Hey Y'all,

I’ve been going back and forth about putting up another GoFundMe, but a few people have asked how they can help, so… here we are.

As you know, it’s been a tough year not just for us but for everyone. Like, I know that. But needs must. Doug’s still between jobs, and the market in his field is a dumpster fire. He’s dusting off old skills, but teaching an old dog new tricks takes a while.

Meanwhile, we’re doing what we can to keep our heads above water. We dipped into Doug’s retirement earlier this year to clear out the credit card -- we only have the one. We're trying to avoid doing that again because borrowing from the future means less when we get there. Anyway, having a paid off credit card felt great for a minute… until the vet bills (Not Button's surgery! Normal vet bills: they add up), meds, and surprise medical stuff came rolling in.

Example: the state insurance we had last year was, uh, not great. Abysmal, really. We’re still getting random bills for things we thought were covered -- like a $520 charge from a doctor's appointment in February that showed up last month. Surprise! I had a colonoscopy in March they said was covered, but the anesthesiologist was over $1,200 out of pocket. Which they totally did not tell us beforehand. And the hospital still has another $1,200 floating around in billing limbo. So not looking forward to that coming in.

The good news is our new insurance seems better so far, at least with prescriptions. As for the rest… well, we’ll see. But I'm not getting any medical procedures done until I'm sure this insurance covers them fully, that's for sure.

So, long story short: we’re ending the year with the credit card that's creeping back up to around $3,500, mostly vet and medical odds and ends. Yes, we use the card for normal life stuff now and then because it’s the only one we have. But we try to keep it as low as possible.

If you were thinking about holiday gifts or you’ve been wondering how to help, this is honestly the easiest way. Everything we raise will go directly to paying this card down so we can keep our pets healthy and ourselves medicated. If you can't donate directly, share it around, every little bit will help a lot.

There's absolutely no pressure. Seriously. Your support (even just checking in) always means a lot. We've gotten this far with all the love and support of all y'all and it means the world to us. Faith in humanity restored. ^_^

Thanks for reading, and thanks for being our people. ❤️