Help Gia walk again
Pangea (or Gia for short) is a truly lovable little dog, who showed up one day while I was travelling through Vietnam. We became best mates and in the 5 years since, have made across continents and multiple borders. We have ridden bikes, buses and boats, we have ran, swam and climbed, played on beaches, mountains, canyons and waterfalls and walked many a dusty road together...
In our travels we have surpassed many obstacles (poison traps, her being stolen, minor dog - smuggling, resorting to bribes, missing flights, sleeping in empty stations, hitchhiking, trekking around towns until we found accommodation that would take her, mountains of paperwork, certificates, expensive vaccinations and quarantines and waiting, allll the waiting) and I have never given up on her. When I was hit with big bills for her before, I found work to pay them. When she couldn't come with me, I waited for her for months. I even found a way to bring her back to the UK when Covid hit, despite airports being closed.
But we have now hit what seems an insurmountable challenge.
We are currently exploring Wales in my campervan. A few days ago in the forest, Gia started limping. I took her to a vet who X-rayed her legs and hips and, devastatingly, diagnosed her with a torn Cruciate Ligament (ACL), further damage to the side ligament, dislocation of both knees and early onset arthritis. She's always been very front heavy- Vietnam has odd shaped dogs! - but it seems her whole back end is messed up almost beyond repair.
She has lost use of her right hind leg completely and simply holds it up to hobble around. If left untreated, she will rely on her other leg for walking and climbing, which will weaken the other (tiny) leg. The vet advised if she does this, she will end up completely lame, likely within weeks.
The cruciate ligament going is fairly common in older dogs but poor Gia is still young. She has led an incredibly active life to date and has with luck, has a good 10 years of exploring left in her yet. She is currently on strict bed rest - which is pretty hard work for a dog that has never been cooped up before - she thinks she's being punished!
If we go to a specialist orthapaedic surgeon, they can reconstruct the tibia in her hind leg. The prognosis for this is a 98% recovery. The problem is that the cost is £6,500. After researching, we have managed to find the op for almost half this price at Liverpool small animal teaching hospital. Sadly, even £3,300 is more money than I have, after Covids twists and turns.
I'm not good at asking for help, especially financially, but friends have suggested they might like to contribute and so we have started this page for G . It's a huge ask, and we do need a miracle, but any contribution to getting her up and running again so she (and I!) can continue our adventures, is more than we could ever hope for.
THANK YOU <3.
