Maddie is a three-year-old Retriever mix in Blakeslee, PA, who needs $2,000 for emergency care.

Maddie went from being a fun-loving, playful Labrador mix to being paralyzed, on oxygen, a feeding tube, and battling for her life in an ICU emergency room because she contracted tetanus.

Tetanus bacteria live in soil and produce a toxin that attacks the nervous system. It's very rare for dogs to get it, but if they do, they can develop paralysis of the respiratory muscles and die. It's so dangerous people get vaccinated against tetanus, but there’s no vaccination for dogs.

Maddie's family is overwhelmed with grief and struggling to continue paying for her round-the-clock care.

"Maddie has been getting care in the Metropolitan Veterinary Hospital since May 3," Barbara S., Maddie's human mom, tells Waggle. "She also has developed pneumonia. If she survives tetanus, she can go back to being a healthy, happy three-year-old dog."

Barbara and her family created this campaign, hoping you will help them see Maddie through this totally unexpected crisis.

"I am 62 and had to take early Social Security due to rheumatoid arthritis," Barbara says. "My husband is a truck driver. This year, we have been helping my daughter financially and physically move to another more appropriate home that is safe for her and my two grandchildren. What little savings we had went to that."

Maddie, who Barbara adopted when she was just 13 weeks old, means so much to their family.

"Maddie is the sweetest dog ever," Barbara says. "She has a special love for my nine-year-old granddaughter, Hannah. Maddie gets so excited when my husband comes home from work. He gets down on his knees to greet her, and she licks his bald head and puts her paws on his shoulders. We love Maddie so much and can't bear to lose her."