Gretchen is a 5-year-old Pit Bull in Springfield, MO, who needs $900 for Heartworm Treatment.

I found Gretchen two months ago just sitting on my porch waiting for me to come outside and meet her! She had a collar and leash on but no tags or microchip. My neighbor and I searched for two months to find her owners. We put up fliers, posted on Facebook and even went door to door but no one recognized her.

I am a widow with no children so I live by myself with my cat, Rico, and my other rescue dog, Pepper. Rico is extremely timid and hides under the bed most of the time but he started warming up to Gretchen right away! Gretchen wasn't as thrilled with Pepper when they first met but after a few weeks of supervised interaction they are now best friends and love to wrestle and play together!

Gretchen is definitely a cuddle bug! Even though she is a 65 pound pit bull she thinks she is a lap dog and loves to jump on my lap pretty much anytime I sit down! She is such a happy girl. One of the things I love most about her is her happy puppy dance! Every day when I get home from work I am greeted with so much enthusiasm it always makes me smile!

After two months of not being able to find her original owners I finally decided to keep her myself. Since we was not spayed yet I took her in to be spayed and get all of her shots. She also had a tumor removed (which was benign, thank goodness!) and that is when I found out that she tested positive for heartworm.

After paying for spay surgery and tumor biopsy I have already spent several hundred dollars and now the heartworm medication is going to cost another $1000! I am a single woman, working for minimum wage at a non-profit and I already have two other animals to care for.