A dog owner said she was racing to find $6,000 so she wouldn't have to put her 'best friend' down. Supporters raised over $14,000 for her in a day.

Charissa Cheong
Updated ·3 min read
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A dog owner said she was racing to find $6,000 so she wouldn't have to put her 'best friend' down. Supporters raised over $14,000 for her in a day.

  • A TikToker said that her dog needed surgery on her spine but that her family couldn't afford to pay.

  • Bellah Hambleton's story went viral, and her GoFundMe page raised more than $14,000 in a single day.

  • The TikToker said her dog's surgery and rehabilitation costs would set her back about $13,000.

A TikToker who posted a tearful video about her need to raise funds for her injured dog has gone viral, leading online supporters to donate more than $14,000 to her GoFundMe page in a single day.

"If 6000 dollars doesn't fall from the sky in two days i have to put my best friend down. idk what to do," Bellah Hambleton wrote in a TikTok posted August 9. The video, which went viral and received more than 8.5 million views, showed her appearing to cry with a picture of her dog, Alexa, displayed in the background.

In the caption below her post, the TikToker said that Alexa needed surgery because of a ruptured disc in her spine but that her family couldn't afford it.

"I refuse to let her go when surgery could save her. I hate being poor," she wrote.

Commenters expressed sympathy and said they hoped Hambleton would find the money in time. One top comment encouraged the TikToker to set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money.

Others said they commented on the post to "boost" it to other viewers who might also donate. It's commonly said that the app's algorithm pushes posts with high numbers of interactions to viewers, though TikTok has not confirmed this.

Later that same day, Hambleton said she had set up a GoFundMe page for anyone who wanted to donate toward the cost of Alexa's surgery. She wrote in the description that a specialist told her surgery and rehabilitation costs would actually cost $13,000.

Her GoFundMe page has been up for about a day and has raised $14,375. In the description on the page, the TikToker said she would donate spare money to a local animal charity.

"I truly am so grateful and appreciative of the pure kindness I've gotten from total strangers," she wrote, adding, "The internet and human compassion is a beautiful thing."

Hambleton has shared updates about Alexa's health on her TikTok account, including images of paperwork estimating charges for the procedure, which were labeled as being from a veterinary emergency hospital, and videos and images of herself, her family members, and Alexa that she said were taken inside the hospital. TikTok users have been sending Alexa their well-wishes and prayers for a speedy recovery. Hambleton did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pleas for financial aid have been known to take off on TikTok, particularly when recipients said they needed help. In May, more than $50,000 was raised for a traffic cop who said in a TikTok video posted by Zachery Dereniowski that she and her family would have to "pull it together" and "pray" to cope with financial difficulties.

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