Oscar - R.I.P
Meet Oscar the (sweetest) grouch in town - August 2020
This senior Chihuahua was left in a garbage can for animal services to pick-up, so we've called him Oscar (as in,The Grouch, even though he doesn't have a mean bone in his adorable little body).
This little sweetie has a list of medical conditions and issues as long as your pup's leash and unfortunately, the list just keeps on growing.
So far, we know that Oscar has severe dental disease, hypothyroidism, obesity (likely caused by his thyroid condition and an inappropriate diet ), a severely deformed right hind limb (we suspect it's an old knee injury), arthritis and one undescended testicle. To complicate matters even more, we suspect that Oscar may also have cancer, immune mediated hemolysis or Addison's Disease, based on his initial bloodwork.
We estimate that his initial medical costs will be in the thousands of dollars – and they are likely only to go up from there, once we've diagnosed his other medical conditions.
Despite all of his health issues (and a terrible previous owner!), he's a total cuddle-bug; he loves EVERYBODY, has an amazing personality and demeanor, and is a total socialite.
Can you please help us to help Oscar, by donating anything that you can, to help us pay for the long list of medical tests, treatments and, possibly, surgeries that he's going to need to get him back on his feet, literally and figuratively?
Update - September 2020
We are so happy to report that because of the generous sponsorship of Puppy Gang Fresh Foods, and everyone’s amazing donations to his GoFundMe page , Oscar’s journey to health and happiness is coming along wonderfully! He weighed 3.5kg the day he arrived and is now down to 2.9 kg! He’s thriving on his healthy and nutritious food, and his irregular blood work results have significantly improved. Happily, further tests have ruled out Addision’s disease and IMH (Immune Mediated Hemilysis) and his next step is to proceed with a major dental surgery next week (his whole mouth is rotten and stinky) and further investigation into his thyroid disease. Oscar is also booked to see an Orthopedic Specialist on October 15th to discuss his twisted back leg, and the likelihood of (very costly) surgery and rehabilitation.
If you haven’t had a chance to read up on this amazing little fellow, Oscar’s story is still up (and accepting donations!) on his GoFundMe page!
Update - November 2020
Our non-grouchy grouch Oscar (aka Sausage) has reached his healthy weight thanks to his amazing, fresh, all-natural diet (provided by, and a HUGE thank you to, Puppy Gang Fresh Foods!) and a daily regime of walks! Oscar will be getting his knee surgery on December 10, 2020, followed by 8 weeks of intense rehabilitation to get his twisted leg working properly again. His knee surgery is costly (upwards of $3000 so please feel free to donate to his care!) but this little man with the biggest and sweetest personality is beyond worth it. Once his treatments are over, he is going to make his future forever family the luckiest family!
Update - December 2020
We have good news and bad news!
Starting with good news, little Oscar went in for his knee surgery as scheduled on December 10, and did very well. He also got neutered at the same time, and his recovery started going really well. Being the trooper that he is, Oscar has been acing his daily rehab exercises and is now able to walk on all fours with no issues at all.
And now getting to the bad news :(
About a week after his knee surgery, we noticed a little growth in his mouth that was getting bigger daily. We rushed him to see the vet, who was as concerned as we were about the speed at which it was growing. Oscar went back into emergency surgery on December 29 to remove the growth and send it out for histopathology. He also had all his rotten teeth removed while he was under.
It is with a heavy heart that we begin 2021, receiving the news just yesterday that our little dumpster-pup Oscar has been diagnosed with a very aggressive oral malignant melanoma. His overall prognosis is not positive or long in duration, and treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation are likely not in his best interest but we will know more once he sees an oncologist soon.
We will also be taking our little man to our holistic vet for some naturopathic treatments to help keep him as happy, comfy and healthy as possible as he lives out the time he has left in our Forever Foster (palliative) Care Program on his favourite doggy couch and surrounded by his furry siblings. The treatments can be costly, but are so beneficial in helping Oscar's immune system keep this aggressive cancerous growth calm.
We are not without hope that Oscar will be our early miracle for 2021, so if you'd like to contribute to his treatments, Oscar would greatly appreciate it, and send you tons of tail wags.
Update - March 2021
Unfortunately we have some very sad news to share.
Oscar’s oral cancer returned just over a week ago — doubling in size daily. Although our hopes for his recovery were high and he went in for emergency surgery on Thursday, we sadly had to say goodbye to our dear Oscar without being able to bring him back home later that day. Every attempt was made to treat his growing tumor, but it was simply too aggressive. Rather than give him a painful last few weeks, we honoured our commitment to provide health and happiness for our pups as long as it is humane to do so. And so, regrettably we said goodbye to Oscar. Another angel has left us, and left a painful hole in our hearts.
Thank you for all of the love, support, and good vibes you’ve sent to Oscar since he joined the BUTTONNOSES Rescue pack. He truly found a happy home and loving extended family in each of you.
