Street Pup On Brink of Death After Contracting 2 Life-Threatening Tick-Borne Diseases [STORY BELOW]

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Opal was a stray puppy on the streets of Mexico. Starving, abandoned, and desperately trying to survive, she resorted to eating rocks to fill her empty stomach. Kicked, pelted with pieces of trash, and completely infested with ticks, she had only her sad, pleading eyes left to express her pain. Every other part of her body had nearly given up. She was losing the fight for her life, and it was clear that time was running out for her.

Opal was rescued in a daring mission after we saw her picture circulating online and worked out a plan with a kind-hearted woman who agreed to drive her across the border for just gas money. The moment she arrived in the U.S., the reality of her suffering became all too real. On the two-hour drive to safety, ticks crawled and fell off her frail body all over the car. It took countless hours to remove hundreds of ticks from her tiny, skeletal frame.

Then came the vet. Her initial appointments gave us hope—her 4DX tests and blood work came back negative for any tickborne diseases, surprisingly, and we were thrilled to see her slowly gaining weight. After months of careful feeding and TLC, Opal was finally strong enough to be spayed. But during the surgery, the vet discovered something shocking—Opal’s belly was full of fluid, and further testing revealed that she had, in fact, contracted two deadly tickborne diseases: Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichia.

Opal barely survived the ordeal. Her recovery was touch-and-go, with the vet giving her less than a 50% chance of pulling through. But Opal is a fighter. Despite the odds, she battled her way back to life. However, while she no longer carries the tickborne diseases, they left devastating damage in their wake. Her blood platelets were severely impacted, and she is now suffering from Immune Mediated Thrombocytopenia (IMT), a condition where her body destroys its own platelets.

Opal is in the fight of her life once again. She requires weekly blood work to monitor her condition, and she is currently on four different medications, including prednisone. While prednisone is helping her body fight IMT, it is also weakening her immune system, leaving her vulnerable to new infections like ringworm, which she is now also battling.

Opal’s current condition has left her housebound, unable to play or enjoy the freedom she deserves. Her immune system is so compromised that she cannot risk being outside, and her health has now plateaued, leaving her vet baffled on how to proceed. The next step is a referral to an internal medicine specialist in the hope that more advanced treatments will save her.

The mounting medical bills have already exceeded $2,000, and with the referral to a specialist, the costs will only increase. Opal has been with us since April 2024 as a long-term medical foster. While we hope to find her a forever home one day, we cannot make her available for adoption until her condition improves. For now, her fight continues, and she remains under our care, as we are committed to doing everything possible to give her the healthy, happy life she deserves.

We are reaching out to our community for help. Opal’s medical care is far from over, and we cannot give her the chance she needs without your support. Donations and wish list items are urgently needed to cover her ongoing treatments, specialist visits, and medications. Every donation, every item gifted, no matter the size, brings us one step closer to saving Opal’s life. Thank you so much.

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