- A
- T
- L
Bella came into our lives just over two months ago after my friend Steph Cooper (Lead and Love Dog Rescue Bend) rescued her from a shelter in California where she was slated to be euthanized. We had just lost our beloved dog Jessie and when Steph showed me a video recording of Bella in that shelter, terrified and yet with the sweetest most compelling eyes, I knew that she was meant to be ours.
What neither Steph nor I could have known was that Bella needed us not only for emotional healing but for physical healing as well. After arriving at Steph's, it was obvious that Bella had issues with her hips. X-rays were performed under sedation (as she was still too nervous and in too much pain to position for imaging). Reports revealed that Bella has dysplasia in both hips, left worse than right, "and" an injury to her right hock.
The next step was taking Bella to an orthopedic surgeon for additional assessment. We met with a highly respected specialist, Dr. Mauricio Dujowich, had an examination and further imaging performed, and were given a much more detailed picture of Bella's condition. Bella does indeed have dysplasia in both hips and the left hip is advanced enough to require a total hip replacement. As if that wasn't enough, she has ligament damage in the left leg with most likely an ACL tear that will worsen and may contribute to a tear in her right ACL. All of that and the hock injury that seems to be the least of the concerns right now.
What all of this means is that Bella needs a total hip replacement and she will likely need an ACL repair in one if not both legs.
So, our game plan is to give Bella a little bit of time to see how her knees do. Imaging guided the vet to realize that she could have a tear but time will be the determining factor. If there is a tear in her left ACL, her limping will worsen and that will be our conclusive indicator. At this point in trying to bring Bella into better health and build up her musculature (she came from California extremely thin with almost no muscle), we have achieved a little weight gain (she doesn't like to eat so that is a challenge) and have her able to take walks up to one mile, although that distance is even a challenge. We are keeping her comfortable with pain meds and anti-inflammatories and will continue that regimen until surgery is performed. It is very important to know for sure what the ACL injury is (tear or strain) before moving ahead with the total hip surgery, so we have to take a little time to see that part of the picture clearly.
As you can imagine, we never imagined all of these medical complexities could exist in a 1 year old dog. We do know that Bella suffered trauma, both mentally and physically, and we are dedicated to helping her heal to the best of her ability. She has come into our family and done amazingly well considering the level of fear she arrived with. There is much to do, but we are making gains every single day and I can share with you that Bella is a sweet girl who could never have deserved any part of whatever she endured in her past life.
We need your help desperately to get Bella the medical intervention and rehabilitation she requires. As you can imagine, these highly specialized surgeries come with a huge cost and we have been given an estimate of $10,000 to start with. That is an estimate for the total hip replacement and one ACL repair. It is likely that she will need more intervention down the road, but this is our starting point and it is pretty overwhelming financially. Bella will also require aftercare of physical therapy to rehabilitate her hip and knee.
Bella is so young to have endured all of the trauma she has experienced and yet she did indeed survive. This is a girl who has so much love to give and just needs time, love, security, leadership and medical intervention to have a full, healthy and happy future. There is no doubt in my mind that Steph was meant to be guided to her, meant to bring her here to Oregon, meant to show her to me and meant to facilitate her becoming a part of our family. For those who know me, you know that I have a heart for the broken and fragile. My heart is the heart of a rescuer and I have to believe that we can collectively help Bella in all of her needs. I am hoping an praying that "together," those of us who love and value animals can give Bella a new lease on life.
Please consider coming alongside of us to help this precious girl... together we can help Bella to be restored and show her that the world is filled with people very different than the ones who contributed to her many fragile parts. Bella is learning what love and commitment feels like and I am so grateful to see the positive changes already happening in her. With a restored physical condition, her life will be unbelievably different on all levels!!!
What neither Steph nor I could have known was that Bella needed us not only for emotional healing but for physical healing as well. After arriving at Steph's, it was obvious that Bella had issues with her hips. X-rays were performed under sedation (as she was still too nervous and in too much pain to position for imaging). Reports revealed that Bella has dysplasia in both hips, left worse than right, "and" an injury to her right hock.
The next step was taking Bella to an orthopedic surgeon for additional assessment. We met with a highly respected specialist, Dr. Mauricio Dujowich, had an examination and further imaging performed, and were given a much more detailed picture of Bella's condition. Bella does indeed have dysplasia in both hips and the left hip is advanced enough to require a total hip replacement. As if that wasn't enough, she has ligament damage in the left leg with most likely an ACL tear that will worsen and may contribute to a tear in her right ACL. All of that and the hock injury that seems to be the least of the concerns right now.
What all of this means is that Bella needs a total hip replacement and she will likely need an ACL repair in one if not both legs.
So, our game plan is to give Bella a little bit of time to see how her knees do. Imaging guided the vet to realize that she could have a tear but time will be the determining factor. If there is a tear in her left ACL, her limping will worsen and that will be our conclusive indicator. At this point in trying to bring Bella into better health and build up her musculature (she came from California extremely thin with almost no muscle), we have achieved a little weight gain (she doesn't like to eat so that is a challenge) and have her able to take walks up to one mile, although that distance is even a challenge. We are keeping her comfortable with pain meds and anti-inflammatories and will continue that regimen until surgery is performed. It is very important to know for sure what the ACL injury is (tear or strain) before moving ahead with the total hip surgery, so we have to take a little time to see that part of the picture clearly.
As you can imagine, we never imagined all of these medical complexities could exist in a 1 year old dog. We do know that Bella suffered trauma, both mentally and physically, and we are dedicated to helping her heal to the best of her ability. She has come into our family and done amazingly well considering the level of fear she arrived with. There is much to do, but we are making gains every single day and I can share with you that Bella is a sweet girl who could never have deserved any part of whatever she endured in her past life.
We need your help desperately to get Bella the medical intervention and rehabilitation she requires. As you can imagine, these highly specialized surgeries come with a huge cost and we have been given an estimate of $10,000 to start with. That is an estimate for the total hip replacement and one ACL repair. It is likely that she will need more intervention down the road, but this is our starting point and it is pretty overwhelming financially. Bella will also require aftercare of physical therapy to rehabilitate her hip and knee.
Bella is so young to have endured all of the trauma she has experienced and yet she did indeed survive. This is a girl who has so much love to give and just needs time, love, security, leadership and medical intervention to have a full, healthy and happy future. There is no doubt in my mind that Steph was meant to be guided to her, meant to bring her here to Oregon, meant to show her to me and meant to facilitate her becoming a part of our family. For those who know me, you know that I have a heart for the broken and fragile. My heart is the heart of a rescuer and I have to believe that we can collectively help Bella in all of her needs. I am hoping an praying that "together," those of us who love and value animals can give Bella a new lease on life.
Please consider coming alongside of us to help this precious girl... together we can help Bella to be restored and show her that the world is filled with people very different than the ones who contributed to her many fragile parts. Bella is learning what love and commitment feels like and I am so grateful to see the positive changes already happening in her. With a restored physical condition, her life will be unbelievably different on all levels!!!