Hi, my name is Larry and I am here to ask for a little help. Im not sure how all of this works as I generally do not like asking for help. Ill start by adding some backstory so you can become familiar. I got divorced in 2018 and left with very little except my dog Gigi, my Australian Shepard. This was a dark time for me and Gigi was there to help me and show unconditional love. My best friend and sometimes only friend.

In late 2024, Gigi started to become lethargic with no appetite. This was alarming as she was usually 100mph all day everyday. I became worried and took her to the vet. They ran some tests and discovered she had leukemia. I was referred to the university of illinois vet clinic. The doctors there decided that chemotherapy had a great chance of being successful.

We then began our chemo journey together. I would drive up weekly to drop Gigi off at the clinic and then wait in my car until she was finished. This usually took all day so I always packed a lunch. This was a weekly trip for us that lasted about a year.

Finally, the day came and she was in remission! We had steak and chicken that night.

Then, in February of this year, I received a phone call from my downstairs neighbor while I was grocery shopping. A crazy storm had blown through while I was gone and I had opened the windows earlier to air out the apartment. Gigi was laying in the yard whimpering. She had panicked and jumped through the window and landed on the sidewalk outside and crawled to the grass.

I flew home as fast as I could to scoop her up and race to the vet. I carried her in covered in blood and the vets went to work assessing her. Her right front leg was shattered and disarticulation was the recommended treatment. I picked her up two days later. It was a long week nursing her through the pain and seeing her just laying on the blankets I had put down for her. When we went back a week later to get the stitches removed, it was discovered that her rear left leg was broken as well as significant nerve damage.

It was at this moment in my 52 years on this planet I was faced with one the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make. What was best for my sweet Gigi. I knew she would never be able to run, jump, or play normally again. Against my own selfishness desire to keep her, I had to let her cross the bridge, and that gutted me to my core. Partly because of the guilt I felt for opening the windows, and partly because of the finality of saying goodbye forever to my best friend.

This sequence of unfortunate events came to its conclusion in late February of this year.

Then, at the beginning of June I suffered a small stroke. I think everything had finally started to take its toll on me. So now, more bills to contend with.

I have come here today to humbly ask for you to reach your heart and see if there is room to help a guy out.

The weekly trips for chemo added up to about $13,000.00 plus food and gas. The disarticulation and subsequent services after came to about $2,500.00. This was all put on credit cards because I couldn't afford 3-5 hundred every week, and I now have hospital bill coming in.

This is my tale of happiness, celebration, pain, loss, and grief. I humbly ask if you could look into your heart and find a way to help a guy out. If you can, thank you, I will forever be grateful. If you cant, thank you for taking this walk with me remembering the best friend a guy could ever have. Peace be with you all and thank you.