Hello, everyone! My name is Chelsey.

On Saturday, February 14th of this year, our 7-year-old Maltese/Shih Tzu mix, Waffles, suddenly woke up vomiting everything, including water and food. He couldn't keep anything down. He was severely lethargic, and he couldn't stand on his own. He was shaking, and his skin under his fur was darker. My partner and I immediately took Waffles to the vet for treatment.

Upon arrival, he was admitted for being hypothermic and in shock. After testing, it was discovered that he was in Stage 4 Renal Failure. Despite being fine, happy, playful, and energetic less than 48 hours before, his body was starting to shut down, reserving all necessary functions for his brain and heart. One of his kidneys had levels so high that they were unreadable by the machine. They are working to stabilize him tonight enough for transport to another hospital for fluid therapy over the course of 2-3 days.

We have already paid over $2,000 in emergency care for him so far. I was laid off from my full-time job in June 2025, so I'm currently working as a part-time substitute teacher. My partner is a server. We were barely making ends meet as-is, but every single cent and dollar we have been making has been prioritized to continue to give our animals the same quality of life they had before. We sacrifice so much for each and every one of our animals. Our dogs and cats are spoiled. We have spent everything we have just for the interventive care for Waffles for him to survive. We don't know how we are going to afford his continued care needed to save his life, but we refuse to say goodbye without fighting and giving it our all. We refuse to let a price tag stop us from having many more happy years with our baby boy.

He is young and so very loved. It would destroy us to lose him this soon. Any amount towards his journey to recovery and good health is appreciated beyond words. Thank you for reading this far, sharing this, and any contributions you make! Every little bit helps, and it means the world to me, Waffles, and my family. You have no idea. Thank you, so, so, so much in advance!