Help Oliver Recover From Severe Neglect and Prepare for Life-Saving Heart Surgery

Oliver is only one year old, but his body tells the story of a puppy who has been through severe neglect.

He was surrendered to an emergency veterinary clinic after being severely starved and neglected, arriving with a body condition score of just 1/10. He was critically weak, anemic, and in desperate need of medical care. The emergency vet hospital reached out to This Is Houston for help and we immediately agreed to take him under our rescue. Then veterinarians discovered something else that could have cost Oliver his life: his stomach was packed with foreign material.

X-rays showed a large amount of material bunched up inside his stomach. The plan was initially to try to remove it with a scope. But Oliver was an extremely high-risk anesthesia patient, and there was no guarantee the material could be safely retrieved that way. And when surgeons finally opened his stomach, they discovered just how much Oliver had swallowed.

Inside was a large sock, completely bunched up in his stomach, along with several pieces of hard blue and black plastic. The sock may have been something Oliver swallowed while desperately searching for something to eat. After being so severely starved, his body was in survival mode, and whatever happened, the result was a dangerous obstruction that left him critically ill.

Thankfully, his surgical team was able to remove everything. Before the procedure, his vets discovered that he has a grade 6/6 heart murmur. A cardiac ultrasound confirmed that Oliver has a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), a blood vessel that should have closed shortly after birth but remained open. Combined with his severe anemia and overall weakness, this made anesthesia especially dangerous. the vets knew there was a very real risk — but Oliver needed the foreign material removed.

Thankfully, Oliver fought his way through surgery. He had minimal blood loss and handled anesthesia better than expected. For this little dog who arrived so sick and so thin, making it through this operation was a huge victory.

Now, for the first time, Oliver can begin to heal without something obstructing his stomach. He can eat. He can digest his food. He can start putting on weight. He can rebuild the strength that was taken from him through neglect. But his journey isn't over.

Once Oliver is stronger and healthier, he will still need surgery to correct his PDA and give his heart the best chance at supporting a normal life. Right now, though, we're celebrating one enormous step forward: the sock, plastic, and other foreign material are out. Oliver has already fought so hard to survive. Now he needs help recovering from everything his little body has endured.

Please donate to help This Is Houston provide Oliver with the continued veterinary care, recovery support, and future heart surgery he needs.

He should have been given a full bowl of food and a safe place to sleep. Instead, he was left starving and searching for something — anything — to eat. Now we're fighting to give him the healthy, happy life he deserves. ❤️‍🩹