Help Roxie Get New Legs!
Donation protected
FIRST: I am not sure what the total cost will be to treat Roxie and allow her to walk normally again. If it costs less than what I raise here, I COMMIT TO DONATING 100% OF THE EXTRA to the Northeast Animal Shelter, the no kill shelter that rescued Roxie in the first place. I WILL NOT KEEP ANY EXTRA if it costs less! I promise to post updates with cost at each step along the way (with pictures of receipts).
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SUMMARY (to read the long story, continue to the end): This is the story of a puppy rescued from Puerto Rico. She has extreme joint laxity in her paws which has caused her front left paw to become almost completely dislocated from her leg. This is progressive, affects all four of her paws to varying degrees, and is slowly getting worse and worse. I have taken her to various veterenarians, and now will be seeing a specialist for further options.
The money raised here will help cover the cost of the specialist, her pain medications, and will help find an option to help her walk again. There are several options available so far: 1- do nothing but pain management, 2- surgery to fuse her joints, 3- orthotic bracing for her paws. The last two options are expensive, and I would like to be able to help Roxie without money being an obstacle. She has pet insurance through Banfield Pet Hospital, is on two different pain meds (long acting and shorter acting for flareups), is on special dog food for her joints, and takes a joint supplement. The specialist (at Tufts Veterinary School) will cost several hundred dollars just for the consult. Any additional testing will cost extra. Surgery is expensive. I would LOVE to try bracing FIRST, as it is non-invasive and is reversible if we can not get good results with it.
THANK YOU for helping this sweet baby walk again!!
Orthotics for Roxie
Northeast Animal Shelter
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~~ Roxie's Story ~~
Roxie was born in Puerto Rico, was rescued from the streets, and brought to the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem MA, where I met and fell in love with her.
Roxie was an adorable puppy who loved life and never sat still! She loved chasing her brother Sam around the yard, and loved taking trips to the dog park to play with her friends. She loved meeting new people and their pups, and was always up for a good game of chase!
Roxie finally knew what love was. She shared her life with her human mommy Heather, her beagle brother Sam, and her kitty brother Tek.
As Roxie got older, her paws seemed to get sore sometimes. There was no rhyme or reason to the soreness, but sometimes she would limp and favor her paws. The vet couldn't find anything wrong with her paws, and thought it might be a random sprain or overuse injury since chihuahuas are known to have "bad joints".
Roxie spent most of her time laying in a sunny patch in the grass, or on the back of the couch, watching the cars and people go by. She also snuggled under lots of soft blankets to keep warm! Her feet seemed to be more and more sore, so she walked less and less.
Her joints became extremely swollen, and sore to the touch, and we noticed that they were hyperextending as she walked. Roxie was carried from bed to couch to yard to food bowl as we tried to get her pain and swelling under control. She was diagnosed with Immune Mediated Poly-Arthritis. The best treatment for this is to stop her immune system from attacking her paws. We tried steroids, but they made her so incredibly sick that she even cried in her sleep. After 3 weeks of being incredibly miserable and seeming to be worse with each dose, we made the difficult decision to stop the steroids. Within a month, Roxie started feeling more like herself, but her feet were still swollen and creaking with every step. At this point, the joint above her toes (her wrist?) would bend completely backwards when she would place pressure on her paws. Her muscles were atrophied, and he toes were tight and curled up. She was walking on her wrists instead of her paws, and they were completely unstable at this point. Her paws would flap around, and she had no control of her feet beyond her wrists. She could no longer hold a ball, a bone, or a toy to play with. Even her back paws seemed to be getting worse. What could we do??
We decided to change her pain medication to see if we could find something more long acting. We started her on Neurontin, to help with the chronic pain. My sister gave us a hand-me-down Sakura Baby sling, and I started carrying Roxie in it wherever we went. Before that, I was carrying her in my arms, but this allowed us to go anywhere! We placed a dog bed in several different rooms so Roxie could join us if we were cooking in the kitchen, hanging out in the livingroom, or in the dining room eating dinner. We carried her up and down three flights of stairs several times a day to go potty. Her two favorite places to hang out became the back of an easy chair by the window and snuggled under warm blankets on the couch. We made sure to offer her food and water throughout the day, and would move her often so she wouldn't get bored. If she feels playful, we hold a toy for her to chew. She loves it when we hold a bone for her so she can chew on that too! At night she loves to crawl under the blankets and sleep by my feet. Roxie always gives my leg a little kiss right before she falls asleep to let me know she loves me.
Her paws bend like a kangaroo... But that joint is not supposed to bend that way! It creaks and grinds with each step, and is actually completely detached/dislocated from the rest of her leg. :( You can also see how curled and twisty her toes are in this picture.
This sling has helped save my back since this little nugget weighs almost 13 lbs! :)
She seems to like being in it.
She loves being able to go outside on walks with the rest of us! Even if it WAS pretty cold this winter!
You can see how her front paw doesn't line up with the rest of her leg in this pic.
She loves this chair because she can see out the window and can be in the warm sun.
This is the extent to which Roxie can walk. Taking steps is painful, and as you can see, she is very limited. She can not take more than a few steps, and that number gets smaller and smaller. She has not been able to run in over 2 years. I love this little peanut, and want to help her get that part of her life back! My plan is to visit the specialist in July and talk to them about trying specialized orthotics before surgery. Crossing my fingers for some answers and some solutions!!
Her life is just as valuable as any baby's life, so I ask for your help in this journey. Let's help Roxie walk and play again!
Thank you so much for reading and for helping if you can! Even $1 is a help sicne it adds up. I would also gladly take positive vibes, prayers, well wishes, and any other positive energy you want to send our way! We can use it all! :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SUMMARY (to read the long story, continue to the end): This is the story of a puppy rescued from Puerto Rico. She has extreme joint laxity in her paws which has caused her front left paw to become almost completely dislocated from her leg. This is progressive, affects all four of her paws to varying degrees, and is slowly getting worse and worse. I have taken her to various veterenarians, and now will be seeing a specialist for further options.
The money raised here will help cover the cost of the specialist, her pain medications, and will help find an option to help her walk again. There are several options available so far: 1- do nothing but pain management, 2- surgery to fuse her joints, 3- orthotic bracing for her paws. The last two options are expensive, and I would like to be able to help Roxie without money being an obstacle. She has pet insurance through Banfield Pet Hospital, is on two different pain meds (long acting and shorter acting for flareups), is on special dog food for her joints, and takes a joint supplement. The specialist (at Tufts Veterinary School) will cost several hundred dollars just for the consult. Any additional testing will cost extra. Surgery is expensive. I would LOVE to try bracing FIRST, as it is non-invasive and is reversible if we can not get good results with it.
THANK YOU for helping this sweet baby walk again!!
Orthotics for Roxie
Northeast Animal Shelter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~ Roxie's Story ~~
Roxie was born in Puerto Rico, was rescued from the streets, and brought to the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem MA, where I met and fell in love with her.
Roxie was an adorable puppy who loved life and never sat still! She loved chasing her brother Sam around the yard, and loved taking trips to the dog park to play with her friends. She loved meeting new people and their pups, and was always up for a good game of chase!
Roxie finally knew what love was. She shared her life with her human mommy Heather, her beagle brother Sam, and her kitty brother Tek.
As Roxie got older, her paws seemed to get sore sometimes. There was no rhyme or reason to the soreness, but sometimes she would limp and favor her paws. The vet couldn't find anything wrong with her paws, and thought it might be a random sprain or overuse injury since chihuahuas are known to have "bad joints".
Roxie spent most of her time laying in a sunny patch in the grass, or on the back of the couch, watching the cars and people go by. She also snuggled under lots of soft blankets to keep warm! Her feet seemed to be more and more sore, so she walked less and less.
Her joints became extremely swollen, and sore to the touch, and we noticed that they were hyperextending as she walked. Roxie was carried from bed to couch to yard to food bowl as we tried to get her pain and swelling under control. She was diagnosed with Immune Mediated Poly-Arthritis. The best treatment for this is to stop her immune system from attacking her paws. We tried steroids, but they made her so incredibly sick that she even cried in her sleep. After 3 weeks of being incredibly miserable and seeming to be worse with each dose, we made the difficult decision to stop the steroids. Within a month, Roxie started feeling more like herself, but her feet were still swollen and creaking with every step. At this point, the joint above her toes (her wrist?) would bend completely backwards when she would place pressure on her paws. Her muscles were atrophied, and he toes were tight and curled up. She was walking on her wrists instead of her paws, and they were completely unstable at this point. Her paws would flap around, and she had no control of her feet beyond her wrists. She could no longer hold a ball, a bone, or a toy to play with. Even her back paws seemed to be getting worse. What could we do??
We decided to change her pain medication to see if we could find something more long acting. We started her on Neurontin, to help with the chronic pain. My sister gave us a hand-me-down Sakura Baby sling, and I started carrying Roxie in it wherever we went. Before that, I was carrying her in my arms, but this allowed us to go anywhere! We placed a dog bed in several different rooms so Roxie could join us if we were cooking in the kitchen, hanging out in the livingroom, or in the dining room eating dinner. We carried her up and down three flights of stairs several times a day to go potty. Her two favorite places to hang out became the back of an easy chair by the window and snuggled under warm blankets on the couch. We made sure to offer her food and water throughout the day, and would move her often so she wouldn't get bored. If she feels playful, we hold a toy for her to chew. She loves it when we hold a bone for her so she can chew on that too! At night she loves to crawl under the blankets and sleep by my feet. Roxie always gives my leg a little kiss right before she falls asleep to let me know she loves me.
Her paws bend like a kangaroo... But that joint is not supposed to bend that way! It creaks and grinds with each step, and is actually completely detached/dislocated from the rest of her leg. :( You can also see how curled and twisty her toes are in this picture.This sling has helped save my back since this little nugget weighs almost 13 lbs! :)She seems to like being in it. She loves being able to go outside on walks with the rest of us! Even if it WAS pretty cold this winter!You can see how her front paw doesn't line up with the rest of her leg in this pic.She loves this chair because she can see out the window and can be in the warm sun.This is the extent to which Roxie can walk. Taking steps is painful, and as you can see, she is very limited. She can not take more than a few steps, and that number gets smaller and smaller. She has not been able to run in over 2 years. I love this little peanut, and want to help her get that part of her life back! My plan is to visit the specialist in July and talk to them about trying specialized orthotics before surgery. Crossing my fingers for some answers and some solutions!!
Her life is just as valuable as any baby's life, so I ask for your help in this journey. Let's help Roxie walk and play again!
Thank you so much for reading and for helping if you can! Even $1 is a help sicne it adds up. I would also gladly take positive vibes, prayers, well wishes, and any other positive energy you want to send our way! We can use it all! :)
Organizer
Heather Staples
Organizer
Everett, MA
