Help Odin Walk Again: Support His Surgery

Carey Frost-Perdue is organizing this fundraiser.

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Have you read the book, “A Dog’s Purpose”? It’s a story about a dog who finds meaning in his own existence through the lives of the humans he teaches to laugh and love. It’s a fictional story, but I believe dogs really do come to this planet with a purpose. If you permit your dog to be who they truly are, if you allow them to communicate, if you listen to them, trust them, respect them and nurture their instincts, you will learn what your furry best friends are on this earth to teach you.

This is not your typical opening when reading the purpose behind a GoFundMe page, but, how many of you have ‘pets’? You feed them, you let them go out to do their business and maybe play, and you make sure (well - most of us do) that they’re safe and cared for.

Now, how many people have fur-babies? And what is the difference between fur-babies and pets? Oh my goodness, where do I start? And before you start thinking I only have experience with having animals as my children, you are wrong. I have five grown, intelligent, loving, successful children who make me proud on a daily basis. So I DO know what the difference is. God gave me my children on loan to raise, teach, and set into practice skills for them using the tools they were born with, to be good humans, compassionate, kind, and know the difference between right and wrong. Then they grow up, move out, and start their own families. The cycle then repeats.

Since I can remember, I have had animals; horses, dogs, cats, even a pet rat and one time (I know - super gross right). I have also had a natural affinity to them. What does that mean? Well if you know what an empath is, then you can understand this natural affinity.

An empath is a person highly attuned to the feelings and emotions of those around them. Empaths feel what other people are feeling at a deep emotional level. Their ability to discern what others are feeling goes beyond empathy, which is defined simply as the ability to understand the feelings of others. Instead, being an empath extends to actually taking those feelings on. I am an empath and have been since I was a young child and my parents were totally confused as to why I was such an ‘emotional’ child. Don’t believe in empaths? Ask my family and close friends.

Do you call being an empath hocus-pocus goobly-gobbly? Only believe in science? Well, science is divided on whether or not true empaths actually exist, though plenty of people claim to have such abilities. We know that researchers have discovered what they’ve dubbed “mirror neurons” in the brain, which may help us mirror the emotions of those we come in contact with. And it appears some people may have more mirror neurons than others, suggesting that empaths may exist.

I digress.

Let me get back on track so I can get to where I want to be right now. I mentioned before that I’ve had animals throughout my lifetime, some 49 years now and I’ve always been completely in tune with them. Except for maybe one time when my horse threw me onto a hot wire while training him. Didn’t see that coming. Since 2005, I have had China (passed in 2009), Rocko (passed in 2013), Falcor (age 7), Trinity (age 5), Odin (age 3), Milo (and age 1.5), and Nala (age 1). People ask me how I can continually take on dogs knowing I will outlive them. If you take nothing away from this, I hope it is this; Dogs are the one creation on God’s earth that He created to love you unconditionally from day 1 to their last day. They don’t know anything else. Even when you see the horrible SPCA commercials showing dogs abused, shivering, and alone. That look in their eyes; that’s the look waiting for their person to come back. That person could just be someone who throws food at them, or pours a little water for them, or even yells at them. That dog loves that person regardless of what kind of person they are. My fur-children are my life, my sanity, and my joy.

Since a very young age, I have suffered from PTSD, anxiety, panic attacks and severe depression. I’ve been put in treatment for this. I’ve been medicated. I’ve been over medicated. But the one thing that allows me to see the beauty in an ugly world, or the sun in the sky surrounded by hues of blue, are my dogs. They make my life manageable. Without them, I fear I may pass away. And that is not overdramatizing something. That is the truth.

My sweet 3-year Odin was found in a soaked box in a ditch down in Tennessee not even a day old. Mama passed on but my sweet friend who was part of a rescue organization took the whole pack in, bottle fed them, loved on them, and made them ready for their forever homes. I followed them on social media from Day 1 to the day I got to pick up Odin. He was everything I needed and more. In 2021, we received notice that he was asked to be in the PBXVIII that would be held during Super Bowl Sunday in 2022. He was a crowd favorite for sure but did not get as much airtime because he was already adopted. The people who reached out to me about him, or followed his social media page to see more pics of him, was overwhelming. I knew I was blessed but to see the proof of how he touched others simply by his goofy grin, constant smile, and loving demeanor. Odin is not just a dog. Odin is not just a pet. Odin is my son in every sense and definition of the word.

Yesterday we learned that Odin has what is the equivalent of a torn ACL in human’s, on both hind quarters; making it nearly impossible to walk. I have to use blankets or towels to loop under his belly to take the weight off the back legs so he can go outside and do his business. We have to keep him medicated until more xrays can be done. We’ve been told that the only surgeon is located in Charlottesville, Virginia and will cost us between $3,000-$6,000 per hind leg for the necessary operation so that he can walk again.

Even though I spent all night trying to apply for any kind of line of credit I could possibly get, along with looking at customized wheel chairs for hind legs, I still believe that God will heal him. I mean, God spelled backwards IS ‘Dog’. God knows my heart, and He knows how deep my love for all my dogs is, not just Odin. I have vowed to sell every craft I can, every ounce of jewelry I make or own, whatever I need to, to get the necessary funds to make this procedure happen so my boy can walk. If you don’t believe that GoFundMe pages are meant for ‘animals’ or ‘pets’ then I thank you for at least reading our story and I hope your day/life is blessed as much as mine is every day. But if you understand where I’m coming from, and want to help with even $2, that $2 goes into the Odin fund for necessary medical expenses. It also goes into my heart, because the selflessness of others to help where there’s a need is a true act of faith.