Redding boxing club asks for help after gym dog needs emergency surgery

REDDING, California — The owner of a non-profit boxing gym in Redding is asking for help after their new gym puppy needed emergency surgery on Christmas Eve.

“Everybody is going through the same thing, the same thing. So yeah, it was really hard for me to even ask, like even starting a GoFundMe, like that’s not like me,” explained Daniel Arzate, who shared he was initially reluctant to ask for help. “But it was for my son and Jaeden and that’s what really mattered to me.“

Arzate is someone who spends most of his time helping others. Whether it’s at the Shasta Boxing Club, a non-profit meant to help troubled youth, or at home with his children.

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“I just so happened to pick up this dog and I remember my son was with me and I picked him up, and he was so happy, so surprised to hold this little Rottweiler that fit in his hand,” he said.

Seven months ago he got Deebo, a Rottweiler puppy, to act as a gym dog for the club. Disaster struck the day before Christmas Eve after a sock got stuck in little Deebo’s gut.

“Next day, doesn’t even want to touch food, not even like scraps,” Arzate said. “So that was hard for me to see him weak. So I was thinking other types of things “

“I love him,” said his son Lorenzo, who is 12. “Every time when I get back from home he gets happy and I get happy, and when he gets sick then I feel sad.“

After an emergency trip to the Cottonwood Vet on Christmas Eve Arzate was left with a more than $3,500 bill, which has left finances strained amid the holidays.

“I wasn’t expecting to do this, like it was really expensive,” he said. “With the holidays right now, that’s what was kind of hurting me, like what do I do? It’s been a tough month, I’ll say that.“

Deebo is currently recovering at home following his surgery on Tuesday. However, Arzate says they’re still several days out from knowing if he’s in the clear.

Arzate has a GoFundMe he’s set up to help pay for veterinary costs.