Love Is Blind alum Matt Barnett started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover dog Bandit’s emergency gallbladder surgery, which prompted online criticism due to his status in the limelight.

“Thank you everyone who is donating. It really means a lot to me and my family. I promise that I wouldn’t ask for help if it wasn’t needed,” Barnett, 33, wrote via an Instagram comment on Friday, July 19. “I do have a platform, and most people who are in need don’t, so any money raised that goes above the cost to take care of my dog, I will forward to others that need it.”

He continued, “I have been struggling all week with this and I hope some of you with negative comments can show a little bit of grace.”

Hours earlier, Barnett disclosed that his beloved pet required emergency medical attention.

“On Saturday, I was on a flight for work when I received a devastating text message: ‘Bandit has gallbladder torsion and needs emergency surgery, or we have to put him to sleep,’” Barnett wrote. “I immediately started asking questions about how much time we would have with him and what his quality of life would be. In full tears on the flight, I questioned whether I was being selfish to say do the surgery because I wouldn’t have gotten to say goodbye.”

Before Barnett had a chance to decide whether to “let [the dog] go,” his parents offered to pay for the procedure on their credit card. Bandit’s surgery occurred one day later on July 14.

“This surgery, plus the stay in the veterinary hospital, has been an extreme financial burden on my parents, who have recently retired and are living on a fixed income,” Barnett added. “[My wife] Amber [Pike] and I really want to help them as much as possible. I hate even the thought of asking for help, but this one hurts, and anything would be helpful.”

Barnett proposed to Amber, 32, sight unseen during the first season of Netflix’s Love Is Blind. Despite pod love triangles threatening to break them apart, Barnett and Amber wed during the show’s finale.

Barnett and Amber also share dog Koda.

“Just a dog and her mom sharing a moment 🥰🐾❤️,” Amber wrote via Instagram earlier this month. “She’s only with us for a short time, but @barnettisblind and I are her whole life … idk about the rest of the world but that’s a privilege that I will never take for granted.”