Bride-to-be gives up $2,000 wedding dress to pay for a rescue dog's surgery

A bride-to-be in Virginia has made a heartwarming choice: she gave up the $2,000 wedding dress she had her heart set on and used the money to pay for surgery for a rescued puppy. It began when animal rescue group STAB Rescue posted a plea on social media, and the story of the young dog, Serafina, reached the woman while she was planning her wedding. (Image: file image of a shelter puppy, not Serafina herself.)

The puppy nearly faced euthanasia

Serafina arrived at a rural shelter as a puppy with her brothers and sisters, and after a long stay the whole litter ended up on the euthanasia list. Fortunately, STAB Rescue, based in North Carolina, stepped in just in time and took in all three dogs, giving them a fresh start. Volunteers then noticed the young dog had an unusual gait, and a vet diagnosed a severe hip condition that urgently needed complex and expensive surgery.

A bride-to-be moved at first sight

The rescue group posted online asking for help with the vet bill. The bride-to-be in Virginia saw the post while planning her big day. She had set her heart on a gorgeous $2,000 wedding dress she had been dreaming of buying, but Serafina's story and sweet face moved her deeply. She called her fiancé and told him her decision: she would forgo the dress and spend the money saving the dog instead.

The clinic called, and only then did the rescue know

The bride-to-be did not even contact the rescue group first. She rang the veterinary clinic named on the bill directly and paid for the entire surgery herself. "The vet called me and I started to cry," said Alexis Ketover, assistant director of STAB Rescue. Serafina is now being pampered in a foster home while she awaits her operation in a few weeks; her sister was recently adopted and her brother's adoption is pending.