Hi. My name is Charles dela Cruz from Bulacan, Philippines. I'm a (struggling) artist, designer, and entrepreneur living mostly alone in the house my late parents left me. I'm launching this campaign in the wake of my Mom's 5th death anniversary to help sustain Mirana and 8 other pets. COVID-19 ripped us off from our livelihood and we need your kindness.

You can learn more about me here:

Why we need your help

Mirana is my mother’s dog. She’s turning 10 years old on April 2021. She's wonderful! I've had her since I was 20 (I'm turning 30 by March!). She needs consistent medical attention, specialized food, daily care and cleaning routines, and her home has to be more secure for the years to come.

Because my parents are gone, I carry the responsibility of paying for every pet expense. Right now I can't do it alone anymore because COVID-19 took away my livelihood and forced me to work freelance while shuttering my primary business for the months to come.

Mom and baby Mirana 2011

Me and Mirana 2016

Me and Mirana 2017

In August of 2019, Mirana started suffering from recurring oral bacterial infection that has proven to be extremely difficult to eliminate. This infection caused her to lose most of her tissue around her mouth. Her mouth and teeth are exposed and that further increases her risk of being infected again.

Mirana's first infection. Her whole face was swollen. We noticed this after going home from a vacation. We immediately got antibiotics to save her. Unfortunately, it was too late for some parts of her face.

We thought we would be losing her that time because the infection spread to both her cheeks! I'm glad she responded well to the antibiotics. But the facial tissue could not be saved! She went on scratching off bits of the dead tissue from her face. It was horrible and shocking to the bone.

Recovering from her first infection, she lost her right cheek. But the flesh was pink and healing well. It was good news for us overall. I'm glad she's alive.

The hard part about it is it will be quite late before you notice the symptoms day-to-day. When I start smelling a foul smell of blood and pus, it would be already too late to save some of her facial tissue. Another 2-4 week round of antibiotics and other medication and she's back to her normal self minus the lost face. A few months later and the infection is back!!

September 2019 reinfection. It worried me a lot because it came back.

January 2020 reinfection

March 2020 reinfection. DURING THE START OF THE LOCKDOWN! I had to bike 8 miles to another city to get her antibiotics under the smoldering sun because there are no more public transportation options. Luckily, the pet clinic was exempted from the lockdown and I got her critical meds. Police officers let me through the checkpoints after I told her story.

November 2020 infection. This was after the longest time she wasn't infected (7 months!!) which means things could have been done better to never have that disease again. Lockdown provided us with ample time and attention to monitor her and give her proper care.

Mirana when she's healthy. (July 2020)

She can chill with the rest of the family - Kenji, Queenie, Mike, Visa, and Poppy.

Her worst reinfection happened in January 2021. It was a difficult time. I have neglected her because I was caring for her childhood cat friend, Tommy, my Mom's last cat who was 11 years old. It was days of back and forth to the hospital. I was working way overtime so I can pay for Tommy's vet bills doing digital paintings. Friends also chipped in to help (Thank you!!). Although I'm still paying debt I accrued from that surgery. It was one of the saddest days of my life.