Help Frankie Boy walk & run like the other puppies

Frankie the Fox Terrier is a little over one year old and was born disabled, but he only came into our lives a couple of months ago.

He has a few problems:

- His left back leg has been damaged since birth so that it hangs in the air and rarely touches the ground.

- His front legs are distorted and crooked from the effort of having to readjust his posture to cope with  walking on only three legs.

- His face is slightly crooked, with the top jaw being shorter than the lower jaw (prognathism) so that his bottom row of front teeth sticks out. He still looks very cute, though!

- He can see and hear but we are not exactly sure how much, and, at first, we were not very sure how aware he was of what was around him. He was frightened by traffic and people and wasn't able to go up and down stairs. With time, however, he has learned to feel more comfortable in his sorroundings and is able to move up and down stairs, albeit with some effort at times. He has also learned to obey simple instructions and is now used to life in an urban environment. In other words, his mental abilities have improved immeasurably and that is another good reason why we would also like to do something to improve his physical abilities.

- He is also very immature and acts like a puppy of about 6 months old - that is not such a bad thing because it means he is very playful! However, it also means that he doesn't really think about what he is doing and will rush in eagerly to play with big dogs, no matter how scary (to us) they look.

Overall he has many problems but he is now with us and we would like to at least fix his back leg as soon as possible (so that he can walk and run normally) because we are afraid that the other legs could become more distorted with time.

An operation to fix the leg has been quoted as a total of 3500 euros.

This is made up of:

- 2000 euros for the operation itself (to realign the leg bones - the knee is over 90 degrees out of line and needs to be turned around to face forward, i.e. to the right direction!).

- 800 euros for the initial appointment to decide on the specific needs of the operation, X-Rays (for which we have already paid 250 euros but more will probably be needed before the operation) and a TAC scan.

- After the operation there will be physiotherapy for two months which will probably be around 700 euros for his rehabilitation. During this time we will need to keep him as immobile as possible so that he doesn't put any undue pressure on the operated leg.


The leg should really have been operated on when Frankie was only a few months old (one vet informed us) but it didn't happen unfortunately, and we only adopted him when he was 11 months old so it was too late to do what should have been a much simpler procedure. What we have tried to do is to use a couple of braces, which try to keep the leg straight so that it can touch the ground. These work to a degree but even with these, his leg is still not developing properly and the braces also rub against the back of the leg, causing sores.
However, now, with your help, we have the chance to at least do something which could return him to a normal dog's life!

At the moment he gets tired very easily and cannot walk for too long without having to rest and catch his breath and this is one of the saddest aspects of his condition because terriers are usually full of life and want to run and chase after everything. Nevertheless, he is always very keen to leave the house and accompany us wherever we're going. He is an outdoor dog and loves being outside.
He is also very good and gentle with children and will allow them to lead him and cuddle him without complaint. In fact, he gives back just as much in the way of licking as he receives in cuddling and petting!

Please help us to get Frankie boy back to a normal life. He is a very friendly dog and wants to play with everyone and everything - human or canine! He knows no fear and is prepared to play and be friendly with even the biggest and scariest-looking of dogs! If they don't want to play, or bark at him, he doesn't understand why and continues to try.

However, he cannot play for too long because he becomes very tired very quickly. We also worry more when he tries to play with larger dogs because there is the danger that he could be injured.
He loves life and everything in it and we hope to allow him to enjoy it to the full without worry.

Thank you for anything you can do to help Frankie and we will keep you updated about his progress.
Hopefully it won't be long before Frankie is running wild and free!

#FrankieBoyFoxTerrier