Help Laz Walk Again: Support His Recovery

For my friend.

What is his purpose?

This sweet face belongs to my Laz. Laz is my buddy – a dog that my mother believed was here for a special reason. When I would ask “what was I thinking getting a puppy” she’d say he is going to be there for you in a way that you don’t understand yet. My mother passed away this year, and those words have stayed with me. What is his purpose?

I do know that he is smarter than me and has spent his almost three years with me trying to figure out what to do to make me happy. He learned to frolic – run and bound – because it made me laugh and he could even do it on command. Frolic! Then last month, June 5th, on his actual 3rd birthday Laz started looking a little off. He’s always been the picture of health and I thought oh no, ticks.

Overnight he lost use of his hind legs, and we went to our wonderful local vet office first thing in the morning. There they quickly appraised the situation (correctly) and sent us to Cornell.

At Cornell a diagnosis of IVDD was tentatively made. I really had no idea what that meant, just Laz could not walk, and I was terrified and struggling to understand everything about what was happening. If IVDD, it was the worst possible scenario, where he could not feel deep pain sensation in his feet.

I struggled to decide – surgery is really the only possibility of walking again, but at that level of injury, it is a 50/50 shot.

On my best day, all decisions are awful, from small to large, inconsequential to major. I did what I thought was best at the time, with the help of an amazing vet, and said go ahead and operate. So, on June 7th, less than 48 hours after all of this started, Laz spent about 90 minutes sedated in an MRI confirming IVDD, and then 7.5 hours in surgery with his doctor doing three different procedures to try to return him to working order.

Laz has been home for almost three (3) weeks. In that time, we have had some good days and we have also struggled. I have had personal dogs / foster dogs with weird health things, or dogs recovering from surgeries and illnesses, but nothing like this. And for whatever reason, I am not able to rally and feel like I am on top of this situation. It is way more than I had bargained for and he is not an easily portable dog like many IVDD dogs!

This is his one shot, really, due to the nature of recovery, and I am struggling greatly – why? Is it my own illness slowing me down? Worries about work always in the back of my mind? The money I’ve spent on his surgery weighing on me and the what ifs just rolling around in my head around the clock? My grief and memories of taking care of my mom and post-caregiver issues being brought up while taking care of him? And also not having the person I listened to always, here to offer words that I need to hear? Mostly, am I failing my dog?

So obviously, it’s a lot. And finally I realized that if I could do anything at all, I would give him the best chance of recovering by sending him to a place that just happens to be within a day’s driving distance, that does this all the time. But I can’t. Because I’ve spent everything I could budget on the surgery. I thought that I would hit the low end of the estimate at Cornell like I’ve always done in the past. That would have left a little room for rehab boarding. But we hit the high end of that estimate this time with the complexity of his needs.

So, after years of fundraising for rescues, and trying to help other people get funds for their pets, I am here to ask you to give Laz the opportunity to go to a veterinary rehabilitation center for boarding. There they will know what to do and how to do it, because they do it all the time. Not like someone making calls to the vet offices, checking a book, googling, asking friends, and posting on a message board trying to figure it out as it happens. That’s me. I’m that person.

I realize that, with everything happening in the world, all the people in need, all the other animals in need too, this is a huge ask. I appreciate you considering any donation and share or sharing it with others if you cannot give at this time.

Attached is an estimate from the veterinary rehab – we have cut out some extras – but it is a comprehensive package with lots of care, and maybe even some hope.

When I was a little girl, visiting my grandmother far away, there was a dog who belonged to a neighbor. His name was King and he was a sable German Shepherd. King was always waiting for me. I hoped someday to have a dog like him. I have that dog now, and I hope to find out more of what our journey is supposed to be.

An Update – while writing this (July 2nd), I had to take Laz to the vet for yet another odd issue, probably caused by a medication, and his vet squeezed his toes – and Laz responded by trying to pull away! This is huge, this is something that makes TheraVet an even more important goal for Laz! He could start Tuesday (July 9th), with funding.

Thank you.

(week 3 is missing)