Butterball was born blind. Then her owners dumped her at a shelter where the puppy sat for more than a month. No one seemed to want the Lab mix until Barb T. met her.
She adopted Butterball on the spot.

"She is so cute, and she is very playful. I just needed to have this dog. I was lucky enough to get her," she tells Waggle. "Never in a million years did I think I'd have a blind dog."

To help welcome Butterball home, Barb looked up sorts of tips to help blind dogs adapt to new places. But soon Barb realized Butterball doesn't know she's blind. "The stairs were a challenge, but she got used to that really quickly," Barb says. "All her senses are heightened; she knows when she's in front of something."

The pair have been inseparable now for five years. "I was meant to have her, and she was meant to have me. It's my job to care for her and stays healthy," Barb says.

So recently, when Butterball started vomiting uncontrollably, Barb raced her to Mayfair Animal Hospital. "I thought maybe she had eaten something. Then it just got worse; everything she ate, she was vomiting back up. The vet gave her some fluids and nausea medication, and that didn't work."

Barb was worried, and Butterball was admitted to the hospital. "I was lost. I was really lost without her," Barb says. "I had a heavy heart. I could not fathom losing my dog at such a young age. Butterball and I bonded in such a strong way."

Veterinarians ran tests and could not figure out the cause. "She did not eat anything weird. They did X-rays on her stomach trying to see if there was a blockage, they didn't see anything. The vets are talking about doing surgery to pinpoint a cause."

Barb has not physically been able to work for more than a year and depleted all her savings. She started selling her belongings to try to pay for Butterball's tests and possible surgery. Barb says it's her job to take care of Butterball, something she pledged the day she adopted her. Can you help Barb and Butterball?