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I have always thought that part of being a responsible pet owner included having a little extra money stored away for the medical problems/emergencies that will inevitably arise during the course of a pet’s life. In the 1 year and 9 months Mason and myself have been Koda’s fur parents we have used that financial reserve for Koda’s spay surgery, fox tail removal, 4 sets of separate X-rays, rat poison exposure treatment, diagnostic testing for continued GI irritation, long term medication for GI problems, eye exams and treatment, urinary tract infection, mange, supplements/pain control for her chronic orthopedic problems and general vet visits.
When Koda was five months old she was diagnosed with Genetic Elbow Dysplasia, and more recently Severe Advaced Osteoarthritis. Up until this point, we have managed her symptoms with diet, supplements, stretching, massage, swimming , and staying cautiously and consistently active with moderate hiking, walking and adventuring. In September she had an incident that acutely exacerbated her condition, and her pain got significantly worse. Some days, she tries to not use her effected leg at all, she can no longer hike, walk without extreme pain, run, jump, or play with any of her dog friends. She is only 1 and a half but is displaying the lameness and immobility you'd expect to see in an 11 year old dog.
When her pain got acutely worse in September we cut her exercise down to almost nothing, and transitioned her activity to swimming only, but her pain continued. We then started her on Adequan injections coupled with NSAIDs and a wider variety of supplements. When 5 weeks passed and we saw little to no improvement in her pain we were urged by our vet to seek the opinion of a Canine Orthopedic Specialist in Reno NV.
After meeting with him, and doing more diagnostic testing today he told us that because her Dysplasia and Osteoarthritis is so severe, at some point Koda will likely need to have her leg amputated in order to live a relatively pain free life. However, as a first step he strongly suggests an elbow surgery in hopes to buy her more time on four legs.
So long as Koda has her effected leg, she will have pain but with the operation, about 40% of dogs see 1 year of improvement before they start to experience severe symptoms again.
We could not love Koda more if we made her ourselves. We want nothing more for her than a long, healthy, and pain free life where she gets to hike, swim and explore the outdoor world she loves so much. She is our fur baby and we want to help and support her in any way we can, but the bills are adding up. I’ll be applying for another job very soon, but the cost of more diagnostic imaging, physical therapy, pain control and the surgery that she needs are financially overwhelming. As much as we don't want to, at this time we are asking for help, in the form of donations, and/or ANY advice sent our way. I’ve included some pictures of Koda’s adventures up until her pain got unmanageable, we want so desperately for her to be able to adventure like this again.

















When Koda was five months old she was diagnosed with Genetic Elbow Dysplasia, and more recently Severe Advaced Osteoarthritis. Up until this point, we have managed her symptoms with diet, supplements, stretching, massage, swimming , and staying cautiously and consistently active with moderate hiking, walking and adventuring. In September she had an incident that acutely exacerbated her condition, and her pain got significantly worse. Some days, she tries to not use her effected leg at all, she can no longer hike, walk without extreme pain, run, jump, or play with any of her dog friends. She is only 1 and a half but is displaying the lameness and immobility you'd expect to see in an 11 year old dog.
When her pain got acutely worse in September we cut her exercise down to almost nothing, and transitioned her activity to swimming only, but her pain continued. We then started her on Adequan injections coupled with NSAIDs and a wider variety of supplements. When 5 weeks passed and we saw little to no improvement in her pain we were urged by our vet to seek the opinion of a Canine Orthopedic Specialist in Reno NV.
After meeting with him, and doing more diagnostic testing today he told us that because her Dysplasia and Osteoarthritis is so severe, at some point Koda will likely need to have her leg amputated in order to live a relatively pain free life. However, as a first step he strongly suggests an elbow surgery in hopes to buy her more time on four legs.
So long as Koda has her effected leg, she will have pain but with the operation, about 40% of dogs see 1 year of improvement before they start to experience severe symptoms again.
We could not love Koda more if we made her ourselves. We want nothing more for her than a long, healthy, and pain free life where she gets to hike, swim and explore the outdoor world she loves so much. She is our fur baby and we want to help and support her in any way we can, but the bills are adding up. I’ll be applying for another job very soon, but the cost of more diagnostic imaging, physical therapy, pain control and the surgery that she needs are financially overwhelming. As much as we don't want to, at this time we are asking for help, in the form of donations, and/or ANY advice sent our way. I’ve included some pictures of Koda’s adventures up until her pain got unmanageable, we want so desperately for her to be able to adventure like this again.