From USA Today:
“'Don't want Bruce to die':
This boy loves his Pokémon cards. But he sold them to save his dog's life, and
donations are pouring in.”
Bryson Kliemann, 8, has been collecting Pokémon cards since his dad introduced him to the trading cards when he was 4 years old. He has hundreds in his collection, stored in binders and lock boxes. Every Christmas, birthday or holiday, he asks for cards. “His Pokémon cards are his most prized possession,” said his mother, Kimberly Woodruff, 26. But Bryson decided to sell his cherished cards to save his dog’s life – a humble gesture that has rippled across the nation and raised thousands for sick pets. "It makes me feel happy that everybody came together," Bryson told USA TODAY, thanking the people who helped his dog.
The Lebanon, Virginia, boy wanted
a dog for years and would cry when he left the local animal shelter after a
visit, Woodruff said. In March, a
friend’s dog had puppies, and Woodruff adopted Bruce, a now 4-month-old black
lab mix. Pretty soon, Bryson and Bruce were inseparable. “They're best
friends,” Woodruff said. “They love each other.” Bryson Kliemann sits with his
dog, Bruce. When Bruce got sick, Bryson decided to sell his prized Pokémon
cards to save his dog's life. But then Bruce, once a “very playful puppy,”
suddenly wouldn't come out of his cage and began losing weight, Woodruff said.
Bruce was diagnosed with parvo, a
contagious virus that can be deadly if left untreated. Woodruff had given Bruce
self-administered vaccines, including for parvo, in order to save money but
didn’t realize they had to be refrigerated. Veterinarians told Woodruff that it
would cost $655 for the first three days of Bruce’s treatment, and warned more
could be needed, including thousands of dollars to keep him at the animal
hospital overnight for up to a week. It was a price tag the family couldn't
afford. Woodruff explained the situation to Bryson the next morning. “Mom, I
don't want Bruce to die,” he said through tears. “I'm going to pray that he
don't die.” After school, Bryson came home with a plan: He pulled a bunch of
papers from his backpack – drawings scrawled on the back of his schoolwork of a
stand with his Pokémon cards on it. He would sell his collection to save his
puppy. At first, Woodruff discouraged Bryson. “We'll figure this out,” she
said. “Don't worry about it.” But the next day, Woodruff was in her phlebotomy
class when her husband sent a picture of Bryson seated at a table in the front
yard with a wooden sign that said: “Pokémon 4 SALE.” Woodruff cried. “It was
heartwarming, but it hurt to see,” she said. “I didn't want this to be
something he had to worry about. That's my job. But seeing him be so selfless
made me realize that I did something right in raising him to be like this.”
Slowly, handfuls of neighbors
congregated around the Pokémon card stand, thinking the boy was just selling
his cards for extra pocket money. But when they found out what it was for, word
began to spread. “It started out with a few neighbors, and then those people
told people and they told more people, and it kept going and going,” Woodruff
said. Woodruff shared the photo of Bryson at the stand on a local Facebook
group, hoping more neighbors would stop by. She said she didn’t expect the
“overwhelming outpouring of support.” Some of her friends in Michigan asked her
to set up a GoFundMe for Bryson because they lived too far away to support the
stand in person. So Woodruff created a page called “Just a boy trying to save
his dog.” “I know I have been raising
him right,” the GoFundMe’s description read. “With a heart of gold because he's
so worried about our Bruce, he is beside the road trying to sell his favorite
thing in the world just to make his puppy better.” As the story spread and
online donations poured in, dozens lined up at Bryson’s stand. Selling each
card for $5 to $10, the boy collected $400 in only two afternoons. Some
neighbors brought their own Pokémon card collections and gave Bryson their
cards to replenish his collection. Others donated money and dog supplies.
Bryson's grandfather, David Cole
Jr., said the family has received messages of support from people in China,
Australia and Ireland. "With everything that's happened in the past year
and a half, we need some sunshine," he said. "But for Bryson, all he
knew was that his puppy was sick, and he'd do whatever it takes to save his
puppy." Bryson has even been invited to the National Dog Show in November.
And when an employee at the Pokémon Co. in Seattle caught wind of Bryson’s
efforts, the company sent him packs of rare Pokémon cards. “He was stunned when
he opened them,” Woodruff said. Woodruff said her son, whom she describes as
shy and introverted, has been overwhelmed by the attention. After their local
news station interviewed him, he told his mom, “I just want to be a kid.” “I
never expected any of this,” Woodruff said. “It's given me hope for humanity.
To see people come together like this to help my little boy was just
beautiful."
So far, the GoFundMe has raised
more than $19,500. Woodruff decided to contact local shelters and animal
hospitals and use the extra money to pay for what they may need or help
families struggling to pay for health care for their dogs. Woodruff and Bryson
have helped four families so far pay for their dogs’ medical care. Meanwhile,
Bruce is “back to normal times 10,” Woodruff said. Bryson Kliemann sold his
prized Pokémon cards to save his sick puppy Bruce's life. When Bryson's mother
made a GoFundMe for Bruce, the donations came rolling in. Woodruff said she
hopes Bryson and Bruce’s story serves as a warning for people to get their dogs
vaccinated and not to rely on self-administered vaccines unless they have
experience using them. “I hope this story helps people realize that there's
still good left in this world,” she said. “I'm amazed by the uproar of support
for a little boy and his dog in small-town Lebanon, Virginia. Who would've
thought?”
^ This is both a happy and sad
story. Sad because of the dog being sick, but happy because Bryson did something
unselfish and his dog is now healthy. ^
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