Otis and his mom need your help.

Sierrah Grundy adopted her best friend Otis, a black-and-white pitbull mix, just over one year ago. But now, the one-year-old puppy is facing a burdensome and costly health challenge.

Otis needs a tail amputation after a skin infection took a serious turn. With amputation being a costly procedure, Sierrah is asking her community for help.

Around Christmastime, Sierrah noticed that her pup had developed a skin infection on his tail. She tried home remedies like Benadryl and dog itch bites, hoping that the issue was mild. But in the following days, Otis’s continued itching of his tail spread the ailment when she noticed his face and ears developing crust.

By early January, Sierrah knew that Otis needed a trip to the veterinarian. With his long tail, a cone hadn’t prevented Otis from continuing to scratch and chew, so Sierrah had to put a muzzle on her puppy for his own good. 

“Now he wears a muzzle because I was trying to get his tail to heal,” Sierrah said. “Because after I took him to the vet, they told me that if I didn't get his tail to heal, they were going to have to amputate if his bones started showing. And that's what happened. Bones started showing.”

Now, little Otis is taking Benadryl and Gabapentin—a medication commonly used to treat pain and anxiety in dogs—as Sierrah tries to scrape together the money for his tail amputation. 

Antibiotics cleared up all the crust on his ears and face, but Otis’s tail is now beyond saving.

“He's just miserable, and I feel horrible,” Sierrah said. “And the surgery, unfortunately, I can't afford it.”

Sierrah, who is a young Covington resident in school at Georgia Career Institute in Conyers, cannot afford the nearly thousand-dollar surgery. A quote from Surgipet, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit veterinary clinic in Buford, estimates the cost of Otis’s procedure to be $983.82. 

Sierrah reached out to Paws 4 A Cure, another nonprofit organization that offers financial assistance for pet owners whose furry friends need urgent medical care. She said that Paws 4 A Cure was able to contribute $400 to Otis’s procedure and has since raised about another $100, leaving Sierrah still needing another $400 to pay for the tail amputation.

Donations can be made through the Facebook page titled “Otis’s Urgent Veterinary Care Fundraising Page.” Other donation methods that Paws 4 A Cure set up are on GoFundMe and Waggle. Sierrah said that donations made go to Paws 4 A Cure, which then pays the veterinary clinic for Otis’s procedure.

In the meantime, Otis is holding up OK but isn’t the same puppy he once was.

“He doesn't do what he used to do, which is like be hyper and whatnot, all he does now is chase his tail,” Sierrah said. “But every now and then, he will jump on me to remind me that he loves me.”

Sierrah has taken care of Otis since he was four weeks old. As he grew, the puppy developed a vibrant personality, and Sierrah said they became best friends.

Now, Sierrah just wants to help Otis return to the happy dog he was. 

“All he does is spin; he doesn't really do much playing anymore. I kind of miss that,” Sierrah said. “I miss playing with Otis. He was a really playful dog before all of this happened.”