It has been a really tough year for this sweet boy and our family. I adopted Cobain when I was a junior in college. He got me through multiple abusive relationships, severe mental health episodes, a tremendous amount of loss and heartache, and so much more. He saves my life everyday, and I just want to save his.

Last May, while I was visiting my terminally ill mother in Ohio, someone I considered a friend released my ten year old Sheltie Cobain off leash in a major metropolitan area and allowed him to be run over by a bike. I had repeatedly asked her never to let him off leash as he is a herding breed and has a strong chase instinct. She ignored that rule and wanted to “prove me wrong”. She chose not to provide medical care after the accident or tell anyone he was injured until the wound (a benign cyst on his leg that was ruptured from the impact) was necrotic. Finally I was alerted when it was nearly too late. After going 15,000 dollars into debt to save his life through an emergency surgery, we learned through the ER process that he also has a mucus seal in his gall bladder that needs to be removed. If it ruptures before we can afford to get it taken out, my dog will die an agonizing, ugly, awful death. The necessary surgery will cost up to another $10,000.

While I am a dedicated intimate partner violence prevention specialist and advocate with over 12 years of experience, unfortunately, shortly after this incident, I lost my job. Only three months after that, I became ill and nearly died from a previously unknown health condition of my own. After a week in the ICU (while uninsured) I was released with a medication regimen I will need for the rest of my life.

While my partner and best friend have been keeping a roof over our heads while I recover, the medical debt for Cobain combined with my own health issues and the impossible job market right now have put us in a bind. We are running out of time to come up with this money. We are barely making the payments on the existing debt.

I recently entered one of our cats into a contest for a cash prize and after sharing the link with our network, I was overwhelmed with the amount of support we received. Many

friends reached out asking to support the effort to save Cobain directly.

As the daughter of hardworking blue collar folks, I hate asking for help. But this isn’t about me. This is about my boy. Hearing the love and support from friends and family, who don’t have much to spare themselves, gave me the push to create this fundraiser.

I know times are tough for us all right now, but if you have it in your heart to help us, it would mean the world.

Thank you for your time