Our sweet bichon baby son Albie has fallen on hard times. After a pretty hard fall on his lower spine/bum, he lost most of the ability to use his hind legs. We rushed him to the emergency vet, who sent us to another emergency vet with a neurology department. After the neuro doctor looked at him and got some CT scans, they found he had a herniated disc (the reason he lost some use of his hind limbs) and some calcified discs (very common for his dog breed). Surgery is the best option if we want to have him comfortable and able to walk as normal as possible again. The surgery will repair the herniated disc causing compression in his spine and nerves. They will also repair any calcified discs as a preventive measure, as they could herniate one day.

This situation would have been utterly terrifying to us, if I (Alex, hi) hadn't already been in this situation with our other dog Gus in 2015. I'm going to be honest, I feel pretty seasoned when it comes to spinal surgery and the care it requires; it's a slow and stressful recovery, but we are hopeful and can handle it.

If you haven't met our sweet and fiery guy, Albie, I'd love to tell you about him. We adopted Albie on March 31st 2018. He came into our lives by what feels like fate. We received a call from the vet clinic I used to work at, saying they had a lil bichon frise who needed a home and would I be interested (i am a bichon fanatic, so that's why they contacted me) in adopting him. I had lost my other dog Gertie a few years prior and was convinced I would never be able to love another dog (other than Gus) again. But after some encouragement from Zach and a call I felt from within, I agreed to meet Albie. Albie and Gus immediately got along, playing like little madmen cloud babies. He was a great fit, so we adopted him that day.

We didn't know much about Albie's story, except that he had been passed from home to home. No one was willing to work with him through his issues and struggles. It became clear pretty early on that he had been abused. He flinches when you touch him. If he isn't alerted before you touch or if he is touched in a spot he doesn't like, he will bite. It was obvious he had to learn to defend himself, and because of that, he trusted no one. We wanted to change that for him. We immediately decided we would never give up on him. We wanted to make up for the first 9 years of his life. Slowly we worked to get him to see we are safe people in his life. I wish you could see the progress he has made. He still has some issues, but I believe he now navigates the world with less fear. You receive the most beautiful gift when you have earned Albie's trust. He has personally taught me a lot about boundary setting. He is so silly and so sweet. He makes us laugh and awwww every single day. He is our world, our light. We would do absolutely anything for him, and that includes a surgery that costs $10,000.

It's a lot of money, we know. It's double the amount of Gus' surgery in 2015. But I saw how the surgery helped Gus, and we want to give Albie the same care and healing. However, we don't have that much money at our disposal. That's why we are reaching out to our community, you, for help. We don't expect to raise all the funds, but any little bit truly helps. There is a deep grief in my heart that we have created a world where access to healing and wellness is restricted by access to money. But I believe community care is one way out of the isolation capitalism creates.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. We completely understand if you are unable to donate. If you could share this, that would be helpful as well.

We will be sure to keep you updated on sweet Albie's progress.