Hi - I’d like you to meet Penny, my 3-year-old German Shepherd, she is the one in the middle :) My boys are on each side of her, ages 6 and 7. Penny has been with us since she was 8 weeks old. She is a lover and protector and a supplier of all the sloppy kisses you could want!

On Sunday, Penny suddenly stopped eating and drinking, and became very lethargic. We brought her to the vet Monday morning where they performed an ultrasound and found that her intestines were twisted, which is a very rare condition that can happen with the GSD breed, it was nothing she or we did wrong. They let me know that Penny also had septic fluid in her abdomen. All this said, the vet let me know it was a 50/50 chance of survival, for my 3-year-old pup, and the cost would be 12-15 thousand dollars… I sat frantically doing the math in my mind, thinking of the statistics against us, and wiping my tears from constantly rolling down my face. She is only 3 years old, how could this be happening? How could I explain this to my boys?

And then I thought how I’m always telling my kids to keep going, no matter how many odds are stacked against you, and at that moment, I told the vet to proceed with the surgery.

With no real plan on how we could cover the 15 thousand dollar cost, I sat waiting to hear if she was going to make it through the procedure.

Just last night at 8pm, I got a call that she had survived the surgery. That said, she has a very long inpatient stay ahead of her and although we are ready to support her with all our love and kisses, I fear that we will be struggling to support her financially - which is why I’m writing this.

I am hoping you could help us, so we can get Penny, who is only 3 years old, the care she needs and get her home to my kids. I would be forever grateful, if you could make any contribution towards this massive cost, every penny counts.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.