As many of y’all know, Gundy, our mini Aussie, is a very special dog.

I got Gundy in 2013, as a senior at Oklahoma State. I was reached out to by a fellow heart transplant family who had a litter of mini Aussies and asked if I was interested, knowing my brother had an Aussie. I was immediately in love. My brother and I drove to Houston and back to pick him up over Thanksgiving, and he’s been by my side ever since.

From my first break-up, graduating college, moving to Houston and living on my own for the first time, getting engaged, having a son, learning I needed a second heart transplant, to learning about my cancer diagnosis, Gundy has been there, licking my tears and letting me cry into his fur. He truly has been my rock through so much.

Unfortunately, we learned Gundy had a tumor in his spleen, causing internal bleeding, and he needed immediate surgery. This is something no pet parent ever dreams of, and I wish we had pet insurance to help out. The surgery to remove his spleen was successful, and now we wait and see how he recovers and learn if the tumor is cancerous or not. When the vet mentioned cancer, of course, I lost it. It seems to be something that continues to haunt me.

Gundy is my first fur child, best fur friend, and never left my side when I spent days in bed during chemo. We are optimistic but scared and sad that this is our reality.

Long story short, anything helps as vet bills tend to pile up faster than expected.