Hi my name is Jeff Hodenberg and my dog Willow is my everything. My wife Lizzie and I adopted Willow from Maine Lab Rescue when she was just a tiny little peanut at 11 weeks old. She's Lizzie's everything too. While both of us grew up with dogs, Willow is the first pup that we have raised ourselves since she was a tiny little piglet with a speckled belly.

She's four and a half now. Three months ago our landlord decided to evict us so he could renovate the apartment and charge more for rent. We had been saving for a house anyways and were lucky enough to get an offer accepted and are due to close in a week. We have been so excited for Willow to be able to run around in her new yard, to chase squirrels and roll in the grass. There are so many new trails to explore around the house. To back out now we would lose our deposit and have three weeks to find housing in the worst rental market possible. And thats why we are asking for help.

Last week Willow started showing less interest in food until she stopped eating completely. She wasn't showing the obvious signs of a bowel obstruction or pain. She just seemed so sad and we couldn't figure it out. Initially we thought maybe it was the stress of packing up the only house shes ever known. But by the second day of not eating, we knew something was wrong with our sweet angel and so off to the ER we went and thats where she is still. She is hospitalized while they try to hydrate her with an IV and give her steroids. Today the vet called to let us know she was ate food and tomorrow she might be able to come home.

Willow has been diagnosed with Addison's disease and is in the middle of whats known as an Addisonian Crisis. She's going to need medication for the rest of her days and we are happy to provide whatever she needs but this hit us at the worst possible time. Our entire savings is tied up in needing to have a place to stay and her vet bills are in the thousands. Addison's an awful disease because generally the first way you find out your dog has it is usually the way we have; by your best friend becoming so ill they won't drink or go outside to pee. An Addisonian Crisis untreated can often be fatal and we're lucky it wasn't.

Willow has always been the sweetest dog, you can ask anyone who has met her. She is full of love and light. Sometimes, much to our annoyance, she decides that someone walking far away is going to be her new best friend and lays down until they walk by, sometimes not even noticing that this perfect pup decided they were special. She loves nothing more than be outside and going for walks and hikes. Even before we knew something was seriously wrong, she still wanted to go for her walks in the woods, tail a wagging.

Please consider donating to help cover the costs of making sure Willow gets to see her new home.