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Hi!! I’m Shannon and this is my best friend, Oliver Twist. He is a long-haired Chihuahua. He’s affectionate, mello and a gentle boy. Ollie has a serious need for dental surgery. I’ve been gathering funds, but am not quite there, so we could use some help from the kindness of community and friends. Let me tell you about Ollie’s story and how we arrived at this point:
Back in 2011, I was blessed with the cutest little “runt of the litter” of Chihuahuas from family living in upstate New York. Since day one, he has been my best friend and fluffy soulmate. He has always watched over me during my health battles and I, over his.
Unfortunately, being the “runt of the litter”, Ollie’s life has been plagued with complex health battles. Diagnosed with Addison’s Disease in 2018, his adrenal glands began failing to regulate his temperature, blood sugar, and stress response, so he relies on monthly and daily synthetic hormone injections and pills. He also deals with kidney disease, high blood pressure, and severe dental issues. Ollie is on Percorden, Prednisone, Benazepril, Amlodipine, Hydrocodone-Homatropine Solon, and Gabapentin for his conditions.
- Ollie needs dental surgery quite urgently, as his dental disease directly affects heart health, and his dental condition is quite poor, (very common with Chihuahuas and other small breeds), which is what this fund raiser is intended for.
- I had already saved for this surgery and actually booked it for Ollie, but over the summer, Ollie had a major Addison’s Disease crisis, followed by a 1 1/2 month long blood pressure crisis, so I unfortunately, exhausted all of those earmarked funds on all of Ollie’s sick visits and medications, and there is just not enough time for me to save up for the surgery with how urgent Ollie needs to have this surgery, hence why we have turned to community sourcing for help, hoping this helps my little guy.
I myself, have compound, complex medical issues stemming from a rare genetic immunodeficiency disease along with a secondary disease, diffuse systemic sclerosis, causing my condition to be terminal. Ollie provides me with peace, comfort and companionship and is especially supportive whenever I am down, physically. Ollie provides me with comfort and peace not only daily, but always during every 7 hour-long treatment (he alternates lying across my chest or across the back of my pillow, watching over me the entire day lol). He’s literally the best!
My wish with my whole heart is to get Ollie’s health completely under control, and I believe finally having this dental procedure would be key in accomplishing just that. He’s been a little warrior all summer and I’d like to get him back to doing his favorite things like running on the beach or having play dates with his friends without worrying about his heart or kidneys being strained. His favorite thing in the world is taking daily scooter rides and we look forward to being able to do that next Spring and Summer. I am so grateful for his bottomless well of unconditional love. Thank you for taking the time today to read about my best friend, and our story, and thank you for your support!