My name is Stephanie, and I am asking for help for my best friend, Fletcher, my 6.5-year-old corgi. Fletcher was hospitalized at the emergency clinic in Waukesha, Wisconsin after developing sepsis. The vets found three stomach ulcers, and one of them had ruptured, which meant he needed emergency surgery right away. We did not have much time to make a decision, so we moved forward with surgery immediately. He made it through surgery around midnight and is now still in critical post-op care, fighting hard and trying to heal. The vets are optimistic, but they have told me that he needs more time and continued care.

I have never been in a situation like this before. I am almost 9 months pregnant, and this emergency was completely unexpected. Fletcher’s veterinary bills are already over $17,000, and I have exhausted my personal finances, used CareCredit, and sold just about everything I can to afford his treatment. I am starting this fundraiser because I desperately need help covering his emergency and ongoing post-operative care so he has the chance to survive and keep healing. If you are able to give, please know that any support means the world to me and to Fletcher. And if you cannot donate, sharing this fundraiser and keeping him in your thoughts would help more than I can say. Please help me give Fletcher the time he needs to keep fighting.

update 9/22 7:00 central time

I met with Fletcher's critical team today, and he has made good progress in fighting to survive. His white blood cell count is up, he can come out of isolation, and they are weaning him off his IV meds and trying to transition over to oral pain meds. This will help reduce the cost of his care. He is doing well enough that they are also downgrading him from a LVL 3 ICU care to a LVL 2. The biggest difference between the two is that he does not need to have a doctor and tech on standby checking him every 1/2 hour. The vets are trying to help care for him and being mindful of the cost. They have been such great staff every step of the way. The situation is now day by day instead of hour by hour. They are going to tube-feed him and see if he will hold down food. It's to be expected with major abdominal surgery. The good news is that he is urinating on his own and holding fluids. His kidney levels --- while still abnormal are coming down.

I will update once I have more information. Thank each and everyone of you for donating to Fletcher. You have given him more time to heal and continue fighting.