The majority of the donations - about $3,500 - have come in through New Jersey Aid for Animals, www.njafa.org.
"The Internet is a great tool when you need to connect quickly with like-minded people," said Kathy McGuire, president and founder of New Jersey Aid for Animals. "People can get together and support a cause."
Another $500 has come in direct donations to University of Pennsylvania Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital, where Barney is recovering from surgery.
Barney is a 9-year-old beagle whose chronic ear infections had gotten so bad that doctors at Penn had to remove his ear canal. The costs, the hospital told Stanley, would top $10,000.
Stanley, who has had Barney since he was 4 months old, agreed to the surgery even though she lives on a fixed income of $700 a month. She immediately took out a $3,700 line of credit with a company that does health-care loans and put another $1,300 of Barney's tab on her credit card.
She did it because Barney, she said, is family.
"He's the kind of dog that's in my pocket," said Stanley, of South Philadelphia. "He has to know where I am all the time."
Stanley needed help - and that's where strangers from around the world came in.
The incident caught fire on the Internet because it was initially reported that UPenn would not release Barney without full payment. And, it was said, the dog would be euthanized if Stanley didn't come up with the money in a timely manner.
Neither rumor was true. In fact, Penn donated $1,000 toward Barney's care and agreed to a short-term payment plan for Stanley, something it normally doesn't do.
