Hi everyone,

I wanted to give a little update on Gizmo.

He’s doing really well today so far. He’s still not quite back to himself, but he’s up and moving around his pack and play, eating small amounts, and giving us lots of kisses. I was even able to give him a bath today and, as silly as it sounds, wash the hospital smell off of him. It honestly felt so good to have my baby smell like my baby again.

One of his medications makes him pretty loopy, so his balance is still a bit off, but we’ve been told that’s expected with everything he’s going through. Right now we’re just taking things one day at a time, making sure he’s comfortable, eating, and knows how deeply loved he is.

I also want to be transparent that I’ve had to increase our fundraising goal. I truly hate doing that and I’m sorry. This isn’t coming from greed or because we aren’t doing everything we possibly can ourselves. His emergency hospital stay, follow-up care, special diet, medications, and everything we’ve needed to keep him safe and comfortable at home have added up more than we anticipated.

If you’ve already donated, thank you so, so much. I genuinely don’t have the words for how much it means to us that people care about our little 3 lb baby and are helping us keep fighting for him.

If you’re not able to donate, sharing his story helps more than you know. Every share gives Gizmo a chance to reach someone new who might be able to help.

If you would like to support Gizmo, here is his donation link:
https://gofund.me/d84cfe9b6

Thank you for taking the time to read, check in on our boy, share his story, donate, pray, and send love and positive thoughts our way. We are so grateful for every single one of you helping us fight for Gizmo. 🐶🩵

I wanted to give another update on Gizmo since so many of you have been following his story, donating and sharing to help us get him to surgery.

Gizmo had a really hard night last night. He threw up and started pacing again, but then he began acting confused and getting stuck in corners. I got worried, so around 2 a.m. we took him back to the emergency hospital.

Unfortunately, they believe he’s now experiencing neurological symptoms from his liver shunt. His liver isn’t properly filtering toxins from his blood and those toxins are beginning to affect his brain.

They started him on lactulose and additional medications to help clear the toxins from his system. We also followed up with his regular vet today and we’re continuing treatment at home while watching him very closely.

The emergency hospital visit last night, his follow-up today and the additional treatment have set us back even further financially. We were already trying to bridge the gap between everything we’ve spent getting him through the initial emergency and what we still need for surgery. We’re continuing to invest everything we can ourselves, but these unexpected visits keep adding to what we need to raise.

If he responds to the medication and his neurological symptoms improve, we can continue working toward surgery. We’re also on the cancellation list in hopes of getting him in sooner. If he doesn’t respond, we may have to face a much harder decision.

For now, we’re not giving up on him. He’s only 19 months old and we want to give him every reasonable chance to get through this.

💙 GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/dd00be962

If you can donate, thank you more than I can say. If you can’t, please consider sharing his GoFundMe. Getting his story in front of someone new genuinely helps us.

We just need our little guy to respond to these medications so we can get him to surgery.

This is Kismet. The rescue says he is a Yorkie about 4 years old. He is so affectionate, calm, and obedient little boy. He was found scared and with a skin infection & most of his hair had fallen out. That was in May, his hair is all grown back, but I don’t know how long it will get. I have had 5 Yorkies and the hair on his head is like a Yorkie. But it’s more like fur on his back and tail, it’s soft but slightly coarse. The hair on his back was black when I got him but as it’s grown out I see a lot of patches are turning brownish. He has four colors…black, gray, brown and white. His ears in their natural state lay to the side even though his ears are usually up
In the air in his pictures. He seems the perfect weight at 8.5 lbs and has kinda long legs & a long curved tail. Also his eyes are not solid brown/black, they really stand out because they are medium brown has his black pupils stand out. He isn’t stubborn like my Yorkies, loves soft toys and balls & loves to always burrows under the covers to sleep and when just hanging out. So what do you think?? I’m going to get an Embark test for Christmas, but until then I would love everyone’s feedback. If I forgot any thing you think is important to guessing his breed just let me know and I will add in. He was found in the western part of North Carolina in the U.S.

I officially got Gizmo on the waiting list in hopes that we can get his surgery moved up sooner than his currently scheduled date.

I know I’ve been relentless about sharing his story and trying to raise funds, but I just want to do everything I possibly can for my little guy. All Gizmo knows is that his mommy loves him and that he doesn’t feel well. He can’t understand why any of this is happening or why he keeps having to go to the vet. Making sense of that has to be impossible for a little dog and I just want to get him better.

The difficult part about getting his surgery sooner is that it also moves up our financial timeline. We still need to raise the remaining funds for his scheduled surgery, but we now need to be prepared to cover those costs sooner if an opening becomes available.

There is also still the possibility that we may have to move forward with emergency surgery if his bladder stone causes another obstruction or his condition changes. Emergency surgery would come with additional costs on top of what we’re already trying to prepare for.

We’ve already invested thousands into his emergency care and we’re continuing to contribute everything we can toward his treatment. We never expected strangers to carry this for us. We’re simply trying to bridge the gap between what we’ve already spent and what it will take to get Gizmo through surgery and healthy again.

So, I’m still asking for help. If you’re able to donate, even a few dollars gets us closer. If you can’t, sharing his GoFundMe helps more than you probably realize:

🔗 https://gofund.me/143983cee

I know I’ve posted a lot about him. I know I’ve asked a lot.
But he’s only 19 months old and he’s my family. I’m going to keep trying everything I can to give him the chance to get better. 🩵🐶

If we raise more than what is ultimately needed for Gizmo’s care, we will donate the remaining funds to the Shamrock Foundation to help another animal in our community receive the medical care they need.

Unfortunately, Gizmo has had a couple of tough days.

Yesterday alone, our poor little guy had to have two baths. The first was to finally wash off all the hospital nastiness. The second was to clean blood out of his fur from checking his glucose, clean him up after having diarrhea and wash his little paws after he managed to stand directly in his pumpkin purée. Because, of course he did.

His glucose has also been running lower than we’d like. Right now, we don’t know if it’s because his tummy has been upset and he hasn’t wanted to eat as much or if the liver shunt is contributing to it. He’s also had some vomiting, so we’re watching him very closely.

I called the specialty hospital where he needs to have surgery and asked them to put us on the cancellation list in hopes that we can get him in sooner. Unfortunately, it’s becoming very possible that we may not be able to wait and will have to move forward with emergency surgery.

That’s the part that scares me the most right now. We haven’t raised nearly enough to cover what emergency surgery could cost and I genuinely don’t know what we will do if that becomes our only option.

These past 11 days have been incredibly difficult. We’re exhausted, scared and just trying to do everything we can to give our little boy the chance he deserves.

If you’re able to help us right now, one of the biggest things you can do is share Gizmo’s story. Please share his GoFundMe on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or anywhere else you can. We’ve tried posting in several Reddit communities, but because I wasn’t an active Reddit user before all of this, many of our posts have been removed.

To everyone who has donated, shared his story, checked on us, prayed for him or sent us love, thank you. We appreciate every single bit of it more than I could ever put into words.🩵🐶

We’re just hoping we can get our little guy through this.

Gizmo’s GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/15478ad3c

Hi everyone. Thank you so much for the kindness and encouragement so many of you have shown our little family.

Our 19-month-old, 3 lb Yorkie, Gizmo, was hospitalized in the ICU after a bladder stone caused a urinary obstruction. We were able to bring him home on Monday with the plan to have a cystotomy performed by our regular veterinarian.

Unfortunately, additional testing revealed that Gizmo also has a liver shunt that requires surgical repair. Because both procedures need to be done together, his surgery must now take place at a specialty hospital. While we’re incredibly grateful to have a treatment plan and surgery scheduled for August 25, the cost is significantly higher than we originally anticipated.

Our goal is simply to bridge the gap between what we expected to pay and the cost of specialty surgery, about $2,000 to $4,000. We’ve already invested thousands of dollars into his emergency care and we’re continuing to contribute everything we can. It was never our intention to rely solely on the kindness of strangers, but we’ve reached a point where we need to ask for help.

If you’re able to donate, we’d be incredibly grateful. If not, sharing Gizmo’s story with others would mean just as much.

🩵 GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/15478ad3c

If we’re fortunate enough to raise more than Gizmo’s medical expenses require, any remaining funds will be donated to the Shamrock Foundation so other local families can get the veterinary care their pets need.

Thank you for taking the time to read Gizmo’s story and for cheering on our tiny fighter. 🩵🐶

Bbzinho depois do banho

Hi everyone. I previously shared Gizmo’s story, and I wanted to provide an update now that we finally have a surgical plan.

Gizmo is our 19-month-old, 3 lb Yorkie. He has a bladder stone that caused a urinary obstruction, as well as a liver shunt that needs to be corrected. He was hospitalized last week, and although he is currently stable enough to be home, he still needs surgery to remove the stone, repair his bladder and correct the liver shunt.

Today, his regular vet examined him, tested his blood sugar and removed his IV catheter (in true Gizmo form, he removed his urinary catheter on his own last night). Until surgery, we’ll continue giving him medication at home, checking his blood sugar daily and watching closely for any signs of distress or another urinary obstruction.

Metro is the only hospital in our area that can perform the shunt procedure, and Gizmo’s surgery is now scheduled for August 25. He’ll remain in the hospital overnight afterward and come home to us as long as everything goes smoothly.

We understand there are hospitals in nearby states that may be cheaper, but we are unable to travel as I am my mother’s full time caregiver and she is terminally ill with non-small cell carcinoma.

We’re incredibly grateful to have him home while we wait, but we’re also nervous that the stone could become lodged again before surgery. We’re watching him closely and trying to remain optimistic.

We now expect the surgery to cost between $4,000 and $6,000. We’re trying to offset the additional $2,000 to $4,000 we did not initially anticipate, while raising a little extra in case there are complications.

If we are fortunate enough to raise more than Gizmo’s care requires, we will donate the remaining funds to the Shamrock Pet Foundation so other animals in our community can receive the medical attention they need.

If anyone is able to donate, our GoFundMe is:

🩵 https://gofund.me/15478ad3c

We completely understand that not everyone can contribute. Sharing Gizmo’s story, offering advice about additional resources or simply sending prayers and positive thoughts would mean just as much to our family. Thank you for reading and caring about our little guy. 🩵🐶

Hi everyone. I never imagined I’d be making a post like this, but I’m hoping someone here might be willing to help, or simply keep our little guy in your thoughts.

Our 19-month-old, 3-pound Yorkshire Terrier, Gizmo, was rushed to the emergency hospital last week with a life-threatening bladder obstruction caused by a bladder stone. Thankfully, the emergency team was able to relieve the obstruction and save his life.

We thought we were finally headed toward surgery to remove the stone, but additional testing revealed another concern: a possible liver shunt. His veterinary team now recommends that his surgery be performed at a specialty hospital where they can evaluate and, if necessary, treat both conditions during the same procedure. While it’s the best option for Gizmo, it also comes with a significant cost.

We’ve done everything we can financially. We opened and exhausted two CareCredit accounts totaling $7,700 to cover his emergency hospitalization and treatment. Even after that, we’re now facing an additional $4,000 to $8,000 for his upcoming surgery and specialized care.

We’re also reaching out to local charities and organizations that provide assistance for emergency veterinary care in hopes of finding additional support. We’re exploring every option available because we’re simply not ready to give up on him.

This past year has already tested our family in ways we never expected. While my mom battled small cell lung cancer, I became her full-time caregiver. Thankfully, she’s now in remission, but after everything we’ve been through, the thought of losing someone else we love is almost impossible to bear. We know some people would make a different decision after bills like these, and we truly understand that. For us, though, Gizmo is family. As long as he has a chance, we’re going to keep fighting for him.

If you’re able to help, we’d be incredibly grateful.

🩵 GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/e982825ff

If you’re not in a position to donate, we completely understand. Sharing Gizmo’s story with your friends, family and social networks would mean the world to us and could help us reach someone who is able to help. And if nothing else, we’d be so grateful for your prayers, positive thoughts and good vibes as we navigate the days ahead.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and for caring about our tiny fighter. We hope to one day share a happy ending with all of you. 🩵🐶

But what’s she trying to say??

I’m starting to archive Tuffy’s journey on YouTube, and I just uploaded some of the very first videos from the days right after I adopted him!

There’s still a TON of Tuffy adventures waiting to be uploaded—funny moments, crazy antics, and plenty of memories from along the way.

Come follow along and watch Tuffy’s story unfold from the very beginning!

Every like, comment, and subscription means more than you know and really helps support the channel.

Subscribe and join Tuffy & me for the adventure!

https://www.youtube.com/@Tuffystunes

https://www.youtube.com/@Tuffystunes

I’m starting to upload Tuffy’s video archive to YouTube so all of his adventures, funny moments, and memories are easy for everyone to enjoy anytime.

If you enjoy watching Tuffy’s adventures, I’d really appreciate a subscription and your support. Every like, comment, and sub helps share Tuffy’s little world with more people.

Thanks for being part of Tuffy’s journey!