We were able to pay the first three vet visits but on the fourth, we knew we couldn’t afford all that the vet needed to do. My husband and I had made the difficult decision to put her to sleep. We wept for over an hour over this decision but knew she was in pain and not getting better with the treatment we could afford.
But then the donors of Ellie’s Rainy Day Fund did something that will impact my family for a lifetime.
We love this story and often tell it at bedtime!
Our oldest son, Jay, (age 7 at the time) had been begging for a dog every day for a year. But we just hadn’t found a lab that seemed like it would fit our family.
Then on Thanksgiving Day of 2023 we got a call about a litter of yellow lab puppies in Kentucky. Would this be it? The very next morning we took the kids (three of them, all under the age of eight) on a ROAD TRIP! Turns out, our destination was in the boonies! What had we gotten ourselves into?
We kept telling the kids, “If it’s a keeper, the puppy will pick us.” And pick us she did.
As soon as we finally got to the house, one little yellow lab puppy came running up to my kids wanting to play. She was the last puppy left and it was meant to be. She instantly became a sibling to my three kids.
And her name? The same boy who begged for her got to name her. His nickname is Jay-bird. So, he instantly called her Birdie! We often say, Birdie thinks she is the 4th kid. And you know what? She is!!
Have you ever had a pet or a person that was profoundly important to your kids?
The bond Birdie has with my kids is unbreakable.
For example, I will often know the school bus is coming by her body language before I personally ever hear the bus. She immediately goes to our glass front door and sits, waiting for the kids. As soon as she can see the bus, her entire body freezes like she is locked in and watching. Once the doors open and she sees the kids, the entire body starts waging. I think this is her favorite time of day! I know her greeting is my kids favorite!
On Tuesday, our 1.5 year old puppy was romping in the snow with the kids. A day later, she was fighting for her life.
We were able to pay the first three vet visits but on the fourth, we knew we couldn’t afford all that the vet needed to do. My husband and I had made the difficult decision to put her to sleep. We wept for over an hour over this decision but knew she was in pain and not getting better with the treatment we could afford.
But then the donors of Ellie’s Rainy Day Fund did something that will impact my family for a lifetime. You funded the diagnostics and exploratory surgery that saved Bird’s life. The surgeon removed 12 inches of Birdie’s intestine to dislodge the clump of plastic string that was strangling her digestive system. You brought our girl back from the edge of death. You saved her—AND US!
