Hello Friends and Family
My Name is Alan Montoya, I'm setting this page up for Opie in hopes to raise funds for the surgery required to let him live a normal life. Opie is a German Shepherd just over a year old, born in January of '16. Early in his life I noticed restrictions with the movement of his mouth. Eating food, drinking water, playing with toys, panting to cool down seemed to be a task for him as he struggled, his methods were not normal or easy considering he is a larger dog breed. Over time I realized he had limited to almost no jaw movement and as he grew, it began to become evident the problem was worsening and something was very wrong. He can only open his mouth maybe a half of an inch at the front of his mouth with almost no back teeth action, his tongue can barely pop out to lick himself. Turns out his jaw is fused together at the joint on the left side. For Opie to have a shot at a normal life takes a major surgery that is out of my financial reach at the moment. They will almost completely have to remove his left jaw/lower mandible to free up space and give him the mouth movement he needs to be able to pick up a tennis ball, or drink water without drowning his snout at the bottom of the bowl, he can't defend himself from other dogs, takes him 30 minutes to eat, and worst of all he can't pant or cool himself down, he really struggles in the heat. He loves to hike and be outside but I'm having to restrict him with that as well as the warmer months are coming along. There are a few obsticals in the process which is the reason the procedure is so expensive. They can't get proper CTI scans. They can't run a tube down his throat for anesthesia because his mouth has such limited movement. This requires them cutting his neck and running the tube down his throat through an incision. It all has to be done at once because of the risks of putting him under anesthesia with limited mouth and throat movement multiple times. I've been to many many Vets and Dr. Offices in the last 5 months, after alot of bad news and bills with the possibly irreversible or unfixable damage, turns out the surgery is thesible and IT CAN BE DONE! Doctors at Silicon Valley Veterinary Specialists are going to take on the task!!! Basically, I'm asking for help with Opies surgery. I'm determined, putting him down or leaving him be is not even a consideration or an option. This is my best friend and is my family member, the only being I see every single day. Please, whatever you can help donate to Opies fund is greatly appreciated. Anything helps!! I'll always give back and do what I can to repay the debts. Opie really is a special dog and deserves to live life to the fullest, I want to give him that. He's still so young and has alot of great years ahead of him. Gonna be a long road but he's tough and other than his jaw problem he's completely healthy and in darn good shape Doctors say!

THANK YOU!!

Alan & Opie