Cuppie's IVDD Surgery

Cuppie's IVDD Fund.


On Friday August 28th, I woke up to my baby crying on the ground.  After calling him over, I noticed he started to slightly drag his back two legs as he approached me. Confused as to what had happened, I assumed he hurt himself by jumping off the couch or perhaps my bed. I instantly called the vet and let me know he could of injured himself and possibly will heal in the next few days. We scheduled the soonest appointment available which was Monday, August 31st.  I continued monitoring Cuppie the rest of the day Friday. On Saturday morning I noticed he was completely dragging his back two legs and crying as he walked towards me. I immediately took him to closest animal hospital near me where they did x-rays, blood work and gave him pain medication.


On Sunday morning, my baby was unable to walk completely and he had pooped on himself causing him to be fully incontinent. I took him to an animal emergency room right away where a Neuro specialist was paged, they did his MRI and diagnosed him with IVDD (Intervertebral disk disease),  which is when a disk shatters on the spine making one completely unable to walk. The relief from knowing he did not have a terminal illness was quickly doused by the haunting notion that his quality of life may be drastically altered for the rest of his life if we did not get him this surgery immediately. Cuppie's paralysis was such that he was no longer able to poo or pee on his own the tissue surrounding Cuppie's spinal cord had become so enflamed and he was losing his mobility and dealing with nearly uncontrollable pain rapidly.

After discussing the plan of care, we were told payment was due immediately at the time of service which was a total of $7,000 for the surgery alone, not including the previous visits to the vet, the xrays that were done, the MRI and the physical therapy Cuppie would need after surgery to fully get back on his feet. All in all, I estimated it all to be a total of $10,000. Needless to say, this has been an exceptionally hard time for myself mentally and financially.

To be completely honest, I was going to take the decision to put my sweet baby down because I was not able to put down that kind of money on the spot and giving him that quality of life was not something I wanted for him. It is devastating to see our happy, playful and loving  little pup in pain and unable to play, go on walks or pee/poo. 

I have been very reluctant to do this, but many of those close to Cuppie and I have encouraged me to reach out and seek help from the kindness of friends, family and anyone willing to help my sweet baby. I am humbly and abjectly asking for anything you can spare to help us get the best care possible for our beloved family member. I am starting this campaign in the hopes that family, friends and fans can assist with the financial cost and contribute to Cuppies's recovery and get him walking, running, being happy, and brightening people's lives again.

Words cannot express my gratitude for anything you are able to donate. Anything we collect that is above the cost of treatment will be happily donated back to another charity. We just want to get my 4 year old baby Cuppie healed up, enjoying life, and smiling again. Please send your love and prayers to our baby boy. I will be posting on my instagram (@mariortizxo) updates on how is he doing. 

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. Thank you for taking the time to read about Cuppie's story.