Hi, I’m Lianna and I’m raising funds to help my 6-year old Miniature Dachshund, Ralph, in his recovery from IVDD.

IVDD stands for Intervertebral Disc Disease, a spinal condition that affects 1 in 5 miniature dachshunds.

On the 13th January 2025, I woke up to find Ralph unable to walk with his back legs paralysed. He was rushed in for emergency surgery and after 3 days he was allowed home and recovery began. Along with medication to relieve the pain, we did physiotherapy and over a period of time he slowly began to walk again. Fast forward to the end of May and Ralph was about 90% recovered, with a slight wobbly walk left but otherwise he was doing amazing. We had just started hydrotherapy to try and regain some strength. 

However, on the 9th June Ralph started showing similar symptoms including a reluctance to walk, yelping when moving and an arched back and wobbly walk. On the 10th he was diagnosed with Cervical IVDD which meant a disc in his neck this time. It was heartbreaking and I felt like I was back to square one, and terrified I’d lose him.

As it was a lower grade, we decided to treat conservatively. He again recovered gradually with lots of physio, laser therapy, hydrotherapy and pain relief. He was officially signed off from the physio on 1st October. 

Sadly, that same evening the signs began to show and by morning on the 2nd October, he was back to being wobbly, yelping in pain and shaking. I immediately began rest again and pain relief, but he continued to deteriorate over the next few days and again became unable to walk. He went in for emergency surgery on Monday 6th October and is now in recovery. 

Whilst Ralph is insured, the insurance company only covered the first episode and as such I now have to find the funds to support Ralph through his third episode. For now I’ve put the cost of the MRI and surgery on a credit card, with no idea how I’m going to pay it off. It’s going to be a long process and any donations to help me would be massively appreciated as I’m doing this on my own.

Any funds raised will be transferred into my bank account and used to pay for the surgery, and anything over and above that will be used for Ralph’s ongoing recovery including medications, therapies, and any equipment needed. Any funds left over will be donated to the charity Dedicated to Dachshunds.

Thank you so much for reading and supporting my baby ❤️