If you know me, you know my dog Zoey is my little sidekick and the light of my life. She is 12 years old but still thinks she is a puppy. Now that she is older, I limit the adventures that she goes on because I know it's harder for her, but her most favorite thing is playing with her Frisbee. She would do it for hours if I let her.

On Sunday, my sister and I took the dogs to the lake to play in the water. Zoey absolutely loves swimming in lakes and rivers (and even tried the ocean, although she was a little more nervous about that). She loves swimming to catch her Frisbee. I was close to her and noticed she was trying to get her Frisbee under the water but wasn't coming up. I grabbed her and pulled her out of the water, but she seemed very disoriented and confused. Her eyes were hazy, she wouldn't walk, was breathing weird, and had some foam in her mouth. We left immediately to get her to the Emergency Vet. The closest one was almost an hour away. Upon examination at the vet, her X-ray showed she had aspirated water and had significant fluid in her lungs, and her oxygen saturation level was low at 92%. They put her on antibiotics right away for pneumonia and had put her on oxygen. They advised that she stay the night, but the next day her oxygen levels had not improved, so she ended up staying 2 nights in ICU. This was extremely scary. Luckily, the second night her oxygen level went up and she was getting better. I wasn't going to risk bringing her home too soon and wanted to make sure she got the best care. I brought her home this afternoon and she is resting and being monitored, has multiple medications, and will need some follow up care. Luckily, I qualified for Care Credit and didn't have to pay the whole amount upfront, but the monthly payments are pretty high. I appreciate everyone's love and concern, and Savannah sitting at the ER with me for so many hours, and I don't expect anything more than that. But several people have suggested a GoFundMe, so if anyone has a little extra to donate to Zoey's care, it is greatly appreciated. Her total bill was surprisingly lower than I expected at $3568.30 but still quite a financial blow. Thank you for reading and caring about Zoey so much.