Help Waffle fix his torn ACL!
Hi everyone,
My name is Waffle and I'm a 21 month old Rottweiler/Beauceron cross.
My amazing mum adopted me at Dog's Trust Ireland last April after I was found on the street by the local pound. I was extremely skinny (22kg) when they found me, with a big gash across my belly. Luckily, Dog's Trust took great care of me and I initially went to my hoo-man as a foster.
Little did she know that I was going to steal her heart forever - I knew from the very start that I was never going to leave her loving home!
In April 2020, the world went into panic mode, and we moved quickly back to France before the borders shut. I have been living my best life in France ever since, with a big garden to run around in and two kitties to keep me up to mischief!
Sadly, I have quite a sensitive tummy and have already been to the vets quite a few times. In July 2020, I became quite ill and had to be rushed to the emergency vet on a Sunday evening at 10pm. They thought I had swallowed something I shouldn't have and had to keep me in for several days, and after an x-ray and an echography, they had to open up my tummy to make sure there wasn't a foreign object in there. After all, as a puppy, I often tried to put anything I could find in my mouth. It was a bit touch and go as my intestine was so swollen it was blocking my digestive system and I was being sick with a fever. Luckily, the vets took great care of me but almost bank-rupt my hoo-man Charlotte with a 705 EURO bill!
Since then, I learned my lesson and stopped eating random things - turns out there was nothing in my tummy but I did have a pretty bad infection (probably from licking bird poop or something like that).
As you can see from my pics, I'm a very (VERY) tall boy:
The past couple of months, I have been in quite a bit of pain laying down and getting back up, so my mom took me to the vets to get checked out. After some x-rays on my hips and knees, I found out that I have pretty bad hip dysplasia - especially on the left side, and some inflammation around my knees and my ACLs.
This is the second X-Ray done on Saturday showing the inflammation is worse than before:
The vet suggested I might need a hip replacement at my young age, and recommended we see the specialist surgeon in Paris. I managed to see the surgeon in Paris on Saturday who did a lot of prodding and poking and did another x-ray to see the evolution of the inflammation in my ACLs. Sadly, despite anti-inflammatories the inflammation is still pretty bad and I'm still in quite a lot of pain. The vet estimates that only approximately 40% of my left ACL is in good condition.
He has therefore recommended a TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) to straighten my tibia (as it is slanted and causing pain everytime I sit down) and to put in a strong implant to protect my lovely legs. He is hoping that this operation will alleviate a lot of my issues, and take the pressure of my right ACL which, though damaged, is not in as bad shape as the left. He also hopes that a stronger tibia and ACL will help alleviate the pain in my hips and avoid a full hip replacement!
I'm also on a diet to lose a couple of kgs to help alleviate the weight on my legs - currently at 61kg, I'm not fat but the vet would like me to be on the lighter side given my issues.
Mom loves me to pieces and will do everything in her power to make sure I have the best life possible, but the cost for this operation is 2982€ + 700€ of x-rays, consultations, without getting to the cost of aftercare yet. Sadly, as my hips are genetic problems, none of this is covered by pet insurance. Having already spent around 1730€ on my vet bills so far, she is struggling more and more to find the money to fund this operation, which is why we're coming to you guys for some extra help! The operation is hopefully planned for Saturday 31 July providing the surgeon can get the XL implants from Germany in time (and the screws for horses!!). He doesn't want to wait any longer than we have to as the more we wait, the more damaged my ACL will get.
Thank you for any contribution you can make to getting me on my way to being my usual bouncy self!! We are asking for help towards the cost of the operation and the x-rays to date. Any money donated above that amount will be donated to Animal resuces including Dog's Trust Ireland who helped save me from the street! We will also be donating to Les Amis des Animaux and Homeless Kitten where mom adopted my two kittie friends.
Will send pupdates of my recovery via this page. Any contribution no matter how small will be throroughly appreciated by me and my mom! Here are some pics of how cute I can be and how much she loves me!
The first day mom got me home:
Me & Mom:
