Help pay a beloved dog’s vet bills

Hi, my name is Mike and I'm trying to pay our dog Vinnie's vet bills. Our pet insurance is not as generous as I thought it was, so my credit card and savings have taken a big hit.

Shortly after I retired, a VERY GOOD BOY named Vinnie Van Go came to live with us. My partner Brenda said that when Vinnie and I met, “You looked in each other’s eyes and I heard violins. It's an interspecies bromance”. Vinnie has been my constant companion and best friend since then.

Every morning Vinnie and I would go for long walks. Almost every afternoon Vinnie and I would visit Lina’s Italian Market near our home to enjoy espresso (me) and dog treats (Vinnie). People stop to visit and pet Vinnie on their way in and out of the market. The neighbourhood children love him, and most of the neighbourhood adults love him too.

On his 12th birthday Vinnie had emergency surgery for colonic torsion. The surgery was successful, but just as we were preparing to welcome him home Vinnie developed a fever and needed a second surgery. He had a serious infection thanks to a tiny bit of dead tissue that caused a leakage from his colon. This sometimes happens, because the blood supply is interrupted by a twisted intestine. The vet bill is now 3 to 4 times what we expected.

Vinnie did not do well after the second surgery. He ate very little and was almost unable to walk. We were despondent and prepared ourselves to say goodbye. We had done all we could and we did not want him to suffer unnecessarily.

We visited Vinnie and fed him a little peanut butter and some treats dipped in peanut butter. He ate them greedily. It turns out peanut butter and hand feeding triggered a rapid recovery (you can read the details in our updates). Vinnie came home on November 13. We are so happy!

Vinnie still has weeks of recovery at home ahead of him. But he is eating well and is almost walking on his own. He just needs a little help with his balance. We may only be in the meadows right now, but it sure looks like we are on our way out of the woods.

If there is any surplus from this fundraiser, I plan to split it between the Calgary Humane Society and other local charities. Recently Parachutes For Pets, Harvest Hills Cares and Be The Change YYC lost a big chunk of their funding.