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FUNDRAISING UPDATE!Just wanted to provide a little reassurance for everyone with regard to our personal contribution to the fundraising and to evidence the receipts from Torrington. Bear's surgery has now come to the grand total of £6,242 and it could still increase if there are any further complications..!Rob and I have put ALL our wedding savings in to the "pot" and cancelled our summer holiday so please rest assured that we are doing what we can to ensure Bear gets this surgery as we firmly believe charity starts at home! So far we've paid the first bill in full from our personal wedding savings £1742.57 (see receipts: £2481.43-£738.86) We then had to pay a further balance of £4,500 on Monday when Bear was admitted! Thanks to our amazing supporters, we were able to fund £4,000 of the final bill with donations (£720 of which we personally donated ourselves on our page in addition to the £1742.57) Unfortunately, Torrington don't do Payment Plans so we had no other option but to borrow the remaining £500! We really do appreciate everyone's support to date and definitely could not have got to this point with everyone's kindness! THANKYOU! ❤️
I adopted Skye in August, 2016 from the RSPCA. She was removed from her previous owner with 10 other dogs as a result of neglect. I was told her coat was soaked in urine and matted and she had been kept in a crate. She is a 3 and a half year old Double Merle Collie Cross. This means she was born as a result of 2 merles being bred together. This is highly irresponsible as breeding two merles together will result in a 25% chance that each pup in the litter will be deaf, blind or deaf and blind. Thankfully Skye (or Bear as she is affectionately known in our family) still has her eye sight for the most part. She can't see very well on bright, sunny days as her pupils are starburst in shape and therefore her pupils don't contract the way they should in response to bright light. We have bought her some dog sunglasses to protect her eyes in the sunshine and she enjoys wearing them on her walks! Other than her deafness, she had a clean bill of health from the vet at the RSPCA.
Since owning Bear, we have had to make a lot of adjustments, as anyone would when they get a dog, particularly a deaf rescue. I had the summer holidays off with her to get her settled in and we quickly became best buds. After about a week, I noticed her limping every now and then on her back right leg and waking up really stiff from her naps. I took her to the vets and to cut a long story (and numerous trips to the vets and months of medication) short, we were told she required an X-Ray to determine what the problem was, which cost just under £250. It was a difficult decision to make as we didn't have that kind of money spare but after 4 months on medication and reduced exercise, we decided we needed to get the bottom of her discomfort and find out if there was an underlying cause.
The X-Ray confirmed that Bear has hip pathology in BOTH hips, but that it is much worse in her right hip. It was completely devastating news. In and amongst all this we started training her using hand signals and took her to weekly training classes. I moved house to give her a bigger garden and got her a dog walker so she would be kept mentally and physically active during the day when i'm at work (even if she did have to walk on the lead for the most part) I did alot of research in to natural supplements and bought her various things to try and ease her discomfort, including a magnetic collar.
We seemed to have a few good days and even weeks where she didn't limp and then it would be back to square one. We persevered with the medication and pharmaceutical strength, vet approved supplements but it remained unclear as to what we were going to do long term. We went back to the vet for a review and were referred to Torrington Orthopaedics for a consultation to find out what our options were. The consultation alone cost £220 and we have been quoted £5,500 for ONE total hip replacement. Bear is scheduled to have this surgery on Tuesday, 25th July, 2017.
We simply do not have that kind of money to pay for Bear's surgery but equally we can not accept that she will not be able to have the surgery and will be in some degree of pain for the rest of her life. I know there are WAY bigger problems going on in the world right now and I have done a lot of fundraising myself to support these causes over the years but we really need to do the right thing by her.. Bear may be "just" a dog to some, but she is everything to Rob and I and we will do whatever we can to give her the happy, pain-free life she deserves. Thankyou for your support. We appreciate it more than you probably know! xx
I adopted Skye in August, 2016 from the RSPCA. She was removed from her previous owner with 10 other dogs as a result of neglect. I was told her coat was soaked in urine and matted and she had been kept in a crate. She is a 3 and a half year old Double Merle Collie Cross. This means she was born as a result of 2 merles being bred together. This is highly irresponsible as breeding two merles together will result in a 25% chance that each pup in the litter will be deaf, blind or deaf and blind. Thankfully Skye (or Bear as she is affectionately known in our family) still has her eye sight for the most part. She can't see very well on bright, sunny days as her pupils are starburst in shape and therefore her pupils don't contract the way they should in response to bright light. We have bought her some dog sunglasses to protect her eyes in the sunshine and she enjoys wearing them on her walks! Other than her deafness, she had a clean bill of health from the vet at the RSPCA.
Since owning Bear, we have had to make a lot of adjustments, as anyone would when they get a dog, particularly a deaf rescue. I had the summer holidays off with her to get her settled in and we quickly became best buds. After about a week, I noticed her limping every now and then on her back right leg and waking up really stiff from her naps. I took her to the vets and to cut a long story (and numerous trips to the vets and months of medication) short, we were told she required an X-Ray to determine what the problem was, which cost just under £250. It was a difficult decision to make as we didn't have that kind of money spare but after 4 months on medication and reduced exercise, we decided we needed to get the bottom of her discomfort and find out if there was an underlying cause.
The X-Ray confirmed that Bear has hip pathology in BOTH hips, but that it is much worse in her right hip. It was completely devastating news. In and amongst all this we started training her using hand signals and took her to weekly training classes. I moved house to give her a bigger garden and got her a dog walker so she would be kept mentally and physically active during the day when i'm at work (even if she did have to walk on the lead for the most part) I did alot of research in to natural supplements and bought her various things to try and ease her discomfort, including a magnetic collar.
We seemed to have a few good days and even weeks where she didn't limp and then it would be back to square one. We persevered with the medication and pharmaceutical strength, vet approved supplements but it remained unclear as to what we were going to do long term. We went back to the vet for a review and were referred to Torrington Orthopaedics for a consultation to find out what our options were. The consultation alone cost £220 and we have been quoted £5,500 for ONE total hip replacement. Bear is scheduled to have this surgery on Tuesday, 25th July, 2017.
We simply do not have that kind of money to pay for Bear's surgery but equally we can not accept that she will not be able to have the surgery and will be in some degree of pain for the rest of her life. I know there are WAY bigger problems going on in the world right now and I have done a lot of fundraising myself to support these causes over the years but we really need to do the right thing by her.. Bear may be "just" a dog to some, but she is everything to Rob and I and we will do whatever we can to give her the happy, pain-free life she deserves. Thankyou for your support. We appreciate it more than you probably know! xx
Organizer
Kate Dunne
Organizer
