Support for Olive's Recovery

My name is Kerri Dumin Noble and I am starting this fundraiser on behalf of my brother, Mike Dumin and his fiancé, Megan Stacey. Their dog, Olive, suffered from a herniated disc on February 21, 2025 which impacted her spinal cord causing paralysis in her hind legs.

Olive is a 6 year old Cocker Spaniel mix that Mike and Megan rescued in 2020. She quickly became their best friend and a very loved member of our family. She's very smart, full of personality, and a huge love bug. She also has the softest fur that I have ever experienced a dog having (and I've got two of my own).

On February 21st, Megan and Mike noticed Olive was having trouble walking and quickly took her to the vet. A few hours later, she had completely lost function of her hind legs. She was diagnosed with a condition known as IVDH, Intervertebral Disc Herniation. This quickly led to an emergency surgery where the great doctors at MASH performed a Hemilaminectomy to relieve the pressure on her spinal cord. Without surgery, she was given less than a 40% chance to regain the use of her hind legs. Thankfully, with prompt treatment, most dogs recover fully from this procedure and she was given as high as a 90% chance of full recovery.

Olive's surgery was a success but there is a still a long road ahead. Recovery from this injury can take up to 4 months. She is on strict crate/bed rest for a minimum of 4 weeks. Between administering medicine, assisted potty breaks, and general care, this has become a full time job for Megan and Mike and puts a constraint on them being able to work at the same time. Olive needs to have someone present with her around the clock, which means they would need to hire someone qualified to be with her on days they both have work.

Spinal surgery was incredibly costly and the vet bills will continue to grow. In addition to the surgery, she has needed multiple X-Rays, an MRI, 3 office visits, two overnight stays, plus 6 different mediations. As a part of recovery, the vet has strongly suggested that they get Olive into physical therapy, which can include things like hydro therapy.

Mike and Megan are both freelance workers in the Film and Television Industry. After the Hollywood strikes in 2023, steady work has been hard to come by. Then, on January 7th, they had to evacuate their home due to the Eaton Fire. Fortunately, their home survived but due to heavy smoke damage, they have been displaced for two months and currently do not know when they are able to return home. It's been an incredibly challenging time to say the least, and while they are so thankful they were able to act quickly for Olive, I am hoping we can help offer them some relief for the months ahead.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. If you would like to read more about IVDH, here is some further information.