GoFundMe is *PAUSED* (3/27/26):

I don't have words for how grateful I am for every single donation- within 24hrs you all surpassed my goal for Cooper's bills. I don't know what to say, but this has helped me sleep. I know Cooper can get the care he needs because of every single one of you. At this point, I'm not sure when he will discharge and the extra money will likely be needed for his bill and/or the intensive OP care for his pneumonia. If anything is left over, I have considered paying it forward to another pet parent struggling with vet bills other than myself. Thank you all for everything, if anything changes I will post, but I am hoping we are seeing a real turnaround today and have hope. I will continue to update as he spends time in the ICU, thank you all SO much!

3/27/26 @ 8:45pm: It's been a rough 24hrs of updates with Cooper's pneumonia, but today I'm able to say we ARE seeing some small improvements!!! He still won't eat, is very nauseous, and has a fever with lethargy, but when I visited tonight he was able to wag his tail more. He also gave me his paw (he does that when he wants attention and yesterday he was totally unable).

Things aren't perfect but he is finally showing signs of some improvement and I'm starting to feel some hope here. 

Update: I was able to connect with Cooper’s doctor around 6pm before they left for the day. Though he’s still struggling, she did say he stood up to drink water and had a tiny nibble of food today. It doesn’t sound like much, but I’ll take any progress!

3/26/26 @ 9pm:

I was able to visit him in the ICU and it was tough. I had to cut our 30min visit short because his breathing was just too rough. If it wasn’t labored, he was panting a lot. He seemed like he was pushing himself to see me. After some good snuggles, I decided I want him to rest and increase the chances of fighting off this pneumonia.

I do think he’s going to be in the hospital for a good while at this point…Update (3/26/26) 11:30am: Cooper has officially developed aspiration pneumonia overnight from his vomiting tues/weds and is really very sick, he wont lift his head when the vet comes in to visit him.

Doctor says it’s a matter of his body fighting it at this point, there’s not a ton they can do for that piece. He has antibiotics, but it’s not a “bacterial infection” so these are more preventative. They could do medical imaging to confirm the cause of the vomiting (it could be gastroenteritis or pancreatitis), but it wouldn’t change the course of treatment so they aren’t focusing on the cause, just getting him better with the pneumonia. It seems like it’s almost luck at this point… Im so scared- not all dogs make it out of this one. He is in incredible care and I know he's getting what he needs. He needs rest, fluids, tube feedings, and a lot of strength. I will be able to visit him tonight for some snuggles before he settles in to sleep with some sedation.

March 26th 10:30am:

Anyone who knows Coop knows that he is truly the bestest boy. He’s a big, gentle lovebug who I’ve watched raise kittens AND a toddler, he's a sweetheart. He was an amazing foster brother to my foster son during our time together and he truly deserves the world. He’s the sweetest nurturer and, at heart, just a big ol baby.

That being said, late Tuesday night (March 24th), Cooper started showing signs of GI distress. It seemed okay at first, but quickly turned into a scary emergency situation that required an immediate trip to the veterinary emergency hospital. He was admitted around 4:00 AM on Wednesday suffering from extreme nausea, dehydration, and severe abdominal discomfort.

I was hoping he’d be back to himself by Wednesday afternoon with some IV fluids and rest, but recovery hasn't been what we expected.

Current Status

At this point, Cooper really hasn’t been able to eat on his own since Tues evening. Yesterday, he had an NG tube placed to help manage his nausea and provide him with necessary tube feedings to keep him healthy. He’s definitely tired, sick, in pain, and understandably terrified of not being home. Ya'll know how bad this boy's anxiety is, I can barely leave him with a sitter (never mind days in a hospital run, ugh). While I'm so incredibly grateful he is being well cared for, this has been a pretty stressful nightmare for the both of us.

GoFundMe

Asking for help isn’t easy, but to be totally vulnerable- this has been a really difficult year, both financially and emotionally, for me. I really have been working hard to save, make more, and get back on my feet following my adventures as a foster parent, but it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. I definitely didn’t have a giant emergency vet bill on this year’s bingo card.

As of today, Thursday, March 26th, Cooper’s medical bill has reached approximately $2,700. The initial estimate went as high as $3,650, an estimate that it seems we are probably going to surpass as he will almost definitely need medical imaging today and isn't quite ready to come home yet. I hope that I'm wrong, but this seems to be the most likely case at this time.

I’m setting the goal to $3,650 to cover the current estimate. I promise to be entirely transparent and update this page as time passes- if the bill ends up being smaller and I don’t need the full amount, I will adjust the goal ASAP!

Whether it’s $5 or literally just a kind thought sent this way, I am so so genuinely grateful. Thank you for all the emotional support you’ve given me. It really does take a village.

Sending love and will update as often as I can on his status ❤️ thank you for your understanding and kindness