Vinnie is my best friend. I adopted him just over a year ago when we locked eyes in a PetSmart K9 Lifesavers adoption event. He stumbled over with his massive puppy paws and I was done. 

Vinnie was 5 months old at the time, and had suffered abuse in his short life. Despite his past, he provided me unconditional love and trust, and soon it was the same to anyone he met. I'd moved out to D.C. by myself and Vinnie quickly became the family I so desperately missed.

Over the last year, Vinnie has been the light of my life. Every time I walked in the door, whether it'd been 20 minutes or a week away for work, he showered me with unparalleled love and joy. He puts up with my singing showtunes to him and I put up with his insistance on sitting on my clean laundry - no matter how big he grows.

Last Friday night, Vinnie got sick. He started throwing up every time he drank and wouldn't eat. At first it seemed like a typically puppy issue, but by Sunday morning, I was concerned.

I took him as a walk-in to his normal vet, and after some X-rays and a test, they thought he might just have a tummy ache and suggested Pepcid. I took him home, but he wouldn't drink any water and he threw up the Pepcid. I took him back to the vet and they gave him a shot instead.

I thought the worst of it had passed, but within a couple hours, Vinnie wasn't able to lift his own head. He was breathing shallow and quick and his eyes were glazed over.

I immediately took him to ER where they put him on an IV and did more tests. He kept deteriorating. 

Finally, on Monday afternoon, they took him in for emergency surgery. They were able to remove a piece of yarn from one of his rope toys that seemed to be causing the issue and ripping holes into his intestines. 

Due to his severe dehydration, they weren't sure if he was going to be able to make it through surgery, but he did. The surgeon said if they hadn't gotten him in when they did, he would have been gone within a couple hours. 

Unfortunately, the complications made the surgery much more expensive than initially planned - and he still has a long battle to go toward recovery as he fights off possible infection and decreased kidney function from dehydration and the blockage.

I'm 26 years old and have now spent nearly $10,000 of my savings on tests and surgery and he still has a couple days (maybe weeks) of recovery to go at the hospital.

Vinnie's a fighter. I want to give him the best possible chance to fight this and make it to his 2nd birthday this October. Please help me bring my baby home.

Any donation you can spare will go directly to helping to pay his bills. And if you can't spare a dime, please spare a prayer. Any little bit helps.