Save Sammi

Last night my 6 year old Bernese Mountain dog, Samson, was playing like he normally does, chewing on his toys and happily getting attention from my two friends and I. We were all in my new apartment decorating when Sammi started pacing back and forth. We didn't think anything of it since he's an energetic dog, he often prefers to keep moving. Suddenly he started whining and started whining and yelping, like he has never before. I brought him outside thinking he needed to go to the bathroom, but he wasn't able to. He began to act panicked, foaming at the mouth and stated howling. I knew then that something was terribly wrong. My friends helped me lift him into the car and we raced to the emergency vet Iowa State University veterinary hospital on campus. By this point he couldn't even walk on his own so the vet technicians had to wheel him in on a cart. With an x-ray the problem was revealed, Sammi had a GDV. A gastric dilation- volvulus, which is when the stomach flips inside the dog, causing extreme pain and even death if not treated within hours of the incident. They were able to give him fluids and medication to make him more comfortable, but they made it clear there was only two options for me to chose from. 1. I chose to put him down or 2) I pay to have the surgery to flip his stomach back and let him live a long healthy life. I couldn't bear the thought of losing him when I just three days ago brought him to live with me at school after winter break.  Sammi is more than a dog to me, he is my greatest support system and best friend. The only choice was to save him. I told the clinic this and they said they would start calling in the surgeons, but then I hit a huge road block. They needed a down payment of $2000 to even begin the surgery and I only had $600 in my account. I scrambled to apply for care credit, but because it was past midnight I couldn't get a response from their system. The clinic didn't allow payment plans so I was slowly having to face the reality that I was going to have to say good bye to my best friend that night, but my prayers where answered when one of my friends got back from getting some paperwork from my house and saw we were out of options and used her savings. He successfully survived the surgery and he is in recovery at the clinic, we caught it just in time. I am unbelievably relieved he is ok, and thankful that my friend Sophie was there. Unfortunately that was only the money to start surgery but when I go to pick him up I am expected to pay the remaining amount, an amount I am not even close to having. I created this account because I have no other options to save my best friend. If you are reading this and just have a few dollars to spare I would greatly appreciate it, every cent counts. Thank you for reading my story and I hope you can help Samson get the care he needs to live out the rest of his life a happy and healthy pup.