Help Olaf Veterinary Bills
Donation protected
Hi everyone, I want to start by thanking the entire Gainesville Community for bringing Olaf home! We are over the moon to have him back after he was missing for three months. My family is whole again now that he is safe and sound in our arms, and I can’t tell you how much that means to me! I want to retell Olafs story for everyone but first I want to explain the need for this fundraiser.
Olaf is in need of some veterinary help after running around in the woods for so long. He has some lumps and bumps that need to be checked out. On his side it feels like he may have a broken rib, and along his spine in the middle of his back he has a bump that might be a botfly larvae. There is another bump under his armpit that feels like it could just be a small tumor(hopefully benign). He also had a bunch of ticks all over him when we found him which I was able to remove with tweezers but I want to make sure the bites don’t get infected. We also need to get him dewormed since I’m sure he has worms of some kind after drinking and eating whatever he could find for so long. That is mostly the extent of his physical problems these are all things that need to be checked soon so I’m hoping this fundraiser can help cover those costs.
Now onto the behavioral issues, Olaf has always had separation anxiety ever since I adopted him from Helping Hands Pet Rescue in 2015. He reportedly came from a hoarder situation which explains why he is so fearful and anxious. I worked with him for years and finally got him to the point where I could leave him home without him panicking and hurting himself or barking the whole time. Now that we have him back in the house I have noticed a relapse in his separation anxiety symptoms. He cries and barks whenever I leave him even if it’s just to go to the bathroom or go on the porch to water plants(I have a glass sliding door and he can see me but he still panics and barks). I know how to do training myself, I have done it that way before but like I said it took years of hard work. I am an artist so most of the time I can stay home with him but of course it’s not viable for the long term since I can’t take him everywhere with me. I need to consult with a behavioral specialist or take Olaf to some training classes so I can learn how to train him better. I want Olaf and I to have the fullest and happiest life possible!
Story time! Olaf escaped my brothers yard on the 19th of December while Nick and I were out of state for work. As soon as we heard that he had gotten out because of my brothers broken gate we cancelled our work plans and rushed home from Alabama. My brothers house is in the Arrowhead/Bryant neighborhood area right off of Archer. Once we arrived in town we immediately started driving around looking for him. We searched late into the night for hours to no avail stopping to ask people walking their dogs if they had seen him. That was a very hard night and I blamed myself for leaving him.
The next day we made flyers and my brother and roommate went door to door searching every surrounding neighborhood while Nick and I put posters everywhere. The next solid sighting was a few days later in the Palms of Archer community. We were looking for Olaf in the Alachua County Animal Services kennels when I got the phone call. We were so excited that Nick and I sprinted out to our vehicle and sped off towards Palms of Archer. In the mean time I called my brother and his girlfriend to go start the search since they were closer(of course we had to be on the other side of town when we got this sighting). During this search we got so close to finding him! I must have received three different phone calls for sightings of Olaf in this neighborhood but after hours of scouring all the different streets for hours we had to go home. After a few days we continued getting sightings there but we eventually figured out that many of those sightings were prank calls. One in particular was obvious, a group of kids giggling and yelling in the background gave it away. After that we got a call from another kid in that group telling us that his friend was just joking. Kids can be so cruel!
Christmas time was here and all I could do was continue searching for my boy. I was a wreck and would go out in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep to search for him. The nights we’re getting really cold around this time and I was so worried about him. The next sighting was out of Palms of Archer across Archer in the neighborhood behind the Tower road publix. I spent News Years driving around looking for him because I was convinced that he would be scared and running around because of the fireworks.
I never saw him that night but on New Years Day we had an amazing sighting! A very nice lady made a post on Pet Finder about her sighting of Olaf off of Williston road. She tried to catch him with some pizza she had but he ended up running towards Payne’s Prairie into the cow pastures. I was just happy someone had really seen him! I scoured the Gainesville Country club neighborhoods around this time hoping he would stick near humans but our next sighting ended up being further out towards Payne’s Prairie in the SW 82nd Place neighborhood. We got that call January 3rd from a wonderful family who had just seen him in the woods outside their house! Nick and I once again jumped in the car with Olafs food and our flashlights since the sun was going down in about an hour and drove over excitedly hoping we would catch him!
We arrived and immediately started walking into the woods where they had reportedly seen them 5 mins before we had arrived! We went as far into the prairie as we could but the mud and swampiness prevented us from going any further. We called for him for a long time but the sun was going down and it was getting cold. The family graciously started a fire and offered us some beers and a good chat. That was a really nice time that I still really appreciate! It had been a really rough holiday season and It was nice to hang out with good people while we kicked ourselves for missing Olaf again.
After this sighting there was about a month stretch where we got no sightings at all. I was devastated that we got so close and missed him. I thought the worst. We had a lot of freezing cold nights where I would just go out in search for Olaf because I couldn’t imagine whether he would be able to survive the night.
Eventually on February 1st we got a call from a man who works for GPD. He had sighted Olaf a few times near his house and near Waldo road on the SE side of town. We started our search but we found it a little crazy that he would have made it all the way over to that side of Gainesville. Then we got the call from Mr. Williams! A man who found Olafs collar in front of his house on SE 15th Street. This street is kind of a continuation of the La Chua trail in Payne’s Prarie so Olaf must have run all the way around the edge of Payne’s prairie only to pop out on the SE side of town! Now we had our evidence that Olaf was definitely on this side of town so I began putting flyers all over the neighborhoods. We searched so long and for a while I’m pretty sure we were chasing a coyote sighting. I would drive around that side of town whenever I could but it was out of the way and I could only do that every other day. We even found an Olaf lookalike that stays around Lincoln Park near Lincoln Middle School. After all that I was convinced he was over on that side of town.
Then there was another Gainesville Pet Finder post! Someone had seen a dog matching his description on Fred Bear Road off of Williston on February 21st across from the Gainesville County Club entrance. We started looking in this area and I made a few new posts on the Nextdoor app. Many people started reporting sightings of him around this area and we even had some people catch him on their ring and surveillance cameras. I contacted Brandi at this point who had offered her trapping knowledge and help if we had ever figured out a good area he was staying in. While we were getting that set up I was searching this area all the time! I would go by there at all hours hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Then we had a report that he was seen on the side of i75! That was so scary and I ended up driving from the Archer on ramp to the Williston off ramp all the time to look and make sure he wasn’t hanging out on the side of I 75. One fay on the way to hang out with some friends I saw him sunbathing right next to the road! I thought he was hurt so I ran up to him yelling for him and ended up scaring him away back into the woods. That was the craziest experience!!
All this time Brandi had been watching her trail cameras to see if he was coming by and thankfully had started coming to her feeding station!! After a few days he finally became comfortable enough to go into the trap so she set it and 15 minutes later, BAM, he was caught in the trap! She called me and left me the best voicemail of my life!! Olaf had been trapped finally!! Nick and I jumped in the car and sped to get our boy. When we arrived Brandi was waiting for us with Olaf barking like crazy in the trap! I was so happy! I went into the woods where the trap was set and there Olaf was barking his head off. I walked up to the trap talking to him and crying a little bit but he didn’t recognize me until a few minutes later.
We were afraid that he might slip away since the trap opens from the bottom so we carried the trap into the hotels stairwell and opened the door! He came right into my arms and I hugged him while he tried to get away. I put his collar and leash on with an additional slip lead and we brought him outside. The hotel employees were so great for letting us bring the trap inside! That’s when Brandi snapped our reunion picture! I was so excited and happy to have Olaf back and I could tell he was happy too! He jumped in Nicks car and immediately remembered everything. Even when we pulled up to our apartment he looked around all excited to be home! We brought him inside and I immediately put him in the bath! He was very dirty and greasy. I think he slept under a lot of cars or something.
So that’s the whole story! Im sure there are a few people I left out because there were so many. My faith in humanity has been restored after this experience. There are so many amazing humans out there! Thank you again, everyone who shared, posted, called, and prayed!! I appreciate you all so much! Go Gainesville
Olaf is in need of some veterinary help after running around in the woods for so long. He has some lumps and bumps that need to be checked out. On his side it feels like he may have a broken rib, and along his spine in the middle of his back he has a bump that might be a botfly larvae. There is another bump under his armpit that feels like it could just be a small tumor(hopefully benign). He also had a bunch of ticks all over him when we found him which I was able to remove with tweezers but I want to make sure the bites don’t get infected. We also need to get him dewormed since I’m sure he has worms of some kind after drinking and eating whatever he could find for so long. That is mostly the extent of his physical problems these are all things that need to be checked soon so I’m hoping this fundraiser can help cover those costs.
Now onto the behavioral issues, Olaf has always had separation anxiety ever since I adopted him from Helping Hands Pet Rescue in 2015. He reportedly came from a hoarder situation which explains why he is so fearful and anxious. I worked with him for years and finally got him to the point where I could leave him home without him panicking and hurting himself or barking the whole time. Now that we have him back in the house I have noticed a relapse in his separation anxiety symptoms. He cries and barks whenever I leave him even if it’s just to go to the bathroom or go on the porch to water plants(I have a glass sliding door and he can see me but he still panics and barks). I know how to do training myself, I have done it that way before but like I said it took years of hard work. I am an artist so most of the time I can stay home with him but of course it’s not viable for the long term since I can’t take him everywhere with me. I need to consult with a behavioral specialist or take Olaf to some training classes so I can learn how to train him better. I want Olaf and I to have the fullest and happiest life possible!
Story time! Olaf escaped my brothers yard on the 19th of December while Nick and I were out of state for work. As soon as we heard that he had gotten out because of my brothers broken gate we cancelled our work plans and rushed home from Alabama. My brothers house is in the Arrowhead/Bryant neighborhood area right off of Archer. Once we arrived in town we immediately started driving around looking for him. We searched late into the night for hours to no avail stopping to ask people walking their dogs if they had seen him. That was a very hard night and I blamed myself for leaving him.
The next day we made flyers and my brother and roommate went door to door searching every surrounding neighborhood while Nick and I put posters everywhere. The next solid sighting was a few days later in the Palms of Archer community. We were looking for Olaf in the Alachua County Animal Services kennels when I got the phone call. We were so excited that Nick and I sprinted out to our vehicle and sped off towards Palms of Archer. In the mean time I called my brother and his girlfriend to go start the search since they were closer(of course we had to be on the other side of town when we got this sighting). During this search we got so close to finding him! I must have received three different phone calls for sightings of Olaf in this neighborhood but after hours of scouring all the different streets for hours we had to go home. After a few days we continued getting sightings there but we eventually figured out that many of those sightings were prank calls. One in particular was obvious, a group of kids giggling and yelling in the background gave it away. After that we got a call from another kid in that group telling us that his friend was just joking. Kids can be so cruel!
Christmas time was here and all I could do was continue searching for my boy. I was a wreck and would go out in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep to search for him. The nights we’re getting really cold around this time and I was so worried about him. The next sighting was out of Palms of Archer across Archer in the neighborhood behind the Tower road publix. I spent News Years driving around looking for him because I was convinced that he would be scared and running around because of the fireworks.
I never saw him that night but on New Years Day we had an amazing sighting! A very nice lady made a post on Pet Finder about her sighting of Olaf off of Williston road. She tried to catch him with some pizza she had but he ended up running towards Payne’s Prairie into the cow pastures. I was just happy someone had really seen him! I scoured the Gainesville Country club neighborhoods around this time hoping he would stick near humans but our next sighting ended up being further out towards Payne’s Prairie in the SW 82nd Place neighborhood. We got that call January 3rd from a wonderful family who had just seen him in the woods outside their house! Nick and I once again jumped in the car with Olafs food and our flashlights since the sun was going down in about an hour and drove over excitedly hoping we would catch him!
We arrived and immediately started walking into the woods where they had reportedly seen them 5 mins before we had arrived! We went as far into the prairie as we could but the mud and swampiness prevented us from going any further. We called for him for a long time but the sun was going down and it was getting cold. The family graciously started a fire and offered us some beers and a good chat. That was a really nice time that I still really appreciate! It had been a really rough holiday season and It was nice to hang out with good people while we kicked ourselves for missing Olaf again.
After this sighting there was about a month stretch where we got no sightings at all. I was devastated that we got so close and missed him. I thought the worst. We had a lot of freezing cold nights where I would just go out in search for Olaf because I couldn’t imagine whether he would be able to survive the night.
Eventually on February 1st we got a call from a man who works for GPD. He had sighted Olaf a few times near his house and near Waldo road on the SE side of town. We started our search but we found it a little crazy that he would have made it all the way over to that side of Gainesville. Then we got the call from Mr. Williams! A man who found Olafs collar in front of his house on SE 15th Street. This street is kind of a continuation of the La Chua trail in Payne’s Prarie so Olaf must have run all the way around the edge of Payne’s prairie only to pop out on the SE side of town! Now we had our evidence that Olaf was definitely on this side of town so I began putting flyers all over the neighborhoods. We searched so long and for a while I’m pretty sure we were chasing a coyote sighting. I would drive around that side of town whenever I could but it was out of the way and I could only do that every other day. We even found an Olaf lookalike that stays around Lincoln Park near Lincoln Middle School. After all that I was convinced he was over on that side of town.
Then there was another Gainesville Pet Finder post! Someone had seen a dog matching his description on Fred Bear Road off of Williston on February 21st across from the Gainesville County Club entrance. We started looking in this area and I made a few new posts on the Nextdoor app. Many people started reporting sightings of him around this area and we even had some people catch him on their ring and surveillance cameras. I contacted Brandi at this point who had offered her trapping knowledge and help if we had ever figured out a good area he was staying in. While we were getting that set up I was searching this area all the time! I would go by there at all hours hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Then we had a report that he was seen on the side of i75! That was so scary and I ended up driving from the Archer on ramp to the Williston off ramp all the time to look and make sure he wasn’t hanging out on the side of I 75. One fay on the way to hang out with some friends I saw him sunbathing right next to the road! I thought he was hurt so I ran up to him yelling for him and ended up scaring him away back into the woods. That was the craziest experience!!
All this time Brandi had been watching her trail cameras to see if he was coming by and thankfully had started coming to her feeding station!! After a few days he finally became comfortable enough to go into the trap so she set it and 15 minutes later, BAM, he was caught in the trap! She called me and left me the best voicemail of my life!! Olaf had been trapped finally!! Nick and I jumped in the car and sped to get our boy. When we arrived Brandi was waiting for us with Olaf barking like crazy in the trap! I was so happy! I went into the woods where the trap was set and there Olaf was barking his head off. I walked up to the trap talking to him and crying a little bit but he didn’t recognize me until a few minutes later.
We were afraid that he might slip away since the trap opens from the bottom so we carried the trap into the hotels stairwell and opened the door! He came right into my arms and I hugged him while he tried to get away. I put his collar and leash on with an additional slip lead and we brought him outside. The hotel employees were so great for letting us bring the trap inside! That’s when Brandi snapped our reunion picture! I was so excited and happy to have Olaf back and I could tell he was happy too! He jumped in Nicks car and immediately remembered everything. Even when we pulled up to our apartment he looked around all excited to be home! We brought him inside and I immediately put him in the bath! He was very dirty and greasy. I think he slept under a lot of cars or something.
So that’s the whole story! Im sure there are a few people I left out because there were so many. My faith in humanity has been restored after this experience. There are so many amazing humans out there! Thank you again, everyone who shared, posted, called, and prayed!! I appreciate you all so much! Go Gainesville
Organizer and beneficiary
Allison Adams
Organizer
Gainesville, FL
Nick Williams
Beneficiary