2024 has been a painful, challenging year for our family. We have tried to carry the weight on our own but we are at a point where we need help. Here’s our story:

Earlier this year, I suddenly & tragically lost my heart horse. I thought I would never recover from this loss until a stray dog came along and changed my world. She was living on the backside of our property but was terrified of humans so no one could get close to her. Our neighbors fed her, provided water and tried to win her trust but to no avail. I decided to give it a try and couldn’t believe that after a few attempts, she was already bonding with me. After a few weeks of earning her trust through food, she followed me home!! After months of living in the woods and being afraid, she was finally safe. The vet confirmed she had a microchip but after a week of no response from the owner, we were able to claim her. Sadly, the vet then confirmed our worst fear - she was heartworm positive. We named her Shadow and told the vet we will do whatever we need to do to get her healthy. The initial vet visits cost us around $1,000 and we’re looking at $3,000 to $4,000 for the heartworm treatment injections.

In the middle of prepping and planning for the cost, we took our 2 small dogs in to be examined and scheduled for dentals. The vet took one look at my 15 year old and said he had an ulcer in his right eye. As she continued the exam, she detected a heart murmur. My heart sank. Barkley has been with me since 2012. He’s been through the good, bad and ugly with me. He was in my wedding. I was willing to do whatever we needed to do for him which involved an X-ray on his heart, multiple medications in his eyes and antibiotics. Then came little Fiona. We already knew there was a potential concern with her heart so she also had an X-ray. Thankfully, her heart looked great and out of all 3 dogs, she got the best report. However, this visit cost us over $1,000 and more visits followed to recheck Barkley’s eye.

All of this happened in June. One month is all it took to fork out $2,000+ at the vet.

Here we are on July 5th and what happens? We notice something in Barkley’s left eye - an ulcer. He will now have to go back to the vet for the same treatment process that was performed on the right eye (most likely) and he’s also having some tummy problems so he needs to be seen for that as well.

We have tried to avoid asking for help because we know everyone is struggling but we are desperate and don’t know what else to do at this point so, that’s our story. We’re just a husband and wife who adore our animals and do everything we can to give them the best life possible.

If you made it this far, THANK YOU and if you have a dime to spare, we would be forever grateful to you for helping us care for our furbabies. Shadow’s story and all of our animals can be found on Instagram at @i_am_thebarkman so feel free to follow our journey and see how your donation will be changing lives ❤️