Beau is a 13-year-old Shih Tzu in Cary, NC, who needs $1,300 for Tooth Extraction and Mass Removal.

Beau is our 13 year old Shih Tzu. We inherited Beau from Chris' aunt, who was going into an assisted living situation, and she could not take the dog. We have had him for around 7 years. He was a rescue for her. She had him for several years before we took him in. We did not want him to have to go strangers.

Beau is a very sweet boy. He is not very needy (unlike our boxer). He sort of just lays around. He is pretty sweet. He loves to lay in bed with anyone who will have him. He became fast friends with our Boxer, Macy. They are pretty inseparable these days. He will bark if he's mad about something, but over all he's a pretty good boy.

Beau has become a family member. He snorts around the house (like his breed tends to do). It is sort of how he communicates. If he is out of water, or if he wants to go outside, he will come to me and snort and stomp his feet (until I go see what it is he wants). It's sort of funny, but it works if you pay attention.

So Beau had what we thought was a scratch on his face. But no matter how much I cleaned it, it would not heal. I took him to the vet and she said that it was not a scratch, it was an abscess tooth that had ruptured and the infection was coming out of his face. She says he has to take antibiotics, but that even if it gets better, it will come back over and over until we get his tooth extracted.

Our family just completed a bankruptcy 6 months ago. We do not want to take a step backwards by trying to get more credit debt (not to mention it can be difficult to even get credit after you file bankruptcy).