Honoring Sundance: Help Recover Emergency Medical Costs Taken on Out of Love

Hi, my name is Emily. I’m raising funds to help repay emergency medical costs my partner took on during a sudden medical crisis involving my service dog, Sundance.

Sundance was my service dog and constant companion for 12 years. She helped me gain the confidence to talk to people i’d never met before, stay in school, go places alone or with friends, see national parks, go to the beach, hike, take on life. In her later years, she had entered a gentler chapter of her life resting more, moving a little slower, but still greeting each day with such pure joy to be up to tackle another day, to go somewhere old or new, play or even just cuddle and lay by your feet. During this time, she and my partner grew especially close, sharing an adorable set of morning rituals (dog car wash, foot ball with a stuffed bigfoot’s foot themed toy, breakfast and a series of cuddles and playing.

Nearly two years ago now, Sundance became suddenly and critically ill. It all happened very fast, we took her to an emergency vet that night thinking maybe she tore her ACL or something or we were here due to being an overly worried dog parent. they took her vitals, then an x-ray. We were given two immediate options: schedule an at-home euthanasia, or attempt a surgery that only might provide comfort, clarity, or additional time and her passing away during the surgery was also another possible outcome. The cost for either was significant but of course the surgery costing way more including after care, and the window to decide was extremely short.

In that moment, my partner and I chose to move forward with the surgery. He payed for the surgery, medical costs, infusions, and more $17,000 of personal savings and took out two additional loans, using the money he had worked so hard to set aside for his own health expenses and for building a life together.

The surgery gave us some answers to what her condition was like and allowed Sundance to return home to rest and be comfortable. She did not live as long as we had hoped for, but we were still thankful that she even had any additional time with us.

While Sundance did have pet insurance, I didn’t realize at the time that there was a cap on reimbursement each year. As a result of that, only $2,000 of the nearly $19,000 in costs was reimbursed to pay towards the debt. The remaining balance became long-term debt carried by my partner.

I’m starting this fund raiser to help ease the financial burden my partner took on during an emergency, and to restore stability that was sacrificed in a moment of love and urgency.

any donation amount is greatly appreciated, if you aren’t able to donate though please just share this with others.

With gratitude,

Emily