Introduction

Hi everyone! Some people may know me as Dee or DL Ross. I want to talk to everyone about my little dog Georgia, who has been my constant companion and emotional lifeline for 12 years. She now faces a terrifying list of health problems all at once: uncontrolled diabetes, Cushing’s disease, pancreatitis, serious gallbladder disease, an enlarged liver and adrenal glands, and cataracts that have already taken her sight. I’ve already paid for urgent dental surgery just yesterday, and I spent thousands on testing. I now am coming to all of you because I simply cannot afford the surgeries and ongoing treatments she now needs. Several weeks ago I found out my pup had medical issues. I’m asking for your help to raise $11,000 to give Georgia a real chance of renewing her healthy and happy quality of life.

My Story

My name is Dee,and for the last 12 years, my little dog Georgia has been the one constant good thing in my life.

I first met her running down Georgia Avenue in DC. She had no collar, just a lot of hair, a wiggly body, a belly begging for rubs, and an innocent, little face that melted my heart. I turned her in to the humane society, but I couldn’t stop thinking about this sweet, silly dog who just wanted snacky treats and belly rubs. When no one claimed her, I adopted her. From that day on, we’ve been inseparable.

In twelve years, we’ve hardly spent more than a few hours apart, other than a single week when I went to France last October. She has been my family, my emotional anchor, and my reason to get up on days when life felt very dark to me. When I struggled through some dark times, she gave me hope and something positive to focus on. She was the one good thing that has been in my life for these twelve years.

From day one, I did what I thought was the responsible thing. I paid for pet insurance for Georgia, month after month, which was about 100 dollars a month for 12 years. I wanted to be sure that when she got older and needed care, we’d be ready. In November, 2025, I learned that her insurance company, 24PetWatch, had been bought by a private equity company who decided to drop all pet insurance and focus only on microchip registration. After all those years and over 11,000 dollars in total over the years of monthly payments, Georgia was suddenly uninsured, with a heart murmur, pre‑existing conditions, and being a senior dog, made it impossible to get new coverage. The safety net I’d faithfully paid into for over a decade just vanished.

How Georgia’s health fell apart so quickly

By February of this year, I started noticing these little things:

I took her in for her yearly checkup in mid‑March. My vet saw nothing wrong, and I left thinking everything was okay. But over the next weeks, her symptoms got worse and worse, and I couldn’t figure out what was happening. By mid‑April, things escalated quickly. I saw a medical change that scared me enough that to the point where I immediately called the vet and begged for a same day appointment.

At that point, I found a dream contract starting at the end of summer. I told that to the vet. When the vet ran blood tests and ultrasounds, they found multiple issues, but they still wanted more testing. They strongly pushed me to do a full, eight‑hour Cushing’s disease test and additional imaging, even though Georgia’s blood sugar was extremely high and I had told them clearly that my finances were limited and I was terrified. I sent them a long email listing out my concerns, and received a reassuring email back from them about the upcoming tests.

I didn’t yet understand Cushing’s or diabetes, and I was relying completely on their guidance. I agreed to the tests. The bill for this workup alone came to about $2,100 dollars, which I took from money I had that was left in my savings. Nothing mattered to me more than Georgia's health.

To briefly jump ahead in my story, I got second opinions from a new vet and spoke with other vets in support groups, I learned that running full Cushing’s testing while her glucose was so out of control can give unreliable results and is often not the best use of limited funds. That $2,100 dollars is now gone, and it didn’t move us closer to a real treatment plan. I'm heartbroken to have realized that money could have gone toward surgeries and treatments that actually could help her now.

Starting over with a new treatment plan, with a very sick dog

I followed the advice to establish care with a new vet. Since May 12th, Georgia has had nearly weekly visits with our new vet as we try to understand and manage everything that’s going on.

Within the first three weeks, her new vet carefully went through her tests, repeated some, and explained that Georgia is very ill, but that a lot of her issues are treatable if we address and treat them one at a time. I’ve sat in that exam room taking deep breaths, taking detailed notes, asking questions, and trying not to fall apart while I listen to the list of diagnoses for the one constant good thing in my life. Sometimes, when I look at her, I just can't believe the nightmare diagnoses the vets talked about. I still see the little, crazy puppy I chased down the sidewalk in rush hour traffic on Georgia Avenue.

Georgia’s current diagnoses include:

Some of this has happened with terrifying speed. At her first visit here, the vet asked me, “Can she see?” and mentioned cataracts. I was surprised. I said "Of course she could see." About nine days after that conversation, Georgia suddenly went blind within a day. Watching her wander into furniture, get lost in unfamiliar rooms, and look confused and afraid has been devastating. She used to know every corner of our neighborhood in Arlington; now, she bumps into walls and fences, falls off the sidewalk, and freezes in place because she doesn’t know where she is.

Who Georgia is, beyond the diagnoses

Georgia is more than a medical chart and a list of diseases. She has always been a happy, funny, dramatic little character.

She insists on being by my side and cries if I’m not in her line of sight. She was voted Clarendon’s Cutest Dog in 2015. I used to dress her up for every holiday, including Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas, and even May Day! She hated the outfits but tolerated them for treats, and the result was the cutest, most ridiculous little fashion show you can imagine. I’d do up the blonde mop of hair on her head wild, put her in a silly costume, and take her out on the town. The joy I felt seeing her strut down the street, soaking up compliments and attention… that’s still one of my happiest feelings. Her hair was her thing! I wouldn't let anyone touch her that wild mop of blonde hair on her head- she loved to have it flowing in the breeze, with her little tail moving as fast as possible from side to side, which made me laugh every time we'd take our walks and show her off.

Everyone in the neighborhood knows of her or knows her. There isn’t a single person who met her and didn’t smile. She would run up to people, wedge herself between them and their dog, and beg shamelessly for head scratches and nose rubs. If I dared to pet someone else’s dog, she’d run back to me, demanding that I pet her instead. Then she’d rush back to the other person and their dog, determined to be the center of absolutely everyone’s attention. That’s who she is: pure personality, pure love, and pure jealousy.

Right now, she’s sick, confused, and hurting. I’m trying to give her the chance to feel safe and happy and healthy again.

What I’ve already paid

I’ve already paid $1,250 for Georgia’s recent dental surgery, which she needed right away to address serious tooth and mouth issues, and to hopefully help her get her glucose levels down. That bill is not part of what I’m asking for here. I covered it myself, because I couldn’t imagine letting her be in that kind of pain for any longer. I dug deep into my pockets from our moving fund to cover this and will deal with the fallout later.

On top of that, I spent about $2,100 at my previous vet on a full Cushing’s disease workup and ultrasounds while her blood sugar was extremely high. I agreed to those tests after explaining that my funds were limited and that I didn’t understand these diseases yet. I was relying completely on their advice. Later, after speaking with her new vet and other veterinarians, I learned that testing for Cushing's disease when glucose levels are completely uncontrollable, can give unreliable results and didn’t move us closer to a real treatment plan. That 2,100 dollars is gone now, and it could have been used for treatments that will directly help her today, but it is what it is.

Still, as I sat here running my numbers and readjusting my budgets, my savings are starting to worry me.

Why I’m asking for help

My new work contract doesn’t start until August, and when it does, it will not be for a great deal of money, but it gives me experience I need later down the line. Under normal circumstances, that would be enough to live modestly. But with multiple major medical issues hitting all at once, I’m facing costs that are simply beyond my reach. Georgia's expenses were not anticipated as part of my budget!

My new vet and I sat down together and created a line‑item estimate of what Georgia will likely need over the coming months. It’s overwhelming. On my own, I don’t know how I can do this. That’s why I’m turning to my community, including friends, family, old neighbors, and anyone who has ever loved a dog and can’t bear the thought of seeing them in pain.

What this campaign is raising money for

My goal is to raise approximately $10,800–11,000 to cover Georgia’s upcoming care. This amount does not include the $1250 dental surgery I already paid. Each time she goes for a procedure, it's going to be to different vets, since there will have to be several specialists brought on board that my vet will refer us to go to. It will be a lot of travel, but I am ready for it. Here is how your donations will be used:

1. Eye diagnostics and cataract surgery (still to come)

Georgia’s cataracts have already taken her vision. Right now, she is bumping into walls, getting lost in unfamiliar rooms, and struggling to adapt. Walks have to be frightening for her, but she still walks very slowly with me and uses the sound of my voice and bumping against me to keep an idea that she is safe walking while blind. The vet believes she may be a candidate for cataract surgery, but we won’t know for sure until she sees a veterinary ophthalmologist and has the proper tests.

This part of the fundraiser will cover:

Specialist eye examinations and consultations

Estimated total for eye care: around $2,700–3,800

2. Gallbladder surgery and abdominal care

Her vets believe she will probably need her gallbladder removed, which is major surgery, especially in a dog with diabetes and other conditions. This includes:

Estimated total for gallbladder surgery and hospitalization: between 2,900–4,300

3. Pancreatitis, diabetes, and organ monitoring (ongoing management)

Georgia has pancreatitis, uncontrolled diabetes, an enlarged liver, and enlarged adrenal glands. Managing all of this safely will require:

Estimated total for ongoing medical management: around $2,200–3,300

4. Medications, follow‑ups, and contingency

No plan like this is perfect. There are always surprise lab tests, extra medications, or emergency visits. I’ve added:

Estimated contingency and follow‑ups: around $650–1,100

Together, these upcoming costs add up to roughly the $11,000 that I’m asking for, with a small buffer in case of complications. This amount is entirely for Georgia’s current and future care- not for past bills like the dental surgery or the earlier, less helpful testing.

What your help means

I’ve always tried to do the right thing- paying for insurance, following vet advice, and saving what I could. It is deeply painful to admit that I can’t do this alone, especially when so much of the money I set aside went into an insurance policy that I paid on monthly for years that no longer exists, as well as for early tests that didn’t truly help.

Georgia is my family. She has been my companion through every dark moment, my little clown in silly outfits, and my comfort when I was going through a lot of struggle in my life. I owe it to her to at least try to give her the care she needs and a chance at more time with a good quality of life.

I know times are tough these days. If you are able to help, whether it’s 5 dollars or 50, or simply sharing this campaign, I would be really grateful. Every contribution goes directly to Georgia’s medical bills: her surgeries, her medications, her tests, and her follow‑up care. I will give weekly updates on how she is doing and provide as many pictures and videos as I can. If she does pass away, I will be returning any unused funds. I could never feel good to profit off my pup passing away. She's my baby.

If you’ve ever loved a dog, or walked through Clarendon and smiled at a tiny, bossy dog in an absurd holiday outfit demanding all your attention, then thank you for reading this and for considering helping us.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for helping me try to save my pup with anything you can spare.

Dee and Georgia