The Help Stacey and Dallas Fund

Everyone, meet Stacey and Dallas. They need a little help. They've been best friends since Stacey adopted Dallas a few years ago. They've been through everything together - boyfriends (Stacey's), chew toys (Dallas's), road trips, vacations. They're so tight that Dallas hates to be anywhere outside of Stacey's sight, and vice versa.

Now, you guys are probably animal people, right? So do you remember the first animal you adopted once you were an "adult?" That first pet that didn't really belong to your mom or your dad? Remember how much you loved them? Remember how much you were all in, promising them everything you could give, through thick and thin? No matter what?

That's Stacey and Dallas. 

Stacey's a recent college grad, and is also my 7-year-old daughter's soccer coach. Here she is, in full coach mode (far left):

Somehow she manages to keep these wild and wonderful little girls in line, on and off the field. They LOVE her, and so do we.

Recently, Dallas had some struggles. His stomach twisted late one night, leading to extreme bloat and a middle-of-the-night emergency surgery. Here is is, resting after the surgery:

Just when Stacey thought he was out of the woods, in he went again, this time to remove his spleen, which was damaged from the bloat. Here he is, feelinging tired and a little sad:

Now. Do you remember that all in feeling we talked about earlier? That feeling of being there for your pet no matter what?

After two emergency surgeries, the vet bill for Dallas is astronomical. Stacey never, EVER considered doing anything other than saving Dallas's life, but now she's got to figure out: how can she repay over $7,500.00 on a single salary, while still managing her normal, everyday budget?

Here's where we can help. 

If I were rich enough, I'd pay this bill off myself. That's how much Stacey means to my family. Alas, I'm just a lowly writer (more on that in a sec), so I'm turning to YOU! If we all chip in a little bit, we can make a HUGE dent in this crazy vet bill.

And to say thank you, I can offer this: a signed copy of the three books in my Undead America zombie trilogy ! Everyone who donates will be entered into a drawing to win the full trilogy, signed and shipped by me, straight to you. The winner must be a resident of the continental United States (sorry, shipping elsewhere is cost-prohibitive), and will be selected at random from all donors. Drawing will occur on June 30th.

So. If we can all help out Stacey and Dallas, that would be fantastic, and you could win some fun, signed zombie books as well. Here are some more pics, so you can see what they're really all about.

Handsome Dallas loves the water!

Stacey and Dallas go pretty much everywhere together.

Dallas is super-sweet regardless of his team affiliation. ;)

Couple-a goofballs!

C'mon! Don't you want to help these two? I know I do!Give what you can. $5. $10. $50. Whatever you can do to help, I know it'll be appreciated by a super-girl and and her super-dog.