Funding towards Winnie’s surgery and recovery

Hi, my name is Lorna. I am setting up this GoFundMe to raise some funds towards Winnies emergency surgery and rehabilitation costs after her IVDD (Intervertebral disc disease) diagnosis.

A little bit about Winnie-

Winnie is our 3 year old French Bulldog x Pug that we have had from a puppy, she has the most beautiful soul that everyone falls in love with instantly when they meet her. Winnie is a social butterfly that adores all people and other dogs, she’s been the apple of my eye from the first moment I laid eyes on her. She’s also helped us through some of the hardest times of our lives through loss, mental health struggles and physical health problems she’s always been there to put a smile on our faces so now it is our time to help her through the hardest time of her life.

Winnies IVDD story -

On Friday 3rd March it was like any other normal Friday, until 9pm when we all went up stairs to go to bed (both Winnie and Zena our other dog sleep in our bed) when Winnie was on her way upstairs she yelped out in pain and started crying at the time we thought she had something in her paw from where we let her outside to go to the toilet before bed.

The next morning she was sat up on the bed awake and refused to lay down which is so out of character for her because she would usually be led down cuddling in or cozy under the quilt so it was then we knew something wasn’t quite right so rang the vets and got her booked in, when we took her to the vets and was in the waiting room we realised she was struggling to stand and was very wobbly on her feet at this point I worried that we was about to get some really bad news that our baby has IVDD (Intervertebral Disc Disease) which a spinal disorder, pretty much as soon as Winnie got into the consultation room the vet confirmed our worst fears and our hearts broke into a million pieces and we were completely inconsolable, I have seen other dogs that have gone through it and I know how serious and debilitating it is, but the vet reassured us that it was the early stages and that she has seen other dogs heal naturally with crate rest and pain medication so we took her home with her medication and straight away started crate resting her.

The next day she stopped using her back legs completely and started dragging them which was completely devastating and extremely worrying for us so we took her straight back to the vets where they told us that her condition had worsened dramatically and that she would need emergency surgery at a special animal hospital later that day, yet another heartbreaking blow as we really wanted to avoid the surgery route not just because of the massive cost but the worry of putting our baby girl through surgery.

later that day we took her to Langford small animal hospital and she was assessed by a incredible neurologist that told us he thought she had a slipped disc in her lower back that was pressing on her spinal cord causing her paralysed from the waist down. We felt and still feel like we are in an awful nightmare that we haven’t woken up from. After a MRI scan it was confirmed that there was a slipped disc in her lower back pressing on her spinal cord so they operated straight away and she was in for surgery for 3 hours. This was the longest and most difficult 3 hours our whole lives waiting to hear how it went and how she would come around from the anaesthetic but they confirmed the surgery went really well which was music to our ears and the best news we have had in the weekend from hell.

We had an update this morning that Winnie has now come around fully from anaesthetic and is very comfortable and having lots of cuddles with the nurses looking after her she is also eating a little bit of food but out of the nurses hands but we have had the worrying update that she is still having issues with going to the toilet so we are hoping and praying with time she will be able to go for a wee and poo on her own. The neurologist has also said that he feels that Winnie would benefit from hydrotherapy which we are more than happy to go ahead with as we want the best care as possible for her but this vet bill is increasing and increasing and we are really worrying about the costs of everything as the insurance only covers some of costs that we are aware of so far the bill is around £6,000.

What your kind donations will help with - 

If you are thinking of donating or have already thank you so so much it means more to us than you could ever imagine! This money will firstly be going towards helping us pay for Winnies emergency life saving surgery which has gone really successfully and we are over the moon with but the cost of this, the MRI scan and her 2 nights of 24 hour care in the animal hospital alone stands at around £6,000. 

Secondly this money will also go towards her rehabilitation and recovery so things such as hydrotherapy, physiotherapy and even things like ramps, stair gates and crates.. these things are extremely crucial when it comes to keeping her safe whilst she recovers and also helping towards improving the rest of her life and the quality of life after this major surgery and degenerative illness diagnosis. She is still very young and has her whole life ahead of her so we really want her to make as much as a full recovery as she can so she can really live her life to the fullest again because she is the most special and amazing dog!  So far the cost of physio, elevated dog bowls, crates, ramps and other items are at around £400 and this will increase because there are still things yet to pay for with the rehabilitation and adjustments we are gonna have to make around the house so it’s safe and more usable for her condition, this is why no matter how small your donation is it will mean the absolute world to us and Winnie ❤️‍

Thank you so much for taking the time to read Winnies story, I know this is really hard times financially for Everyone at the moment but any donation no matter how small would be so greatly appreciated by us and most importantly Winnie, you will always have a space in our hearts ❤️‍❤️‍

IVDD awareness - 

We are also really keen to raise more awareness about IVDD to other dog owners so please please share Winnies story even if you can’t make a donation. If Winnie’s story saves another dog and their loving owners from going through this gut wrenching heartbreak then I know I will sleep better at night.