My name is Ginny. I am an 8-year-old English Springer Spaniel, also known as Mama, Jennifer, Gin, Ginny Winny Binny, and the best girl. I love my mom and LOVE going anywhere with her. This weekend, we decided to take a trip to Quemahoning Family Recreation Area. On Saturday, I did all of my favorite things. I got to swim and kayak; anything involving water and I'm there. At the end of the day, my belly was not feeling good, and I was really bloated. I tried to vomit, but nothing came out, and that's when my mom knew something was really wrong. We got in the car right away and started our journey, over an hour and a half away, to the nearest emergency vet that was taking patients. When we arrived, I was immediately taken in for x-rays, where it was confirmed that I was suffering from GVD. GVD is Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus; my belly filled with gas and twisted. The staff at VEG ER were so nice and quick to take care of my pain and get me ready for surgery. During surgery, they found that when my stomach twisted, blood vessels from my spleen were torn, and my spleen had to be removed to stop the bleeding. My mom caught it in time and made sure I got treatment soon enough that my prognosis is good. I am recovering now but still have a long healing process to go. GVD, although rare, can happen in small to medium dogs as well.

My mom is not only making this GoFundMe to ease some of the costs but mainly wanted to raise awareness. This was not something she was worried about happening to me, and she doesn't want anyone else shocked like she was. She was in the process of deciding on the right pet insurance plan when this happened. If you love your animals as much as my mom does, please do not wait to get pet insurance. It takes away additional worries so you can focus on keeping your pet happy and healthy.

Any and all donations matter and are very much appreciated by a dog mom whose dog is her best friend and doesn't leave her side. However, if this story pushes someone to make the leap to purchase pet insurance or gives someone an idea of what GVD is so their pet can be treated in time, she will be just as grateful.