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Dog Loving Terminally Ill Girl Sent 50,000 Pooch Pictures From Across The Globe

Dog Loving Terminally Ill Girl Sent 50,000 Pooch Pictures From Across The Globe

It started out with a few family members emailing the seven-year-old pictures following her diagnosis, but it has since snowballed hugely

Jake Massey

Jake Massey

When seven-year-old Emma Mertens was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in January, close family and friends sent her pictures of their dogs as a show of support - because Emma loves dogs.

To help her cope with her rare Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, they then asked more friends to send through their dog pictures.

Soon enough, numerous posts about the charitable canine cause had gone viral, to the point that now around 50,000 doggo pictures have been sent to Emma, from Hartland, Wisconsin, USA.

Terminally ill Emma has been sent pictures of dogs from across the world.
Emma's Fight/Caring Bridge

Her dad, Geoff, said the family had to set up a P.O. Box and an email account specifically for dog pictures.

Speaking to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, he said: "Without us even knowing, a friend of ours had about a dozen friends send in pictures, and at some point it just took off.

"We're getting about 2,800 emails each hour and mail by the truckload. I think that says a lot about dog lovers, that they want to take care of more than just themselves.

"I've stopped counting, but we were at 20 different countries at one point and every state.

"We've gotten (pictures) from Australia, Venezuela, Japan, Italy, Russia - and actually a lot from Scotland and the Netherlands for some reason."

Emma spent a day as a guest veterinarian.
Emma's Fight/Caring Bridge

However, the P.O. Box and the email address have now both become swamped with dog pictures too, so they have had to set up a Facebook page, called Team Emma - Emmalovesdogs7, as the new doggy pictures hub.

But people from across the world haven't just been generous with pictures of their dogs. A GoFundMe page set up to help support her treatment has received more than $130,000 (£98,000) in donations - obliterating the original $50,000 (£37,000) target.

Mr Mertens said: "My wife no longer works to take care of our daughter. We have no clue where this treatment is going to take us. To know that we have some financial stability is really amazing and comforting."

Emma's love of dogs led to her receiving more than 50,000 dog pictures from all over the world.
Emma's Fight/Caring Bridge

Yet, while the money will make a huge difference to the family, it's the countless dog pictures that make Emma's day.

Mr Mertens said: "You should see her smile or giggle.

"She's a huge fan of larger dogs... but she loves the pictures that come up with just funny and cute dogs. When a dog is doing something silly she just lights up."

Don't we all Emma, don't we all... Now get sending a picture of your dog through to the Facebook page and make her smile.

Featured Image Credit: Emma's Fight/Caring Bridge

Topics: Viral, Inspirational, Community, Animals