It’s been a little over a month since we introduced you to “Socks,” an adorable pup from Guam who needed help to make the trip to her new fur-ever home in Georgia.
Socks was rescued by Sgt. Smith of Valdosta, who was deployed on a two-week mission to Guam to support the Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) that provides no-cost medical, dental and optometry care to people who need it.
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But getting Socks home with her to Georgia was a tall order for Smith. United Airlines, the only domestic airline in Guam, was unable to fly her.
A charter flight costs nearly $5,000, so Smith and Katie Kopania -- who shared Socks’ story with us in the News4JAX Help Center -- created a GoFundMe account to raise the money.
A week after we shared Socks’ story with you, Kopania was able to close the GoFundMe with $4,465 raised -- enough to fund Socks’ trip.
“Thank you for all your support. We couldn’t have done it without you and your team!” Kopania wrote News4JAX in a Help Center update.
We’ve continued to follow Socks’ journey with updates from Kopania, including LOTS of adorable photos of the sweet pup. Socks was living with a foster family in Guam while her travel was arranged through Pet Shippers Guam.
You can see, Socks is already a Jaguars fan!
Kopania shared receipts with us along with a breakdown of how the GoFundMe money was spent. After GoFundMe’s fee, they received $4,308.73 to help fund Socks’ travels, and that covered almost everything!
- Flight Cost: $3,975
- Health Certificate: $100
- Required Microchip: $67
- Preventative Med Simparico Trio: $40.68
- Medication for Flight: $22
- Vaccines: $326.47
- Remaining GoFundMe Balance: $0
You can see the details yourself on the GoFundMe page, where Kopania is sharing updates.
Socks first flies from Guam to Honolulu, Hawaii, on Wednesday, before the second leg of the journey brings her from Hawaii to Tampa on Thursday.
Socks’ foster family made her a “Safe Travels” cake and gave her some going away gifts.
After Socks arrives in Florida, she’ll be taking a road trip with Sgt. Smith back to Valdosta.
We’re hoping to catch up with them in person on their way home or have them come visit us on The Morning Show!
Thank you to all our viewers who helped make this happen!
If you have a story you’d like to share with us, or a question you’d like answered, just go to help.news4jax.com.