Hello there! My name is Snips, and I am a cardio-pulmonary medical alert dog. I am 5 years old and 2 weeks ago (06/03) I had a bad accident where I tore my ACL. Due to a congenital condition called patellar luxation, my ACL tear is considered a “pre-existing condition” by pet insurance. Although the ACL tear is different from this birth defect, it is believed that this is what caused it. We will never know what actually caused the tear, but I do know it hurts really bad!
The only way to fix my leg is a big surgery where they suture my muscles and tendons where they are supposed to be. Then comes the scariest part — a 12 week recovery where I have to spend a lot of time away from my Mom! I could count on one paw the amount of times I have been away from my mother. As her service dog, I am both her best friend AND a life-saving medical device. She and I are both afraid to be apart, but she has assured me that my health is the most important thing to her. She says that she promises to make sure I am taken care of and that she will do anything to make that happen.
With this surgery I can live a normal, healthy, life for a long time. I am a mixed-breed but am mostly Yorkshire Terrier. Did you know they can be 15-20 years old? My mom says I am going to live forever, but that can’t happen if I have a busted knee. Aside from being with my mom, some of my favorite things to do are go hiking, playing tabletop rpgs (I can roll dice!), watching Bakeoff and Bluey, having craft nights with our friends, picnics, cosplaying Star Wars characters, and barking at horses in video games. But right now I can’t do much but sit at home, and it’s making me really sad. I can’t live a good life if I am sad all the time, and I won’t be happy again until I can do the things I enjoy.
But it’s really expensive to fix my knee. My mommy and I just got our master’s degrees (even though my injury prevented me from walking across the stage) and she is working 3 jobs just to keep a roof over our heads. We had been planning on moving somewhere to put our degrees to work, but we can’t afford it right now. My mom and I really need your help! She is trying to find a job to work from home while I am recovering, but right now she can’t even afford to do my surgery.
This surgery is what stands between me and my life. My mom won’t let me live in pain forever, and she says if this surgery is what will stop the pain, then it’s what we have to do. I am on medicine every day to try and keep the pain down, but it’s not going to work forever. The only way to make me better is to do this surgery. So my mommy and I are asking, from the bottom of our hearts, for your help. Thank you!