Give Lily Her Legs

Lily, our 5 month old Shih Tzu, needs complicated knee surgery. Please help us give our baby the quality of life she deserves. 

After losing our family pup of 16 years, we decided to start a new journey and give another furry friend their forever home. That’s when we found Lily. We fell in love with her goofy, lovable face and how affectionate and friendly she was. She truly brightened all of our worlds in the midst of our mourning and has undoubtedly become family.

 

 

However, after a couple months, we noticed that Lily was walking funny and that she seemed to be experiencing some pain in her back legs. We brought it up to our vet whilst Lily was in getting her regular vaccinations. We were told Lily just had weak knee muscles and it would probably improve with age. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.

 

 

After several vet consultations, X - rays, and months of hoping for improvement, our baby finally received her diagnosis: a luxating patella in both knees and two curved femurs.

In Lily’s case, this is not to be solved through a simple procedure as she has some rare and severe abnormalities. Therefore, our only option is to seek the care of a specialist whose assistance will be extremely expensive. 

She will need two leg surgeries. The surgeon will take her as soon as mid September 2021 for the first surgery (if we can gather the funds in time). The second surgery will take place 6-8 weeks after the first (again, if we can get the money up).  

Each individual surgery will cost €3,000. 

 

Whilst her knees are the primary issue, her condition has cause her hip muscles to begin deteriorating. On top of her diagnosis, she also has a marked hip dysplasia. 

About a month ago, Lily was rushed to the vet after her hip popped out of place and she began screaming in pain. This is likely to continue to happen until she goes under the knife. As such, her condition is time sensitive. 

We must act fast if there is to be any real chance of a full recovery.

 

     

We have been given the option of putting her to sleep. But we have fallen in love with her. The thought of putting our little one down at her tiny age, before she’s even begun to experience the world is something which we cannot bare.

We will do whatever it takes to ensure that Lily has a good quality of life, but we really need your help. Without surgery, our puppy will lose function in her legs. 

 

 

All Lily wants to do is run and play like a regular puppy. She is trapped inside all day with very restricted movement. She doesn’t understand why we cannot let her do zoomies or go on long walks or even let her up and down steps. She is also in a lot of pain, and at the end of the day, even after barely moving, is exhausted and limping.

 

 

PLEASE spare whatever you can and become one of Lily’s guardian angels. She is the sweetest, most gentle pup and simply does not deserve the hand she’s been dealt. 

With your help, we can give Lily her legs and her life back.

Here’s a recent video of lily walking around and a snap of her most recent X-ray. I’ll try to get more videos ASAP that really portray her issues. Thanks.   

https://youtube.com/shorts/KTDAlX_nSVY?feature=