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LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – An elderly couple who is struggling to make ends meet had to make a hard decision when it came to their 13-year-old dachshund.

The dog was found tied to a basket outside the Baldwin Park Animal Shelter with a heartbreaking note attached.

The note said, “We are both seniors, sick with no money. We cannot pay for vet bills, or to put him to sleep. He has never been away from us in all those years, he cannot function without us, please put him to sleep.”

The note went on to explain the little guy had become suddenly ill, with bloody stools and was vomiting.

The shelter immediately called Leave No Paws Behind, a rescue organization in the area.

According to KTLA, the rescue took in the dog and immediately took him to the East Valley Veterinary Clinic.

Doctors fixed him up, saying the pup should be okay and still had a couple of years left.

After finding out the good news, the rescue was able to track down the owners and learned the dog’s name is “Otto Wolfgang Maximus.”

In a phone interview with KTLA, the owners said, “We just are living week to week. We can’t even got to the hospital to get our treatment.”

Leave No Paws Behind told the couple they would cover Otto’s healthcare and food costs for the rest of his life.

The couple is expected to be reunited with Otto later this month.