Natalia Marie

About the Campaign

Now stuck in a stroller, she cannot even stand up!

Natalia Marie is a female Basset Hound mix who has torn a ligament in her knee and needs TPLO surgery to walk comfortably again. Right now, she can’t put weight on the leg and is riding in a stroller because moving hurts too much. Josh has already spent about $1,500—nearly everything he had—on initial care and evaluation, and while he’s received a grant and a few donations, he still needs help reaching the full cost of surgery.

Her injury happened at Golden Gate Park. Natalia Marie hadn’t been off leash in a long time, but it was a wide open field with no one around, so Josh let her enjoy a rare moment of freedom. When Josh threw a stick, she ran, and suddenly yelped, tumbled, and couldn’t run back. She just laid down. Josh rushed her for help as soon as he could, borrowing money for a stroller and the first vet visit, then taking her to specialty care the next day. The veterinarians confirmed she needs surgical repair to stabilize the knee. She now has to go out in a stroller, doctor’s orders.

Natalia Marie isn’t “just a dog” to Josh—she’s the reason he’s alive. Josh met her in 2014 when he was homeless on the streets in Fresno. Friends had brought her in from Texas, and he was offered the dog but he said no because he didn’t think he could care for her. Natalia Marie made the decision for him. She crawled into his lap, licked his face, and sat down like she belonged there. Josh’s friends said, “That’s your dog—she doesn’t like us like that.” From that day on, she became his constant.

Josh says Natalia Marie saved him from homelessness and drug addiction. He grew up in foster care and had been homeless for years. Through the hardest stretch, years of addiction and survival, Natalia Marie was the one steady presence that forced him to keep going. She gave him a reason to get clean, to grow up, and to fight for a different life. Josh believes that without her, he would be dead.

Today, Josh is building that different life but finances are still extremely tight. He is a student working toward becoming a history professor, in his first full year of school. He isn’t working and receives disability due to bipolar disorder, anxiety, PTSD, and the lasting impacts of homelessness and trauma. He currently lives in a two-year transitional living program for people coming out of homelessness, and there is no savings to absorb an expensive orthopedic surgery.

Donations will help cover Natalia Marie’s TPLO surgery and related veterinary care so she can get back on her feet and out of pain. All donations are paid only to the veterinarian. Thank you for helping Josh fight for the dog who fought for him first! Estimate is below, click to enlarge: