On April 6, our 16 month old puppy Mia was taken to the vet for a follow-up appointment after we noticed something wasn’t right—she had been holding up her leg while walking and clearly wasn’t herself. What we thought might be a minor issue turned into something heartbreaking.

After being placed under anesthesia for X-rays and a full exam, we learned that Mia was born with hip dysplasia, and over the past few months, it has rapidly progressed into a severe condition. Because her hips weren’t functioning properly, she began putting abnormal pressure on her knees just to move. As a result, Mia now has severe arthritis in both knees along with painful bone spurs and a torn CCL (similar to an ACL injury in humans). All of this at just one year old. All of this came as a big surprise, as she never showed any symptoms until she started holding up her left leg about 3 weeks ago due to the bone spurs.

Mia should be running, playing, and living the carefree life of a puppy. Instead, she’s struggling to walk and even just sit. The doctors have told us she has only about 10% use of her hips remaining. She’s no longer able to act like a puppy… or even like herself. The pain has taken a toll not just physically, but emotionally, and she’s becoming withdrawn and visibly depressed.

The only way to give Mia her life back is through major surgery, which includes a full hip replacement, repair of her torn CCL, and removal of bone spurs. She will also need months of physical therapy.

This is her chance to run again. To play again. To be happy again.

We are asking for help to give Mia the life she deserves. Every donation, no matter the amount, brings her one step closer to being pain-free and back to the joyful puppy she was meant to be.

If you’re unable to donate, sharing her story would mean everything to us. Thank you for helping Mia get a second chance at life.