Help Moose Get Cruciate Ligament Surgery

**Update: Moose had his vet consultation today. The vet determined the arthroscopy surgery is not necessary, and Moose will only need the ligament surgery. The quote for surgery was lowered to $6000.

The fund goal has been updated to reflect this change, and we will continue to provide updates as we get them. The plan is to schedule the surgery for next week.

We appreciate the support we have received, and are so thankful to everyone who has donated!**

Hi, my name is Stephanie, and I am fundraising for my sister’s dog Moose. He has had joint issues for some time now, and recently his vet determined he has hip dysplasia and had an injury in his cruciate ligament/knee joint.

The X-rays showed the following (copied and pasted from his vet report):

1. Joint effusion (swelling) of both knees but right knee was worse than left

2. Dysplastic bones which generally means abnormally normal anatomy of bones. What this means is it's almost expected due to his breed that his legs would be abnormal compared to the typical dog like a kelpie because corgis have shorter and stumpy legs (think similar to dachsund legs just on a larger scale). Although this is normal for Moose it does make it slightly more difficult to try and put bones back together that arent quite what we consider normal and have a good outcome. This is the reason for reccomending any surgical procedure is referred to a specialist who will have more experience and be able to provide better outcomes than if we were to attempt surgery.

3. Hip dysplasia - the xrays show that the acetabulum of the pelvis doesnt completely cover the femoral head which means it is a poor fitting ball and socket joint. The femoral head is also very short compared a normal femur. Poor conformation of the hip joint can lead to hip laxity which over time will predispose to degenerative joint disease and osteoarthritis within the joint. This is what causes the pain, poor mobility and degeneration of the joint. While Moose doesnt show any signs on radiographs that he has arthritis developing we can only usually detect moderate to severe arthritis changes on x-ray.

The quote given to my sister for the surgery alone starts at $9000 AUD. Here is a run down of costs (copied and pasted from vet report):

- arthroscopy (camera in the joint) $3950-$5500 (depending if we want to look in 1 knee or both knees)

- TPLO (tibial plateau levelling osteotomy) which is a surgical procedure to remove the broken ligament and assess meniscus, change the angle of the knee to decrease pressure by cutting the bone and placing a plate to hold it all in place) $4800-$5300

- + cartrophen injections after surgery and ongoing.

Moose is now in a time crunch as his left leg is now at risk of injury and already showing signs of inflammation due to him shifting the weight from his right leg to left. After surgery they will need to take Moose to see a physiotherapist/hydrotherapy to get this right leg back in shape and work on better posture.

Knowing my sister, she would have a difficult time asking for this help, but I’ve seen the wonderful things the online community can do through fundraising. Moose is an active guy, and is not a fan of the prescribed bed rest. Of course we have no expectations, but every little bit helps tremendously. We appreciate any help that could take a tiny bit of the stress away from my sister and her young family, and get Moose the surgery he needs to live his best life!

If you would like to donate or share this link to assist us to getting Moose the care he needs, we would be forever thankful.