Naoya is a 2 year old Mix-Breed in Newark, NJ, who needs $5,000 for Exploratory Laparotomy or Endoscopy + Treatment.

It was a freezing Saturday night and I was on my way back home from the store. I stopped on the corner to dial my mom and felt something bump my leg. I look down and the biggest wettest gold eyes looked up at me. I gave him a little scratch and went to walk away, figuring he was a someone’s. But he followed, for every step I took he trotted along side me, stopping every few moments to catch his breath. He was shivering and after we made it one block I scooped him up.

I only intended to get him out of the cold. But when I picked him up he snuggled his head into my sweater and I knew I couldn’t let him go. I spent the night calling everywhere I could to see if I could get him seen, see if he had a chip. He kept hacking and wheezing through the night but slept nonetheless.

On 12/21, I took him to Westfield Veterinary Group who was able to see him despite being packed. There he was diagnosed with a probable upper respiratory infection but the vet was more concerned with what she saw on his X-rays: a large mass in his stomach, possibly pica in the small intestine and, his colon and lower intestines were full of poop! I made the joke that he was backed up from tail to tummy but I was concerned. He’d been in my apartment for 24 hours by that time and while he had eaten he hadn’t had any bowel movements. Our vet recommended he be seen at an animal hospital and get surgery. I asked if it was possible for them to do it but she stated they didn’t have the equipment to do what he would need.

We traveled to Garden State Veterinary Services Woodbridge. There it was determined he need to be seen by surgical staff but the major road block appeared: treatment + surgery would be almost $9.5K. This was not feasible. I had been denied by CareCredit and had no way to pay this. I decided to take him home but I refused to give up.

I started him on a laxative Sunday night to get his bowels moving which worked by Monday morning. Seeing that one problem of many was solved I began to call around again explaining Naoya’s situation and our financial situation. I was forwarded to Harmony Animal Hospital. Over the phone they gave me a quote of roughly $4-5K, half of what was quoted at the other hospital.

I still can’t afford this but this ultimately seems more reasonable than anything else. So far all of Naoya’s care has been completed with donations from friends, family and myself. Though he’s eating and moving we’re all very concerned about the mass and how that’s effecting his overall health. Currently he is very lethargic and sleeps most of the time but when he’s up he’s sweet as sugar. I want to get to know him, love him and see him full of life.