Hi all, it's Saara. Many of you know that over the last few years I have adopted several hospice pitties. A couple of weeks ago, I started fostering this sweet 1.5 year old beast who I have decided to call Rigatoni (aka Big Rig, aka Stumps, aka Meat Wad). He was not meant to be a hospice foster! He came to me after being abandoned on the streets of Manhattan outside of a major animal hospital. The rescue called him a "pocket pitty," but in actuality he is the sad result of humans trying to breed together dogs like pitties and English Bulldogs. He has the most lovely, kind, and hilarious demeanor, but all the worst physical traits of both dogs. I was told that he needed bilateral ear canal surgeries that would cost between $3,000 to 5,000 to cure his chronic ear infections and that most of this would be covered by a grant money. It turns out he has a few other major health issues including a urethral prolapse (I'll spare you the photos) and needs neutering, as well as major airway surgery. The grand total is significantly higher than the estimated 3-5K I was initially prepared for.

Now that I have him, neither the rescue nor the Animal Hospital that was supposed to have so many grants, seems ready to help fund his operations. I have wrestled with this situation over the weeks that I have had Rig, but the fact is, people pay thousands of dollars for fancy purebred dogs and the vast majority of them will never have half the personality or love this dog has to give. He is truly a special animal. If I can help him avoid humane euthanization as the only option and give him the opportunity to live a full life, providing his humans with infinite love and even more laughs, I want to do that. I hate to ask for help, but now that I've met him, I know he is a very worthy cause.

If any of these photos brings you a smile, please feel free to throw a few bucks his way. I'll try to post some videos and pictures on my social media over the next few days so you can see what a special guy he really is. Thanks in advance, and if you can't donate, please feel free to share (or at very least, adopt don't shop!).