Mabel’s operation

I’m writing this post with a very heavy heart. Never in a million years do you think you’ll have to make the decision between money or potentially putting your dog to sleep. For anyone who doesn’t know, this is Mabel.

She has been a source of endless joy, love & companionship in our family!

She isn’t just a pet, she really is my best friend & adventure partner!

You may remember this match she was diagnosed with laryngeal paralysis & we hoped we would be able to avoid surgery & manage it for the foreseeable future.

However, that isn’t the case & she has gone down hill rapidly over the past few weeks some days she can’t run round at all, resulting in serious difficulty with her breathing and causing her to panic which makes the whole situation worse.

It really is the most heartbreaking thing to see & all you can do is try to keep her calm until she manages to breath properly again

For anyone who doesn’t know what Laryngeal paralysis is, it is when Mabel’s windpipe fails to open correctly when breathing in & out. Rather than opening when she breaths in it’s actually shutting & opening up as she’s breathing out. Which results in her not getting enough oxygen she now only has a pea sized slit to breath through which you can imagine is very difficult.

She will need two operations. The first one is going to be on the 9th September which is BOAS procedure. This is where they remove tissue from inside her nazel passage & also her soft palate at the top of her mouth.

The second procedure is the one I’m dreading it’s very invasive & requires cutting into the side of her neck down into the throat & tying one of the flaps of skin which covers the trachea & pinning it to the side of her throat, so it will constantly be open.

The surgery does comes with complications….

The first is her swallowing reflex, because the procedure cuts through her neck & tendons there is a change she could have problems swallowing afterwards.

The second is, because a part of the airway will be constantly open there is a chance if any food/water goes down her airway it could lead to pneumonia.

The third is, it could affect her vocal cords

And the fourth is, their is only a single stitch which is holding her airway open, so any hard impact on the area the stitch could break & we would have to repeat the operation on the other side

So as you can imagine it has knocked me for six which is why I have maybe seemed a little off this week at work!

The surgery, along with follow-up care, is estimated to cost around £6,000 - £7,000.

In all honestly I wasn’t sure if I was going to do this post…. I’m not very good at asking for help. I just soldier on through but I’m also reminded of a quote in one of my favourite books:

“Asking for help isn't giving up. It's refusing to give up”

So after some back and forth, i was approached by my customers & friends and they said I should setup a go fund me to be able to help manage some of the costs.

I know it’s a massive ask & I’m really not expecting much but right now every little will make such a huge difference & will directly contribute towards her surgery & recovery. Even if you’re unable to give, sharing this page means the world to us!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️