Zeus is a 7-year-old Boxer in Pittsburgh, PA, who needs $2,000 for radiation.

We adopted Zeus from St. Louis Stray Rescue on May 11, 2019. He then moved with us to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in August 2020 as we began attending graduate and law school. Zeus is our only pet, and he definitely gets the benefits of being the only "child." We try to spoil him as much as we possibly can because he deserves the world.

Zeus LOVES water. We have a water bottle with a special straw that is for watering succulents, but he has to have a drink from the bottle any time he sees it. He is definitely the king of our apartment. He will huff at us if we take up too much of "his" couch, and he is a huge snuggler at night. He likes to sleep right in between us for optimal cuddles.

The total costs for treatment include CT, brain mapping, MRI, and radiation. Without radiation, we would only have a couple of months with our sweet boy. With radiation, we could have over a year. We're grad students, so we don't earn much money.

About 4 months ago, Zeus started showing symptoms of neck and back pain. We tried different medications. Since we moved to Pittsburgh, we've worked primarily with Dr. Scoda at PVSEC. She's amazing and initially treated Zeus for intervertebral disc disease due to x-ray evidence consistent with the disease. Unfortunately, Zeus got worse, and an MRI revealed a tumor on his brain stem and spine.

Zeus just wants to be wherever we are. He does not care what we are doing as long as he can lay next to us. He thinks it's even better when we make eye contact with him, at which point he slowly rolls to his side for belly rubs. Zeus has the most soulful eyes that melt your heart. The look in his eyes when we saw him at the shelter is what drew us to him.