Please Help Flipper Walk

Flipper is a four year old Labrador Airedale. Flipper cannot walk very well on his badly deformed and atrophied paws and suffers with chronic daily pain. Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body. Flipper’s pads do not provide any protection. They are brittle, they crack and they bleed. We have tried many different interventions such as socks and shoes, different types of cushions and padding and one corrective surgery (2017) to remove the nails that were inside the pad.

Despite his constant pain, Flipper is a very happy, high-energy, sweet and loving boy and wants to play and run like other dogs. He loves Ball and Fetch but is unable to run and chase Ball for any length of time. Without intervention, his future is uncertain. His quality of life is diminished and every day is a struggle for him. The older he gets the worse his feet become. I am an older lady on a fixed income and do not have the needed funds for the prosthetics.

Fortunately we have found a solution! Derrick Campana, of Animal Ortho Care - www.animalorthocare.com - is going to make all four prosthetics! You would know this amazing and very talented man from Animal Planet and The Dodo. He has made prosthetics and braces for many different animals including Derby The Dog and Jabu the Asian Elephant, and is willing to help Flipper walk like a normal dog!

Flipper loves people and is very social but his deformities keep him pretty sedentary and it is a challenge to keep his mind occupied. I look forward to going on a walk in my neighborhood with Flipper. I look forward to playing ball and frisbee and catch more than five or ten minutes.  My ultimate dream is for Flipper and I to be a Dog Therapy Team with Pet Partners. We have passed all required tests for us to be able to visit hospitals and all we need to move forward are the prosthetics. I hope you will consider helping us - even $20 would be a huge gift! #IAmFlipperTheLabAire

Left rear paw. This paw is only a pad - no digits - you can see how badly the pad is atrophied.


This right front paw had surgery in 2017 to remove the nails from inside the pad.

You can see the missing digits. The raw spots are from the socks and shoes rubbing on the skin.

A sample from Animal Ortho Care. They may not look exactly like this but will be similar.

Flipper is charming and playful and will make a great therapy dog visiting hospitals!

#BestDogEver