Help Ruby Walk Again!

Ruby is the toughest ol’ gal I know.
She was born with severe deformities in her front legs. Her physical limitations didn’t stop her desire to play, run, or jump - no matter how hard we tried to make her take it easy. When she was 2 years old, her legs could not keep up with her adventurous spirit.

We went to see an orthopedic surgeon at CSU where we were quickly informed that they had never encountered such a severe case. They practiced on 3D printed bones to prepare for the experimental and educational surgery, and soon she was under the knife. She had 6 screws and a metal plate placed in her leg to ensure proper healing. Although recovery took a while, for 10 years Ruby was rarely held back by her legs.

That all changed about a month ago. We first noticed that she was lying down right after walks and was exhausted easily. After a couple of weeks, she could barely get around. She eventually stopped using her left front leg altogether, requiring her to put all of her weight onto her other painful leg.
Now she is barely walking.

She went from taking 20 minute walks every day to struggling to get to the end of the driveway.

Our vet ran expensive panels that told us Ruby’s body is likely rejecting the metal plate from her first surgery.

The outlook is good: if they remove the metal screws and plate, she is likely to get relief from her pain and be able to use her leg again. That would mean more walks and, let’s face it, more time together.

The first vet visit cost us $800, and the surgery is currently estimated at about $2,300.

Our vet recommends we take the first available surgical appointment. The X-rays above are from this week. The swelling and severe pain in her left leg is from that big metal plate and screws. I'd like to get it removed and help her as soon as possible.

As many of you know, I have been out of work since the pandemic started. I will be vaccinated and returning to work shortly, but in the meantime we need some help making sure we can get Ruby the relief she needs and deserves ASAP.

Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Ruby’s seen me through the worst times of my life and I’d like to see her through this as best I can. Thank you for helping me do that.

 
 Here are Ruby’s bills. 

These don’t include the few hundred we are asking for additionally to cover costs of pain pills and a likely biopsy that will happen during surgery that they did not include in the estimate.