My name is Kim and I am a NICU nurse. Our family has 3 dogs, all of whom have been adopted.

On Jan 23rd, Gizmo, our 8-year-old Pit-mix, ate part of a boot. On Jan 29th, Gizmo started vomiting. The vet did an X-ray; no blockage was found, but he had pancreatitis from the boot. On Jan 30th, he wasn't getting better, so we went back to the vet to get more fluids, pain meds, and anti-nausea medication. That night, he started having diarrhea.

On Jan 31st, I was worried because he still wasn't eating, and he had diarrhea so bad it was leaking down his tail. We finally made the decision to take him to the emergency vet that night in the snowstorm. The X-ray showed he had a blockage. On Feb 1st, he had surgery. The vet said that part of the boot was attached to the lining of the bottom of his stomach, and that was attached to a piece of string that was attached to another piece of the boot going into his small intestines. So his GI tract was acting like an accordion.

He has had a hard time. With albumin being low and causing fluid build-up in his stomach and edema in his face and front paws, he needed 2 bags of plasma. He had to be tube-fed some of his calories. He finally was discharged on Feb 4th. He still doesn't have much of an appetite and now has small blood clots in his urine. Sally and Koda (our other 2 dogs) miss their Gizmo. We need your help with Gizmo's emergency vet bills. Anything will help tremendously. Thank you.