Please Help Us...help Rupert

This is Rupert….and she was born this way!

This sweet girl was described as ‘a failure to thrive’ and was going to be killed because of her disability at birth. Once rescued, the family that she had tried, but could not manage her with her special needs.

We volunteered to foster her, and in the end, adopted her. With that decision, came the responsibility of incredible and mounting vet bills.

We saw in the beginning, and even more now, Rupert’s will to live. Yet, she will not have any quality of life if we do not research and treat her condition. This started with her vaccinations, but now, she requires a CT scan and an ultrasound, just to see what has happened to her little body at birth. These tests are estimated to cost close to $4,000.00.

There has been discussion on removing her legs, which is estimated to be around $15,000.00. More will be known in going forward once we have had the CT scan and ultrasound complete.

Rupert is unique, in every sense of the word, and there are no medical journals on her condition to go to for guidance. Her orthopedic surgeon, who has been a specialist for 30 years, has written articles and even teaches medical students, has said that he has never seen a case like Rupert.

Rupert does not sit and watch the world go by. She lives life like every other active, happy, friendly, loving dog. She is house trained. She has even learned to climb a few stairs at a time. This girl loves everyone that she meets. This love for life though, comes at a cost to her tiny body, and we are doing everything that we can to change that.

She has the fighting desire to live her best life, and we are tying to find a way to make this a reality for her. She deserves a chance to be happy, pain free and safe from injury.

It is not her fault that she developed a tiny, misshapen body, but she is now loved unconditionally, and we refuse to let her down. We can only do it with the help of a village. Please show Rupert that she deserves the life that we know she can have.

UPDATE

Rupert had both the CT scan and ultrasound on July 10, 2024.

Now, we have the scan and ultrasound update. Rupert is in fact a girl!

Now, Rupert requires being spayed. The specialist suggested the amputation of her legs after her being spayed. This all at a cost that we simply can not afford. We need help!

Having her spayed could cost between $3,400.00 → $4,200.00. while the amputation is between $8393.63 →$10171.67.

Copy of Specialist Report

The CT scan revealed severe spinal and pelvic deformities. The hind legs are partially disarticulated from the pelvis and there are several bone deformities. Fortunately, there does not appear to be vital structures dorsal to the pelvis and bilateral amputation would be feasible. This would likely facilitate defecation and post-defecation cleaning. It may impair her ability to ambulate on 2 legs as her balance will be modified. It may however also make it easier for her to lift her body.

Rupert has one smaller kidney. It is not known if the kidney is functional, however, at this time the blood work is normal and indicated that all organs are working properly.

It is generally preferable to spay female dogs before their second heat cycle to decrease the chances of uterine or mammary tumours. Although Rupert can be spayed at a later date, it would be preferable to spay Rupert after her current heat cycle.

We are asking for help from veterinarians, veterinarian schools, specialists, rescues, anyone as we were not prepared for the influx of costs for Rupert’s medical issues but could not let her go, knowing that most pups that our special needs are normally euthanized.

Please share her story. Please share her pictures. Please share your love and support so that we can give Rupert the best chance at living her best life!

2nd Update!

Well, she is going in on August 28th, 2025 for her double amputation and we'll need your help. Her recovery will be extensive as her physical therapy will be incredible after such a surgery. We will share her progress with you every step of the way! We have much love and the upmost respect for all who have donated and shared in her journey.

**Big Update**

Rupert’s Update

Hello everyone. For those of you who do not know, Rupert’s surgery on April 28th has been postponed. A few days before her surgery date, she began to show signs that she was unwell. She would not move, she was constipated, and she would only crawl and even that rarely happened. She would cry in pain when we picked her up, and she stopped eating and pooping.

We took her to the local vet. They examined her, but with Rupert’s body type (disability) and being that so much is unknown about her insides, they struggled to determine a reason for her health to be in such decline. They suggested that because Rupert’s surgery was coming up, the best thing to do was to get her to that vet hospital because this very well could interfere with the upcoming surgery and the local vet did not want to do anything that would hinder or hurt her further. Our local vet is wonderful with Rupert’s care.

At the vet hospital on April 28th, they examined her and this included an ultrasound. They ran tests and when they followed up with us later in the day, she was diagnosed as having colitis. It’s painful and requires multiple medications.

We were given the proper medications and given directions of care for her. We had all hoped that she’d improve and begin to feel better in the coming days.

Around 2 am on the 29th, she woke up with slight bleeding. We took her outside, but nothing happened. After a bit, she wanted to come in, so we brought her inside to bed. She slept the rest of the night.

Over the next couple of days there was not much improvement. She is still not walking (with the exception of a few steps) and her appetite was still low. Her meds may cause nausea so she also had anti-nausea medication, but it may not always help.

May 1st came and still not much had changed. I called the local vet and they brought her in immediately. During her examination, she was found to have a temperature of 105 degrees. They wanted her on antibiotics immediately and performed an x-ray on the spot. They also wanted to perform a test for Lyme disease as it might explain such a high temperature.

The x-ray showed no blockage, but fecal matter was still in her intestines. She was negative for Lyme disease. She was given antibiotics and meds to try to help with her high fever and constipation. They want her back tomorrow morning (May 2nd) for a follow up on her temperature and to obtain a urine sample.

If there is no change tomorrow, the local vet suggested that she go back to King City Vet Hospital as they have all her records, and she won’t have to go through all the testing all over again. We’re crossing our fingers that things improve for her overnight. Right now, she is resting.

We are reaching out again because we didn’t expect such a decline in her health. These recent costs are unexpected. These have been unexpected and have hurt us financially.

We know that not everyone can donate, but everyone can share. If you can please share her story, perhaps others can help in our effort to see her well again for her anticipated surgery. The surgery date was moved to May 12th, but that’s only if we get her health under control.

As always, please send her your love. She appreciates it and we want her back to her feisty self so that we can post her delightful videos to make your day better and put a smile on your face.