Kristin's Urgent Plea for Brie's Health

Hi. My name is Kristin. I am a single mother of 2 amazing young women. I am an Engineering Technician, a furniture refinisher, and a mom to 2 crazy dogs (Gouda & Brie) and 2 cats (Colby & Cheddar AKA Meow Meow). I work hard to provide for my children and pets. I am also a foster mom to (at the moment) 3 cats in search of their forever homes.

About a month ago, one of my dogs , Gouda, needed surgery for her ACL repair. I was able to pay for that thankfully. Then about a week ago, my other dog, Brie, had to have emergency surgery for a severe stomach obstruction. I work from home so I’m able to keep an eye on her at all times which offered me a sense of peace. However, on Wednesday, she started to vomit repeatedly. I contacted the vet immediately and Brie was put on anti-nausea medication to help her stop vomiting. The assumption at that time was that her stomach was upset from the pain meds and antibiotics that she was on post surgery. Yesterday Brie began to dry heave and constantly regurgitate. Again, the assumption was an upset stomach from her medications. Last night she was doing the same thing and this morning in addition to the constant regurgitating she was extremely abnormally gassy. Brie sat next to my desk crying this morning and not in the normal way that she does to get my attention. It was clear to me that it was a cry because she wasn’t comfortable. I called the vet at 8 AM and brought her back in shortly thereafter. It appears she has some small pebbles in her tummy, which is probably because she’s been walking around licking the floors constantly try to make herself vomit. That wasn’t the major concern though. She appears to have small pebbles and a tack in her tummy and additionally her stomach is full of air. The vet told me of the three vets in the clinic none of them had ever seen something like this. Unfortunately, their surgeon was out today and it was highly recommended that I bring her to the emergency vet to further her care for the weekend.

I picked her up around three and brought her down to the emergency vet. They are going to push fluids and try to get her to eat and hopefully the pebbles and the tack will pass tonight. In terms of the excessive gas there a genuine concern that there is another obstruction or that perhaps there is some scar tissue or something else going on inside of her. The estimate for surgery for this was $7000 to $8000. I love my dog and giving up on her is not even an option. At this point, I have spent $2300 last Friday, $650 today at my main vet and another $2100 as a down payment at the emergency vet. I am stressed beyond belief, and I don’t have any extra money. I can work and I’m not afraid to do that but I am overwhelmed financially right now.

I am not someone who asks for help ever so this is extremely difficult for me. I am extremely frugal. I am very financially responsible. I started a side business refinishing furniture to help make ends meet. We don’t have any room in the budget for luxuries but I am blessed enough to provide a good life for my children and pets. With all of the medical bills I have exhausted my savings.

If there is anybody has anything, no matter how small that they can find room in their budget to donate, we would be forever grateful.

Thank you for taking time to read mine and Brie’s story. We truly appreciate your time and all thoughts and prayers are welcome.