Bride and Groom Spend ‘Whole Wedding Budget’ to Save Senior Dog (NFL Sports)

For Heather Johnston and Andrew Boccuzzi, it was an easy decision to direct their savings from their wedding budget to vet bills because it meant extending the life of their beloved pet dog, Elvis.

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

Johnston, owner of Little Paws B&B Dog Daycare & Boarding in Maine, tells PEOPLE that she posted the video on Instagram to make light of Elvis’ serious health situation, which involves him frequently passing out and having seizures for unknown causes.

“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 dog after her late sister pointed him out at the shelter.

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

Since then, Elvis has been by her side through everything.

“I take him pretty much most places I go (dog friendly) and he has been there with me 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 all the growing pains of your 20s,” Johnston explains. “He’s been my only constant through my life. Everyone knows us as one, if i show up without him someone will ask where he is.”

Because Johnston and Boccuzzi are back to square one with wedding planning, they don’t have their plans set in stone, but they do known one thing: Elvis needs “to be a part of it.”

The couple have a photo shoot scheduled with Elvis later this month, and they hope they can plan a small wedding quickly so that Elvis can be there.

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

She continues: “I’m just always anxious about saving money, so I did feel like we needed to push it back another year to be comfortable, and we have a lot of other things going on right now. I’ll go into debt over my dog but not over a wedding. I think the plan now is just to figure out something small with Elvis there and plan a bigger celebration at some point later.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Although the multiple vet visits have been costly, they have been worth changing wedding plans. 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.