Boy Sells Pokemon Card Collection To Save His Puppy's Life

LEBANON, VA — When Bryson Kliemann discovered that his 4-month-old puppy, Bruce, needed a lifesaving treatment with a $700 price tag, he sprung into action and decided to raise the money himself.

To do that, though, Bryson would need to sell one of his most prized possessions: his Pokemon card collection.

“Bruce got sick and needed my help,” 8-year-old Bryson told The Washington Post. “I was super sad. I didn’t want to lose my best friend.”

Bryson was playing and organizing the cards when he noticed Bruce wasn't acting like himself, Bryson's mother Kimberly Woodruff told ABC affiliate WCYB, which originally reported the story.

"He wasn't coming out of his cage and being the normal puppy he usually is," Woodruff told WCYB. "He was very lethargic, just not doing good."

Woodruff took Bruce to the vet where he was diagnosed with parvo, a highly contagious virus found in dogs.

The Merck Veterinary Manual classifies parvo as a disease of the stomach and small intestines, which is where the virus does the most damage. The virus usually infects the small intestine and can also affect the bone marrow and lymphopoietic tissues. In some cases, it can also affect the heart.

If left untreated, there was a great chance Bruce would not survive.

The cost to treat Bruce would've been close to $700 — a cost Woodruff and her husband simply could not afford.

“Our income is very limited,” Woodruff told The Post. She is studying phlebotomy and her husband is an arborist. “My husband is the only one who works, since I’m in school.”

That's when Bryson hatched a plan to come up with the money. Woodruff was at class one day when her husband sent her a photo of Bryson, who set up shop near the side of the road to sell his Pokemon cards.

Woodruff shared the photo with a local Facebook group in hopes of inspiring others to support Bryson's efforts.

Within two days, he had sold $400 worth of cards.

As word spread and offers to support Bruce's treatment poured in, Woodruff created a GoFundMe page to cover the remaining cost.

" I know I have been raising him right," Woodruff wrote of Bryson. "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 of Tuesday, the GoFundMe fundraiser had raised more than $16,600. Woodruff said the rest of the money will go toward Bruce's future vaccinations as well as other families who need financial help caring for their pets. So far, the funds have helped three other families pay their veterinary bills.

“We definitely want to pay it forward. It’s a horrible situation to be in,” Woodruff told the Post. “Knowing other families go through the same thing, we want to help.”

Meanwhile, neighbors and strangers alike are doing what they can to show their appreciation for Bryson's gesture.

“He sold some cards, but before I could even notice a dent in his collection, people had already dropped off so many more,” Woodruff told the Post. “It was amazing.”

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