Love Is Blind’s Matt Barnett on the response to GoFundMe for dog surgery

Love is blind alum Matt Barnett started a GoFundMe campaign to cover the costs of emergency surgery on Bandit the dog’s gallbladder. Due to his notoriety, the operation sparked criticism online.

“Thank you to everyone who donates. It really means a lot to me and my family. I promise I wouldn’t ask for help if it wasn’t needed,” Barnett, 33, wrote in an Instagram comment on Friday, July 19. “I have a platform and most people in need don’t, so any money raised beyond the cost of caring for my dog ​​will be passed on to others who need it.”

He continued: “I’ve been struggling with this all week and I hope some of you can show a little indulgence with negative comments.”

Hours earlier, Barnett had announced that his beloved pet needed emergency medical care.

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“On Saturday, I was on a work flight when I received a devastating text message: ‘Bandit has a gallbladder torsion and needs emergency surgery or we will have to put him down,'” Barnett wrote. “I immediately started asking questions about how much time we would have with him and what his quality of life would be like. In tears on the flight, I wondered if it was selfish of me to go through with the surgery because then I wouldn’t be able to say goodbye to him.”

Before Barnett could decide whether to “let the dog go,” his parents offered to pay for the procedure with their credit card. Bandit’s surgery took place a day later, on July 14.

“This surgery and stay at the veterinary hospital was a huge financial burden on my parents, who recently retired and live on a fixed income,” Barnett added. “(My wife) Amber (pike) and I really want to help them as much as I can. I hate the thought of asking for help, but this hurts and anything would help.”

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Barnett proposed to 32-year-old Amber without ever having seen each other during the first season of the Netflix series Love is blind. Although love triangles between the two threatened to tear them apart, Barnett and Amber married during the show’s finale.

Barnett and Amber also have a dog named Koda.

“Just a dog and his mother sharing a moment together 🥰🐾❤️,” Amber wrote on Instagram earlier this month. “She’s only with us for a short time, but @barnettisblind and I are her whole life… I don’t know about the rest of the world, but that’s a privilege I’ll never take for granted.”