Desperate Man Posts Car for Sale to Save Dog's Life, But Complete Strangers Donate $3,000
When Randy Etter learned that his dog needed emergency surgery, it was a race against time to try and come up with the money before his dog, Gemini, died.
Etter first noticed something was wrong with his best furry friend when Gemini started losing weight. While his frame began to shrink, his gut remained swollen, indicating that something was very wrong.
Etter, a local R&B singer trying to make a living in Indianapolis, Indiana, took Gemini to a vet, where he learned his dog had a life-threatening intestinal blockage. If Gemini did not have surgery right away, he would not be able to survive.
The cost of the surgery ranged between $3,000 to $6,000, Etter said, as he drove from surgeon to surgeon trying to find someone who could save his dog.
Desperate, Etter placed his car up for sale, hoping it would sell very quickly so he could pay for Gemini’s surgery.
“I’m sitting here watching TV, and I’m literally thinking he was dying that night,” Etter told WXIN.
“I knew I didn’t have the money for the surgery, but I knew in my mind that was what had to happen. I put my car up for sale for $1,000 less than what I was actually wanting to take for it.”
Time was ticking away, and a friend generously offered $2,000 toward the surgery, which was a great start — but still not enough.
Then, Etter got help from an unlikely place. Total strangers donated to a fund set up by Street Outreach Animal Response Initiative (S.O.A.R.) in Indianapolis.
The organization is dedicated to helping humans and animals who are facing crisis situations, according to the non-profit’s Facebook page.
Once S.O.A.R. posted Gemini’s need on Facebook, nearly $3,000 dollars came in to get the pup into emergency surgery. The donors had never met Etter or Gemini — they simply wanted to help a family during a time of crisis.
“I never thought I’d be one of those people to catch the miracle, you know what I’m saying?” a grateful Etter said.
The relieved owner said that doctors found a partially chewed sock and plastic from a baby bottle inside Gemini’s intestine and that his dog is now back at home, recovering from his ordeal. He’s keeping a close eye on the floor and the dog, to make sure Gemini doesn’t get into any more trouble snapping things up.
Etter was blown away by the way the Indianapolis community rallied around him, thankful that he gets to keep living life with his best friend.
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