Girl's Leg Surgery Fund
Donation protected
Girl was born with a litter of pups who all lost their mother at birth when she got hit by a car. The litter's owner at the time, panicked, offered her to Dominick saying "If you'll bottle feed her, she's yours."
Dominick spent weeks coddling and nurturing the newborn - he built his work schedule around taking care of her and even set his alarm at night to go off every couple of hours to feed her, let her out, keep her warm, and keep her alive.
I met Girl in June of 2012 during my first visit to Arizona. She was fresh off the truck after having been shipped across the country to be reunited with Dominick. Girl was my first pitbull experience. I never had anything against pitbulls or any of the bully breeds out there, but I didn't have a soft spot for them either - I was more into the "long fur, long schnoz" kind of pup.
It's funny how one encounter can completely alter what you thought you knew.
Girl was the most loving, gentle, goofy animal I had ever met. It didn't take long for her to warm up to me - as far as she was concerned, I was family.
Flash-forward to February of 2015, Girl was in great shape. She was strong, vibrant, energetic, and healthy... but by March of 2015 she was lethargic, limping, whiny, and depressed. Her attitude changed daily... some days she was her old self again, other days we couldn't get her to chase the ball (which, before, she'd do for a whole day if you'd let her).
Soon she began having trouble jumping on the bed. She would try over and over to get up, but was unable to find the strength to crawl up there. We had to start trying to lift her... but 75 lbs is heavy... and she'd cry if you picked her up the wrong way. On days when she couldn't get on the bed with you she would sit at the foot of the bed and just cry... but then sometimes we would get home and find her on the bed. We didn't know what to do or what it meant.
And so began the extensive testing. After 2 months of bloodwork, tests, and x-rays, the doctor gave us his first prognosis: Hip Dysplasia.
Hip Dysplasia is a disease of the hip in which the ball and socket joint is malformed. This malformation means that the ball portion and its socket don’t properly meet one another, resulting in a joint that rubs and grinds instead of sliding smoothly.
The doctor gave us a general ballpark of what we would expect the FHO surgery to cost (~>6k) and referred us to a surgeon.
On 6/23/2015, I lifted girl into my car and we nervously made our way to the VSCAZ for our 9:20am appointment, our CD of X-rays tucked away in my purse.
The surgeon confirmed what we already knew - girl has Hip Dysplasia... but she threw us for a loop when she told us that wasn't what was causing Girl so much pain... she tore a ligament in her right knee. 60% of dogs who tear the ligament in one knee will also tear the ligament in the other. I began to panic. Could you imagine being in unimagineable pain for that long and not knowing how to tell someone what was wrong?
After about an hour of talking about the options, the surgeon asked what I wanted to do.
Girl has been the perfect companion: She's sweet, funny, well behaved, and most importantly she is part of our family. All she wants to do is curl up at your belly and lick your face.
Girl's surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, June 30th.
We have 6 months to pay it off. After the surgery is complete, Girl will be in recovery for 2-4 months. In that time we will be on the lookout for infections and other complications - none of which are covered in the initial cost of the surgery and medicines. "Progress" X-rays are not covered in the initial cost, either.
The FHO surgery is still something we will probably have to tackle when she gets older.
Any donation is appreciated. Even if we can raise enough money to cover the cost of an X-ray or an antibiotic for a month, that would make a world of difference to us.
The best thing you can do for us is share our story. If you know Girl, you know how special she is and how much we need her. She's our Girl.
#savegirl
Thank you in advance,
Girl, Erika, Dominick & Noah (Girl's Brother & BFF)
Dominick spent weeks coddling and nurturing the newborn - he built his work schedule around taking care of her and even set his alarm at night to go off every couple of hours to feed her, let her out, keep her warm, and keep her alive.
I met Girl in June of 2012 during my first visit to Arizona. She was fresh off the truck after having been shipped across the country to be reunited with Dominick. Girl was my first pitbull experience. I never had anything against pitbulls or any of the bully breeds out there, but I didn't have a soft spot for them either - I was more into the "long fur, long schnoz" kind of pup.
It's funny how one encounter can completely alter what you thought you knew.
Girl was the most loving, gentle, goofy animal I had ever met. It didn't take long for her to warm up to me - as far as she was concerned, I was family.
Flash-forward to February of 2015, Girl was in great shape. She was strong, vibrant, energetic, and healthy... but by March of 2015 she was lethargic, limping, whiny, and depressed. Her attitude changed daily... some days she was her old self again, other days we couldn't get her to chase the ball (which, before, she'd do for a whole day if you'd let her).
Soon she began having trouble jumping on the bed. She would try over and over to get up, but was unable to find the strength to crawl up there. We had to start trying to lift her... but 75 lbs is heavy... and she'd cry if you picked her up the wrong way. On days when she couldn't get on the bed with you she would sit at the foot of the bed and just cry... but then sometimes we would get home and find her on the bed. We didn't know what to do or what it meant.
And so began the extensive testing. After 2 months of bloodwork, tests, and x-rays, the doctor gave us his first prognosis: Hip Dysplasia.
Hip Dysplasia is a disease of the hip in which the ball and socket joint is malformed. This malformation means that the ball portion and its socket don’t properly meet one another, resulting in a joint that rubs and grinds instead of sliding smoothly.
The doctor gave us a general ballpark of what we would expect the FHO surgery to cost (~>6k) and referred us to a surgeon.
On 6/23/2015, I lifted girl into my car and we nervously made our way to the VSCAZ for our 9:20am appointment, our CD of X-rays tucked away in my purse.
The surgeon confirmed what we already knew - girl has Hip Dysplasia... but she threw us for a loop when she told us that wasn't what was causing Girl so much pain... she tore a ligament in her right knee. 60% of dogs who tear the ligament in one knee will also tear the ligament in the other. I began to panic. Could you imagine being in unimagineable pain for that long and not knowing how to tell someone what was wrong?
After about an hour of talking about the options, the surgeon asked what I wanted to do.
Girl has been the perfect companion: She's sweet, funny, well behaved, and most importantly she is part of our family. All she wants to do is curl up at your belly and lick your face.
Girl's surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, June 30th.
We have 6 months to pay it off. After the surgery is complete, Girl will be in recovery for 2-4 months. In that time we will be on the lookout for infections and other complications - none of which are covered in the initial cost of the surgery and medicines. "Progress" X-rays are not covered in the initial cost, either.
The FHO surgery is still something we will probably have to tackle when she gets older.
Any donation is appreciated. Even if we can raise enough money to cover the cost of an X-ray or an antibiotic for a month, that would make a world of difference to us.
The best thing you can do for us is share our story. If you know Girl, you know how special she is and how much we need her. She's our Girl.
#savegirl
Thank you in advance,
Girl, Erika, Dominick & Noah (Girl's Brother & BFF)
Organizer
Erika Yelenosky
Organizer
Phoenix, AZ
