to it, and I'm generally only interested in Noble Friends' opinions of me.

I haven't lost my damn mind over being hit with this because I have faith that my friends will help in the same way that I've been a helper.

I'm asking for help in the amount of 5k, to cover the $500 I had to pay today, the surgery, the medicines, a quality surgery suit, and a little extra ($300) for any follow-up issues.

Again, I feel crazy for asking for this much, but I gotta believe I have some good karma stored up from all the resources and direct aid I've gathered with the help of my friends for others when times were tough or even impossible for them in the last decade. I'm a true believer in pronoia and a world that is nice to you when you are nice to it.

Thank you so much for any help or consideration. I love you and wish you well!

May you be free from suffering and the causes and conditions of suffering