Sky is A 3-year-old German Shepherd/Labrador Retriever/Chow Chow mix in Cincinnati, OH, who needs 2,000 for a pericardiectomy surgery.

Sky is our 3 year old German Shepherd/Lab/Chow Chow mix that we adopted last February from a local stray animal group. When we saw his photo on social media, we immediately fell in love, and when we heard his story, we knew he needed to become a part of our family. Sky’s previous owners had attempted to put Sky down when he developed an ear infection. The stray animal group (known as HART) scooped him up and saved him from this fate thankfully! Every February, this group is a part of a giant local adoption weekend called My Furry Valentine where thousands of animals are adopted! Unfortunately, no one at the event adopted Sky. He was one of the few left behind. When we found this out, our hearts melted, and we knew we at least needed to go meet him. We made an appointment that very day, and went that evening to see how Sky got along with our other dog, Cinnamon. Sky and Cinnamon instantly clicked! After the first few minutes of that first meaning, we knew we had found our newest furry family member, and took Sky home! After only a few short days of having Sky, we noticed he was struggling with some ear problems, but after a vet visit and some drops, he seemed to be good at new!

Sky acclimated to his new home quickly, and slowly started gaining weight (he was very malnourished when we adopted him). We spent the spring and summer going for many walks and car rides (two of his favorite things) and cuddling on the couch in the evenings. Sky proved to be incredibly gentle and loving to every human he met, and had a giant soft spot for children. He literally is like Nana, the St. Bernard from Peter Pan! Our family was complete, all thanks to this big buddy!

Then, one September day, everything changed. Sky stopped eating. He started struggling to breathe. He lost weight. He became very lethargic, and unable to walk. We spent a week straight going to several different vets, trying to figure out what was wrong. Finally, the vets discovered there was a substantial amount of fluid around Sky’s heart. They suggested that this could be one of three things: poison, a medical anomaly, or congestive heart failure. They said that if it was the first two, Sky would be just fine and go back to his normal self, but if it was the last one, within a few weeks, his lungs would fill back up. We were so scared and overwhelmed by this news, but knew we wanted to continue to have Sky in our lives so we paid nearly $1000 to have the fluid drained.

Sky spent the night in the vet hospital, and came home the next day with two big bald patches on each side. We patiently spent the next few weeks cuddling him, holding him, as well as holding our breathe, hoping for the best. Our hopes came true: Sky got better. Over the next couple months, Sky had more energy than ever! His fur started to grow back. We were so thrilled and happy that this appeared to be just a fluke! We got to celebrate the holidays and Sky’s third birthday together (for each occasion, he wore a snazzy sweater to hide his bald patches), and by the end of December, all of his fur had completely grown back. It felt like the whole thing had been just a terribly bad dream.

Then, a few weeks ago, we came home from work to find Sky not greeting us at the door. We called for him, and he slowly walked up from the basement steps, breathing heavily. Once he reached the top, he collapsed. We rushed him to the hospital, where we learned that the fluid was back. Sky was placed on oxygen. Our vet informed us that this was typically a form of congestive heart failure, but in order to be sure, we needed to see a cardiologist. She also informed us that they would need to drain Sky’s heart and lungs again or consider putting him down. We were simply devastated when they left us alone to weigh our choices. We decided we were going to do everything we could to save Sky so we scraped together some funds, and paid nearly $500 to have Sky's fluid drained again, and set up a cardiologist appointment to have an echocardiogram.

We spent $650 at the cardiologist to learn that Sky didn't actually have congestive heart failure, but he had some bigger potential issues. From the testing, we learned that there is indeed a leak in Sky's pericardium, and that it was difficult to truly know what was going on his heart due to the scarring from having the fluids drained. Each time we drain the fluid, scarring happens, making the pericardium less elastic, essentially limiting the amount of fluid that it can hold. Eventually, Sky is expected to have to have his fluids drained every few weeks unless we have the pericardium removed, and the doctor's can clearly view his heart. We have been told that by doing this, Sky will more than likely be able to live a very long and happy life. Unfortunately, the potential surgery and additional testing is estimated anywhere from $5000-$7000.

We never thought we would have to make this choice based on a lack of funds, but here we were, debating on if we could afford to keep our fur baby alive. Sky is only 3 years old and deserves to live out the rest of his days. If we are unable to acquire the funds to have the surgery, the next time his lungs fill up, we may have to put him down. Please help save our pups life!