Hi, my name is Austin, and I’m asking for help for my dog, Bullet.

Bullet isn’t just my dog. He’s family. I adopted him a few years ago, and he has been by my side through some of the biggest changes in my life, including my military service and now my transition back into civilian life. He is 4 and a half years old and far too young to be going through something like this.

Unfortunately, we are facing a veterinary emergency that has quickly become much bigger than my family and I ever expected.

Bullet has always had a terrible habit of swallowing socks. Recently, he swallowed multiple foreign objects within a very short period of time. He managed to vomit one of them back up, but shortly afterward he became extremely sick. He started repeatedly vomiting, stopped eating normally, became dehydrated and lethargic, and stopped having bowel movements.

We rushed him to the veterinary hospital, where X-rays showed another foreign object inside his gastrointestinal tract.

For the past several days, we have tried everything we could to give Bullet a chance to pass it naturally. He has spent two days receiving IV fluids and supportive care, and we have returned for repeat X-rays to track the object's movement.

Unfortunately, he is still vomiting, lethargic, and has gone approximately two days without a bowel movement. His veterinarian now believes surgery is the safest option to remove the obstruction before it causes life-threatening damage to his intestines.

We have already spent around $2,500 on emergency visits, X-rays, medications, IV fluids, and treatment. We were quoted approximately $6,000–$8,000 for the surgery, while emergency overnight hospitals have quoted us as much as $8,000–$12,000.

We are desperately hoping his current veterinarian can fit Bullet into surgery tomorrow morning, which would keep the cost closer to the lower estimate.

I recently transitioned out of the United States military after years of service and am still getting established financially in civilian life. I never imagined that during this transition my family would suddenly be facing a veterinary bill that could approach $10,000.

My family is doing everything we can. We are looking at financing through CareCredit and using money that I had planned to use to get myself financially established after leaving the military. If that is what it takes to save Bullet, I will do it.

But I’m asking for help because this is simply more than we were prepared to handle all at once.

Every dollar donated will go toward Bullet’s veterinary care... his surgery, hospitalization, medications, imaging, IV fluids, and follow-up treatment.

If you aren't in a position to donate, sharing this fundraiser would mean just as much to us.

Bullet is still a young dog with so much life left in him. Anyone who knows me knows how much this dog means to me. I just want to get him through this, bring him home, and see him acting like himself again.

Thank you for reading, donating, sharing, or even just keeping Bullet in your thoughts.

We love you, Bullman. Keep fighting. ❤️