Meet Oppie, a rottweiler with a remarkable brain condition. While he looks like a handsome fella who thinks a lot of deep thoughts, he doesn't have much going on upstairs. Oppie was born with holoproscenephaly, meaning he was born without his cerebral cortex. This is a phenomenon that typically only occurs in stillborn puppies.

Because Oppie is missing his cerebral cortex, his body creates excess spinal fluid to fill the cavity. This results in seizures or auras, which are precursors to seizures. In addition to seizures, Oppie struggles with learning behaviors, seeing things close to him, and containing his excitement around people (he always wants to say hi to everyone!). This doesn't stop him from showing his big personality to everyone he meets, but creates some unique challenges for us at home.

Our family has been working with the medical teams at the Animal Emergency and Referral Center of Minnesota Neurology Department and at Kinnic Vet Service to figure out what medications and treatments best help Oppie live as close to a normal life as possible.

Oppie takes 22 pills a day, 11 in the morning and 11 at night, to mitigate his seizures. After his most recent vet visit, he will be adding an additional medication and will have a "cluster buster" pill to break up cluster seizure events. Though there are quite a few medications to manage, he loves getting his pills with a scoop of peanut butter! Sure, his condition makes learning an extra challenge, but he will always sit and stay so he can get his peanut butter pill treat.

As we continue to help Oppie live a normal life, we are struggling to keep up with the cost of medical bills. An emergency trip to the vet to break up a cluster seizure event on average costs us $2,000. We are asking for help off-setting the cost of medications and vet bills as we try to give Oppie the best life possible.

We've been asked before why we decided to keep Oppie in our lives, which is a fair question. After all, a teacher and a tech support guy aren't exactly the most financially fit people to support a dog like Oppie. But our answer has always remained the same: because we love him. Oppie is home to us. Sure, things can be frustrating or challenging at times. Our journey with him has not been easy. But we would do anything for our guy. His circumstances make living "normally" complicated, but he still deserves a family that will love and take care of him no matter what. Truthfully, we're not sure how long our time with Oppie will be. But for as long as he's around, we will do everything we can to love and care for him.

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