Hi everyone- my name is Kathryn and I have a beautiful family with two young children and two dogs- one is a Bernese Mountain Dog. Anyone who knows Berners knows that these sweet, gentle giants have a way of creeping into your heart (or lap) unlike any other breed I’ve ever met. Murphy is our goofy, loyal buddy boy who has been with us through the birth of our two children, military deployments, loss of our dog Pip, pregnancy loss, international change of duty stations and countless other highs and lows of life- always providing a Berner lean when you need it most. Now our buddy needs us.
Anyone who knows Berners also knows that these goofballs can have an appetite for socks, trash, and any other inedible item they can get their paws on. In this case, it was gauze. Gauze used to wrap a wound on my brother’s dog’s paw.
On January 17th, Murphy began vomiting multiple times in our home. He spent the day at the vet receiving X-rays and bloodwork and after another round of vomiting, it became obvious that Murphy ate something he shouldn’t have-gauze.
As of Jan 18th, Murph is at CSU emergency veterinary hospital for the night. He received an ultrasound and another round of X-rays today which confirmed our suspicions about the foreign body lodged in his intestines. They have decided to keep him there overnight on an IV to see if he can potentially pass the object on its own before it becomes completely obstructed. If it does not pass on its own, surgery is the next step. Our bill is already at $2500 for the two days spent at the vet, and it is still climbing. The estimate for the surgery is between $6000-$8000.
Currently, we are a one-income family. My husband is an active-duty soldier in the Army. When we were stationed overseas I was forced to leave my job and since then I have been a stay-at-home mom for the time being.
We always give back when we can- we have fostered and rescued and volunteered with numerous organizations. We strive and hope to be in the position soon to give back and pay it forward.
It humbles me more than you know to ask, but we are looking for donations in order to save Murphy’s life.
We thank you so much for the read, the thoughts and prayers, and your kindness and generosity. We appreciate it more than you will ever know <3
Kathryn, Kevin, Murphy and the kids