Frankie B’s Love Story

“Thanks to many empathetic, generous donors to Ellie’s Rainy Day Fund, we’ll never have to face that heartache. I can’t find adequate words. If it weren’t for you, our beautiful baby boy would be gone. Our whole family is forever grateful. Thank you for saving Frankie and making our family whole again.”
– Frankie’s Family

I am an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran. I am classified as disabled. I function now as well as I do because I live with the world’s best dog. He keeps me grounded. He keeps me sane.

Frankie isn’t just “the best” for me alone. He has the greatest human big sister and sweetest little human brother.

When his sister was 1 year old, her mommy thought a companion would be perfect to grow up alongside her. So when Frankie was only a few months old and a baby himself, he joined their family. He is now 2, and she is 3. They have grown up together and have experienced everything together. They are inseparable.

When his sister is around, he won’t leave her side. When she is crying, he licks her tears and makes her laugh again. When she goes to eat, he stations himself on crumb patrol. When she goes to time out, so does he. You get the idea.

Frankie was a little unsure about his new role as big brother when his baby brother entered the family in October. But as time went on, Frankie took a liking to him. He takes his new position very seriously, as a certified protector and kisser of the baby now. And when anyone gets too close to him, he barks and lets them know their place.

Frankie brings everyone in our family joy and a sense of purpose. Have a bad day? Frankie will fix it! He’ll lay in your lap and encourage you to stroke his fur. He’ll run circles around you, greet you at the door every time you get home, lick your tears away. He’ll even steal your spot in bed.

When he’s done you’ll feel calmer and have a smile on your face! You’ll know you are loved and important. You’ll know you can make it through another day.

Do you have anyone in your life like that? If you do, then you’ll understand our alarm when he quickly went from his playful spunky self to not eating at all, throwing up constantly, and laying on the floor helplessly.

We quickly took out a loan to get him to the vet and to pay for x-rays. We had to help our baby. The vet DID find the problem. Our silly, cuddly, energetic, amazing pup had swallowed his toy bone and now it was stuck in 2 different parts of his intestine. Which was cutting off the normal blood flow. We were told it would be fatal and that time was of the essence.

We were just babysitting Frankie while the family went on vacation, then to lighten the load as they dealt with a car accident and new business venture. It worked out perfectly since Frankie sleeping over coincided with a drop in my anxiety and a lessening of my depression. We were prepared for regular vet bills. But where would we get the whopping $7,000 or more we needed now to save him? Both our families together couldn’t get anywhere close.

He was so young. How we were going to break the news to my granddaughter? How were we going to handle knowing that Frankie could’ve been saved but it just wasn’t in the budget… Thanks to many empathetic, generous donors to Ellie’s Rainy Day Fund, we’ll never have to face that heartache. I can’t find adequate words. If it weren’t for you, our beautiful baby boy would be gone. Our whole family is forever grateful. Thank you for saving Frankie and making our family whole again.

-From All Three Generations of Frankie’s Family