Honita ( means quiet little wolf in some Native American languages), and in Sanskrit it's derived from Honta', which means 'gracious' or 'pleasing'. It conveys the idea of being charming and attractive.  Honita was born in the summer of 2012 in Ecuador, the sole brown puppy abandoned among her white, fluffy littermates. While I was knee-deep in Amazon conservation work, my phone rang with desperate urgency, it was my friends and fellow dog rescue volunteer network, looking to place the last puppy. "The mother's been poisoned," the rescue volunteer's voice cracked. "This little one—she's the last. Nobody wants her." I was literally packing for a remote rainforest expedition, but something inside me wouldn't let this puppy be alone. "I'll take her," I declared, without hesitation, without even seeing her—a blind commitment to a life hanging in the balance. My dog Poppy needed a friend; this puppy needed salvation.

Honi transformed into my fierce guardian, my unwavering matriarch through the chaos of ten countries—from the humid depths of Ecuador to the ordered lifestyle of Germany and sterile vet clinics of France. But now, at 13 almost turning 14, she's s fighting soul . Poppy my other rescue dog from Guatemala was in need of a companion.

Honi has been a wonderful dog for the last 14 years, she has seen better days, and she’s been a gentle protector for all my other rescued cats, dogs, and other wildlife. She's always been kind, calm and matriarchal in the family home,. She has travelled many countries with me, from Ecuador, to Peru, France, Spain, England, Germany and Mexico.

This last Autumn ( 2025) she has been increasingly sick and bothered by a stubborn urninary problem that made her pass a lot of blood with urnine. I’ve taken her to the vet for blood tests and an echography, the blood work has come back with a small anomaly in her liver and kidneys but generally she is good with blood work. Although, she has a cyst on one of her kidneys and after various treatments the vet gave her, she is still a little incontinent and peeing blood after their treatments were unsuccessful and the vet bill was 300 euros. She has been sprouting more lumps and bumps, we found a tumour on her bottom that we are keeping an eye on. She has hip displacia that makes her walking extremely slow and she can no longer climb the stairs in the house, so she is stuck in the kitchen, Its not pleasant not being able to have her on my bed or to share a sofa or see her face around the rest of the house anymore. Its rather depressing.

The echography she had for her bladder revealed that her bladder wall was 5 times thicker than it should have been due to inflammation. We also checked the kidney cyst, her pancreas doesn't look very good either and she had several biopsies for the tumour on her anus and biopsy of her bladder. All of this cost over a grand in vet bills. 

We were in Italy for Christmas trying to find a forever home, but instead we had terrible experiences there and returned to France as fast as we could at the end of February to continue to get Honi the best treatment in Southern France.

I'm terrified of what comes next—both the diagnosis and the devastating costs. What is apparent is its inevitable there's going to be more expensive vet bills while I am already struggling with a tight budget for basics such as rent and groceries. The vet said if this third set of antibiotics do not work, then we need to do more tests along the urethra tract, perhaps check the kidneys and pancreas. 

The latest bill from this week 11th March 2026

Latest vet bill dated March 11th, 2026 ( we reverse the month and day in EU).

My wish list for Honita's car is to get her some doggy wheel chair to help her on walks. To get her some holistic vet care including acupuncture, homeopathy and to be able to minimize pain and make her comfortable in her end of life stages without it making us all homeless as right now I have just paid another big vet bill and I am struggling to pay rent. 

That is what this fundraiser is about-- trying to keep up with the demands of taking care of a senior rescue dog in her final chapter, so I can try and give her  the best care. She has been my best friend for 14 years and for she has been the only one enormous soul who provided unconditional love through my darkest years. We'd appreciate any support towards her care, even if you would consider a few dollars goes a long way. Every bit helps us to be in a better position than we are right now for her to get her the best care and attention with what ever it is ahead that we face. I’m deeply grateful to those who have helped support the rescue animals who live with me in my animal family this life.

 Thank you for your support and help and I will keep you updated on her progress and if we can get those wheels for Honi this summer to enjoy her walks better and go farther that would be wonderful as she has put on much more weight now she cannot walk so well, it would help to get her to lose that weight as it just adds to further complications with the hip issue.

Thanks to everyone 

Blessings from me and my furry rescues and especially from Honita

Previous vet visits autumn