Bride and Groom Spend ‘Whole Wedding Budget’ to Save Their 15-Year-Old Dog’s Life 

A soon-to-be bride and groom have no regrets about spending their entire wedding budget on veterinarian bills.

For Heather Johnston and Andrew Boccuzzi, it was an easy choice to redirect their wedding savings toward vet care because it meant extending the life of their beloved dog, Elvis.

“When you spent your whole wedding budget on saving your 15-year-old dog,” Johnston wrote in an onscreen text overlay on a video showing the family of three at their local animal hospital. In the caption, she added: “Would give everything I have for this little boy.”

Johnston, owner of Little Paws B&B Dog Daycare & Boarding in Maine, told PEOPLE that she posted the video on Instagram to bring a little humor to Elvis’ serious health challenges, which include frequent fainting and seizures of unknown origin.

“I’ve always said Elvis comes first,” she says. “He lives a better life than me because I owe him my life. Honestly, after getting over the initial shock of the cost, it was a no-brainer. I’m not kidding when I say I love him more than anything in the world (maybe fiancé excluded).”

“I’ll go into debt over my dog but not over a wedding,” she adds.

Back in high school, Johnston adopted the chihuahua mix after her late sister spotted him at a shelter.

“I was the first person he let hold him, and it was soulmates from there,” Johnston recalls.

Since then, Elvis has been a constant presence through every stage of her life.

“I take him pretty much everywhere I go (dog-friendly), and he has been there through my sister’s death, high school graduation, college (he went to college with me), my parents’ divorce, all my first jobs, apartments and homes, all my relationships, starting a business (he’s the logo) and everything that goes along with the growing pains of your 20s,” Johnston explains. “He’s been my only constant. Everyone knows us as one—if I show up without him, someone will ask where he is.”

Because Johnston and Boccuzzi are starting over with wedding planning, their plans aren’t finalized yet—but one thing is certain: Elvis must be part of it.

The couple have a photo shoot scheduled with Elvis later this month and hope to plan a small wedding quickly so he can be included.

“We had planned to elope at the end of this summer and have a low-key, backyard event with immediate family so Elvis could be guaranteed a part of it,” Johnston says. “Then, in a year or two, plan something bigger when we have the money. We were hoping to rent an Airbnb or something in Italy and have an informal wedding where friends and family can hang out.”

She adds, “I’m always anxious about saving money, so I felt like we needed to push it back another year to be comfortable, especially with everything else going on. I’ll go into debt over my dog but not over a wedding. The plan now is just to figure out something small with Elvis there and have a bigger celebration later.”

Though multiple vet visits have been costly, they’ve been worth it. Last month, Johnston feared her pup was “actively dying.” Now, “the king is back.” Elvis is on medication and “pretty much totally back to himself.”

“He’s had lake days, gone to a wedding, goes on small hikes, still gardens with me, and has the crazies,” Johnston says.