Harry Potter And The Mysterious Virus

Harry Potter's not feeling like himself lately, so his friends are crowdfunding to get him as healthy as a horse (of course) and back out on the trails.

Meet Harry Potter.

He's a handsome seven-year-old Solid Paint-bred horse.

Harry Potter loves kids.

He's a gentle horse who lets anyone of any age ride around on him, even newbies.

Harry loves parades, too.

He and more than 500 other horses rode in one of the country's biggest and oldest equestrian par-tays, this year's Old Spanish Days Fiesta Historical Parade in Santa Barbara, Calif.

But Harry Potter's feeling out of sorts and doctors want to figure out why. (Poor fella.)

Since late September he's had a nasty dry cough and a fever of more than 103 degrees. Veterinarians at the University of California, Davis, found that Harry has bacterial pneumonia AND a mysterious virus and mass in his right lung.

Yet friends are rallying to his aid as he fights like the bad-ass that he is. (You can do it, Harry!)

A friend of Harry's owner has created a crowdfunding campaign on Rally.org to help cover Harry's rising medical expenses.

Besides battling pneumonia and a weird virus, Harry's also got acute founder in his hooves. That would be like standing with all your body weight on your fingernails while your nails are being peeled off. (Ouch.)

In the meantime Harry's getting his antibiotics intravenously. He didn't even flinch when they stuck the needle in him. Tough guy.

Help get Harry back to work.

Once Harry's healthy he can return to his part-time gig in the Volunteer Mounted Patrol unit for the East Bay Regional Park District in northern California, keeping trails and parks safe for visitors all year long.

And back to having fun, too.

Show Harry your support so that he can get all dolled up and join his buddies in more parades next year. Visit rally.org/harrypotter to donate and to follow the rest of Harry's story.