Let me tell you about my puppy Olaf 

While large for his age, our not-so-little labradoodle puppy Olaf is just 8 months old and learning along the way.  He loves to play, meet new friends (both dogs & humans), go on long walks, hike, do photoshoots for treats, and eat everything possible.  While very smart at training (he knows 15 tricks!) he isn’t always the brightest at distinguishing toys versus treats, which has led us to our current situation. 



What happened? 

Olaf was playing with some new squeaky toys given to him as a gift when we noticed that he was trying to swallow one of them. We promptly took the toy from his mouth and searched the apartment for the other toys in the set.  Unfortunately, they were nowhere to be found.  

We gave him a few days to try and get the toys out naturally, but after many failed attempts at vomiting them up, we took Olaf to the vet. 

On January 15th, Harbor Animal Hospital did a round of x-rays but couldn’t see any toys, and recommended we monitor him and bring him back in a few days for another round of x-rays with Olaf fasting.

On January 21st, Harbor Animal Hospital did a second round of x-rays and found 2 squeaky toys in Olaf’s tummy, and referred us to Access for an endoscopy, as Harbor Animal Hospital was unable to perform this procedure.

We rushed Olaf to Access for the endoscopy, but unfortunately, the scope was unsuccessful due to the hardness of the squeaker toys.  The only other option to save Olaf’s life was surgery, cutting open his stomach, and removing the toys.  At Access, the surgeon found that there were not only 2 toys hiding in his belly, but 3! 

To make matters worse, the 3rd toy was stuck at the entrance of his small intestine, which was likely the cause of his vomiting.  Luckily we took him in before it was fully in his intestine, but it was a close call. Olaf had to spend the night in the emergency room and (very unlike him) wouldn’t eat the next day, until we were able to take him home the night of the 22nd.  

From here, it’s going to be 2 more weeks on heavy pain medicine with no physical activity for his stomach to heal, and then we go back in to get the sutures and staples removed. We are very grateful for the amazing surgeons who saved his life, as Olaf is our baby and we couldn’t imagine life without him!



Why we need your help

As dog parents, our current financial circumstances prohibit us from being able to cover the unexpected bill, which has been put on a credit card for now.  Unfortunately, we do not yet have pet insurance, but we will be getting it now and strongly recommend it for all other pet owners.  Due to COVID, Dog-Mom Meagan is currently only working part-time and Dog-Dad David is unemployed after his previous company went through mass-layoffs.

Understanding times are tough for many of us, we would really appreciate even a small contribution to help with Olaf’s life-saving surgery expenses. These are the 3x medical bills associated with this toy-eating nightmare, which we’ll make sure never happens again (all small/medium toys have already been removed from the premises). 



What are the costs exactly?

- January 15th, 2021: Harbor Animal Hospital, $248.19 (X-Rays)
- January 21st, 2021: Harbor Animal Hospital, $366.05 (X-Rays & Blood Panel)
- January 21st & 22nd: Access Los Angeles, $6,629.48 (ER Surgery + Endoscopy) 
- Total: $7,243.72



How will Olaf show his appreciation?

To show his immense gratitude for your donation, Olaf will be sending you a personalized thank you!

- For $10, Olaf will send you a personalized digital photo!
- For $25, Olaf will send you a custom video!
- For $100, you’ll receive all of the above, plus a hand-written thank you card!
- For $500, you’ll receive all of the above, and a 1:1 Zoom video session with Olaf!



"Some People Are Worth Melting For." - Olaf