Hi everyone,

I never imagined I’d be in this position, but I am reaching out for help after an unexpected and heartbreaking situation that has left our family physically, emotionally, and financially overwhelmed.

I’m a working mom of a two-year-old, a graduate student, and 31 weeks pregnant with our second baby. Two days ago, as I was in the yard with my toddler, a stray dog wandered onto our property. She was small, black-furred, and incredibly sweet—a dog we had met before. Many months ago, she appeared in our yard with two other stray dogs. I found homes for the other two, but I couldn’t find anyone for her before she ran away and disappeared.

Seeing her again after all this time made me so happy, but it quickly became clear that something was very wrong—she was heavily pregnant and looked exhausted. I immediately called our local animal control, hoping they could take her in and help her deliver safely. But because it was late in the day (around 5 PM), they asked if I could keep her overnight and promised to send someone in the morning.

I agreed, brought her inside with my two dogs and toddler, and made her a cozy bed with blankets and towels. I set up a small space heater near her so she would stay warm and safe. I had no idea the night ahead would turn into a life-or-death situation. For the next part of this story, I will refer to her as "Mama Dog."

As I was getting my toddler’s dinner cleaned up, I suddenly heard strange noises. When I checked on her, I saw a tiny puppy’s face crowning. She was in labor. I started panicking. I had no experience with this. I frantically Googled what to do while my toddler—overwhelmed by the chaos—clawed at my back, screaming for my attention. Google said that the first puppy could take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to be born. So, it was about 7:30 PM and since it was close to my daughter's bedtime anyway, I decided to go and put her to sleep quickly before checking back on Mama Dog and her labor progress.

But when I returned about 30 or so minutes later, the puppy was still stuck. There was no movement. Mama Dog was lying there, barely responsive, too weak to push. I knew something was terribly wrong. I called every emergency vet hospital near me, desperate for help. Every single one told me the same thing: They do not treat stray dogs unless the person bringing them in takes full financial responsibility.

It was now 9 PM. The puppy was still in the same position, cold to the touch, and Mama Dog was giving up. I had no choice but to act. I put on gloves and found a YouTube tutorial on assisting a stuck puppy in the birth canal. I managed to help get the puppy’s head out, but the rest of its body was completely stuck. Mama Dog was too exhausted to keep pushing. I was alone, panicking, and feeling helpless.

My husband finally responded to my texts and was able to leave work early. By 10:15 PM, he arrived home and helped pull the puppy out, but it was too late. The first puppy had not survived. Mama dog was barely hanging on and struggling to survive herself. The gut-wrenching thing was that when we pulled the pup out, Mama Dog proceeded to lick the pup's face, a moment that truly shattered my heart into a million pieces.

We had to make the hardest decision—do we take her to the hospital and take on the crushing financial burden, or do we let her stay with us and most likely die along with her remaining puppies?

My mama heart just couldn’t let her suffer.

I found an old Amazon box, lined it with towels, and drove 35 minutes to the nearest animal hospital. When I signed her in, they asked for a name. We decided to name her Billie because, when we first met her months ago, she reminded us of a little billy goat—hopping and climbing on the big rocks in our yard.

Doctors quickly admitted her and began X-rays (which I had to agree to an upfront cost of $522.00.) X-rays revealed three more puppies inside—and they were huge compared to Billie’s tiny body. The vet told us it was highly unlikely that she could give birth naturally after the struggle with the first one. Worse, I later found out that two of the remaining puppies had likely been dead for a while—which meant a deadly infection was spreading through her body.

The doctor explained that they would try to induce labor with oxytocin, but Billie would most likely need an emergency C-section. The estimate for the procedure was between $4,068.47 and $5,334.13, plus the $522 I had already paid for X-rays and the initial exam.

I am a student working only 20 hours a week as a graduate assistant. My husband is a busser at a restaurant. We live paycheck to paycheck. But despite this, I felt the responsibility for their lives and I instinctively felt the need to try and save them.

Feeling emotional, delirious, and way in over my head, I applied for Scratch Pay, a veterinary loan service, and was approved for the high end of the estimate, $6,000. I signed off on the procedure and went home around 1:00 AM, hoping and praying that she and the puppies would make it.

At 4 AM, the vet called with news.

By 6 PM the next evening, they called with another concern—Billie was refusing to eat, and her glucose levels were dropping dangerously low. She needed to stay another night.

Finally, today at noon, she was stable enough to come home. But because of all the medications she is on, her baby cannot nurse and must be bottle-fed. The vet also informed me that the puppy hasn’t learned to suckle yet, meaning he must be tube-fed every two hours.

***UPDATE: After spending the first night tube feeding, I finally was able to get him to suckle on the bottle this morning!

Like I have mentioned-- I am 31 weeks pregnant. I also have a toddler who needs my constant attention and I am a graduate student who works part time to make ends meet. Now, I am also caring for a recovering mama dog on multiple medications (which must be given three times a day) and a newborn puppy who needs to be fed through a tube every two hours.

I feel emotionally and physically drained. But the weight of this situation isn’t just physical or emotional—it’s financial.

So far, we have racked up nearly $6,000 on Billie’s emergency care in credit, with additional ongoing costs like:

I typically never ask for help, but this situation has completely blindsided us. If you are able to contribute anything at all, it would mean the world to me, my family, Billie, and little Lucky—the one surviving puppy, who truly lives up to his name.

Even if you’re unable to donate, sharing this fundraiser would help tremendously.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for reading our story and for any support you can give.

With gratitude,

The Muñoz Family, Billie, and Lucky