Help Chorizo Tug & Chew Again

If you've ever had the pleasure of knowing a boxer dog, you know that there's never a dull moment when you invite one of these goofy, loud, clumsy, high-energy wigglebutts into your home. If you've ever had the challenge of raising a dog with reactivity or aggression, you know what an all-consuming emotional rollercoaster it can be. And if you've ever loved any dog, you know there is nothing you wouldn't do to make their life every bit as wonderful as they've made yours--and how helpless it feels to witness their suffering.

Chorizo (more commonly known as Reese) had a lovely start to life in Nebraska, punctuated unfortunately by two very serious acts of aggression toward the other resident dog around his first birthday. Six months of behavior modification have yielded great results, but we only recently discovered a likely contributing factor in the origin of that surprising behavior--pain. He has an extremely rare condition among dogs--bilateral TMJ subluxation, and he's been in pain on and off for the majority of his life. It was finally discovered after I purchased him a couple sets of those trendy dog communication buttons on a whim over the winter, and he found a way to use them to tell me his jaw hurt.

This condition can be treated, and we will soon be heading to Omaha for fancy CT scans, specialist attention, and expert consultation. Additional travel, specialized treatments, and likely surgical interventions will follow.

Following many emergency and follow-up vet visits, continuous quality coaching from an incredible trainer, and significant investments in household management, improved enrichment, and myriad other expenses that have comprised our healthcare and behavior modification work over the last six months, we are broke.

We are finally putting all the pieces of the puzzle together to get our lives back to something halfway normal, but we can't take these last few steps without your help. Your donations will ensure that Reese can get the care he needs to eliminate his pain and get back to a life where he can once again chew on horns and hooves, play tug-of-war, and enjoy safe, positive social interactions with other dogs.