Buddy Holly Was Supposed to Be Going Home. Instead, He's Fighting for His Life Again.

When Buddy Holly was diagnosed with FIP, we did what we always do at New Hope: we fought for him and Buddy completed his initial 84-day course of treatment, and we truly believed the worst was behind him.

His foster, Virginia, had fallen in love with him and planned to make things official by adopting him herself. Buddy was supposed to be getting neutered so we could finalize his adoption paperwork and celebrate his happy ending.

But before his neuter surgery, we decided to run bloodwork one more time out of an abundance of caution.

Thank goodness we did.

Instead of getting the all-clear we expected, the bloodwork showed that Buddy was still very sick.

Additional testing led his veterinarian to believe that Buddy had relapsed and was now also battling Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA), a serious condition in which the immune system attacks and destroys its own red blood cells, causing severe anemia. FIP is increasingly recognized as a potential trigger for IMHA, and in Buddy's case, his veterinarian believes the FIP is the most likely cause.

This means Buddy is now fighting two battles at once.

He requires steroids to slow the destruction of his red blood cells, while his FIP treatment has become dramatically more intensive.

During Buddy's original treatment, he needed just 1 mL of GS medication once daily.

Now, after relapsing, he requires 2.8 mL twice a day—5½ times the amount of medication he originally needed.

Between both rounds of treatment, Buddy will require approximately 58 vials of GS medication, in addition to repeated bloodwork, diagnostics, veterinary visits, steroids, and supportive care.

So far, New Hope has spent approximately $2,600, and by the time Buddy's treatment is complete, we expect his medical expenses to exceed $3,000 between GS medication, diagnostics, bloodwork, veterinary visits, and supportive care.

We didn't ask for help during Buddy's first round of treatment. We quietly covered those costs because that's what we do. But this relapse and the complications that followed have created a much steeper mountain to climb.

Buddy is still fighting. And so are we.

Virginia continues to foster Buddy through this second round of treatment and still plans to adopt him once he is healthy enough to be neutered.

If you're able to donate, share Buddy's story, or simply keep him in your thoughts, we would be incredibly grateful. Every vial of medication, every blood test, and every veterinary visit gives Buddy another chance at the future he was so close to reaching.

Buddy has already beaten the odds once.

With your help, we're hoping he can do it again

Buddy Holly Is Fighting Two Battles at Once

The adoption papers were next. Then Buddy's bloodwork changed everything.