COLUMN: Hoping for a Minnie miracle

Amy is a pug-obsessed music lover who sings an annoying amount and spends too much time looking at Pinterest.

When asked about her achievements she included memorising all the words to Disney’s Frozen, knowing the exact shade of green which is known as Tiffany Blue and having a laugh which people think is hilarious – all things which are quite useless in the real world.

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WHEN I was a kid, I remember I used to like a Sesame Street skit where a group of dogs sang a version of The Beatles’, With a Little Help From My Friends.

I’m pretty sure the only reason they chose dogs to sing that song was because a howl sounded better than a cat’s meow but ever since, I have associated the song with dogs.

Now it seems it was a prophecy which has come true.

As I have written in the past, my dog Minnie is sick and needs urgent surgery so I have been scrimping and saving to pay the $4000 vet bill.

And then I got the news one week out from the surgery that the quote I was given didn't include the after-care cost.

“The total will be $4000-$6000,” they said.

Those words confused me for a bit – why were they telling me there was a scenario where I only had to pay for the surgery?

Then I realised that was the scenario where Minnie didn't make it.

It then became the scenario I tried to ignore so I could focus on getting the rest of the money.

And then like a tidal wave, numbness just washed over me.

I didn't panic and I wasn't worried but it did feel like I was struggling to keep my head above the metaphorical tidal wave and think clearly about the next step.

I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

There was no way I could give up but my head was blank with no idea of where the extra two grand was going to come from.

But I got by with a little help from my friends.

Two of my friends here at the Mandurah Mail put together an online collection.

It turns out a lot of people couldn't say no to Minnie’s little pug face.

I saw people give whatever they could to help my best friend.

Some I had never even met and I couldn't help but wonder if this was how the Telethon organisers felt every year.

It’s a weird feeling when something like that happens.

Of course you have a mixture of happiness and gratitude as well as feeling incredibly lucky.

But you can’t help feeling guilty as well – why couldn't I be responsible enough to make sure I had that extra $2000 in my savings account in case of an emergency?

I've never consider myself to be a proud person but it felt like I was getting hand-outs that I didn't deserve and I was being greedy.

However, mostly I just feel relieved, because I know that if there wasn't enough money I would have to say goodbye to Minnie.

And I also know that I’m not ready for that.

So I’m writing this as a thank you because the people who helped me will never realise that they didn't just save my dog, but me as well.

What do you think? Have your friends ever gone over and above when you needed their help? Post your comments below.