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WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. -- A Denver family is struggling with the idea of spending Thanksgiving without their dog Jroc.
"It would be weird to not have our dog on Thanksgiving," says 10-year-old Joseph Aguilar.
A week before Thanksgiving, Jroc feasted on something he shouldn't have. Jroc's owner, Jenny Smith, says a piece of string caused the damage and even punctured the 5-year-old dog's pancreas.
"They didn’t think he would make it," Smith told Denver7 about what the vet told her.
Thanks to the emergency surgery at Planned Pethood International, Jroc survived. However, company policy says the animal can't go home until the bill is paid.
"The bad news is I don’t have the money to pick them up and if I don’t have the money to pick him up, he stays here," Smith said.
The $2,000 bill was way more than the struggling family could afford.
"I can’t afford anything extra right now," Smith continues, "my partner was laid off due to COVID."
Wanting to reunite the family, Planned Pethood stepped up.
"They took off a considerable amount. Almost $1,000. They got it down as low as they could," Smith said.
To come up with the rest, Smith's children, Jennifer and Joseph started a GoFundMe to help mom out. Their teachers donated to the fund but it wasn't enough and the kids prepared for a holiday without their best friend.
The family thought Denver7 was going to get the word out about their donation page. Instead, Denver7 Gives donated to the family and covered the remaining balance so Jroc could be released immediately.
"Thank you so much," Aguilar said.
"I'm just so grateful for Denver7 and everyone who helped us out," said Smith.
