My name is Oliver Starr, though many of you know me as “the wolf guy” for my lifetime of work studying wolves, caring for them, and teaching people about them. I live in South Lake Tahoe with my wife and our animals. A few months ago I found a lump in my neck. After weeks of scans and a biopsy, I heard the words no one wants to hear: I have head and neck cancer. Overnight, our lives shifted from long days with the animals, building our new restaurant, and my writing and coaching work to oncologists, hospitals, and hard conversations at the kitchen table.
This cancer is treatable, but the road is long. Treatment will be intensive and will wipe out most of my ability to work for many months. At the same time, our family’s costs are climbing: medical and dental bills tied to treatment, frequent trips to the cancer center and specialists, higher food costs as my diet becomes more limited, increased heating costs when I can’t do our usual wood work, and extra help with oral care, hydration, and animal care on days I am too sick to show up for them. This is a personal fundraiser for my family; Tahoe Wolf Center has its own separate, tax-deductible donation channels.
Asking for help like this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’ve spent most of my life working hard, caring for animals, and trying to serve through education and leadership. Right now my family and I cannot get through this alone. If you’re able to donate or share this page with people who might care, we are deeply grateful. Your support gives us a real chance to come out the other side of this with my health, our home, and our animals intact.
For folks who are curious about how we'll leverage your support, the list below details what we plan to do with the donations:
Support through this page helps with six main areas:
• Household stability while income drops
A portion of basic living costs while my work and my wife’s income fall during treatment and caregiving.
• Medical costs and supportive care
Out of pocket costs insurance does not cover fully, including oncology visits, imaging, specialist consults, and supportive therapies.
• Extensive dental work linked to treatment
Preparatory and restorative dental care tied to radiation and long term side effects, which is both essential and expensive.
• Nutrition during and after treatment
Higher food costs as I move toward more limited, cleaner foods and a period where much of my intake may come from protein shakes and other liquid nutrition.
• Home and basic comfort during treatment
Higher heating costs when I cannot manage wood for the stove, along with simple home items that make treatment and recovery safer and more tolerable.
• Extra animal care driven by my illness
Help from trusted support for feeding, cleaning, and daily care on days when treatment leaves me without the strength or time for that work.
Personal fundraiser, not a nonprofit campaign
This GoFundMe supports my family directly. Donations here do not pass through Tahoe Wolf Center and are not tax deductible.
Tahoe Wolf Center has a separate donation page and its own fundraising plans. Anyone who prefers a tax deductible gift to the nonprofit is welcome to use those channels instead of, or alongside, this personal effort. If you prefer to support our nonprofit, the Tahoe Wolf Center, you can do that here:
To keep roles clear:
• Funds from this campaign support our household during treatment, along with medical, dental, nutrition, travel, and extra animal care linked to this period
• These funds do not replace Tahoe Wolf Center’s regular operating budget
Organizer
