Guppy Needs a New Hip

Hi everyone! A day I hoped would never come, has finally hit us; Guppy's hip is failing.

To know Guppy is to love her, after all, she is one of the many Best Dogs in The World. Guppy came into my life as an emaciated little black puppy with a Body Condition Score of 1.5, and a broken femur from being kicked in the leg at just a few months old. Her original people dropped her off at ACCT Philly to be euthanized because they didn't want her. Luckily she was sprung from the kill list by Noah's Ark Animal Rescue and brought home to be fostered by me and my partner at the time in April 2017.

Guppy underwent multiple surgeries in an attempt to pin and wire her little femur back together. None of which were successful. Guppy ended up having to heal on strict crate rest. I officially adopted her a couple of months later. I was told that she may never need another surgery, or she very well could, since no one knew how big she was going to get, which would greatly impact her joint longevity. She grew to be much larger than anyone expected and topped out at 70lbs. A DNA test showed she is half golden retriever and half wirehaired pointing griffon.

After watching her mobility decline and pain increase, and the calcification of her bones on the x-rays get worse, (the x-ray pictured is most recent from sept 2021) we are now faced with a very hard decision. Guppy needs major hip surgery. We have our first surgery consult in southern Maine at MVMA on Feb 28th, with just the consult alone costing $208, not including any further diagnostics. If she is a candidate for an FHO (femoral head ostectomy, where the head of the femur is surgically removed), the surgery will be able to be performed there and will be more in the $6,000-$7,00 range. If she is not a candidate for an FHO she will need a Total Hip Replacement which will have to be done at Tufts Veterinary Center in Massachusettes, and this could easily run upwards of $10,000.

If she gets an FHO that fails, she will still need a total hip replacement which will then equal the cost of both surgeries combined. These are loose numbers based on research I have done, and more accurate estimates will be available after her surgical consult.

Her insurance will not cover this as it is considered a "pre-existing condition."

Due to her size, and the prevalence of degenerative joint disease in her other limbs, removal of the leg is an absolute last resort (and probably not an option).

I have burned through all of my savings over the last few years helping hospice cats, donating to other's causes, and most recently with my puppy who had spay complications costing me almost $2,000. As a single income making $17/hr before taxes, with only one (barely) functional vehicle with 330,000 miles on it, a ten thousand dollar surgery, travel, and aftercare is not feasible on my own, but I will do whatever I can to make it so my girl can see many more mountaintops, swim in many more lakes, and even just get on the couch pain-free. As someone who also suffers with daily chronic pain, I cannot bear to see her like this any longer. After all, I owe her my life. Literally.