Support Deimos the service dog's life-changing surgery

Meet Deimos,

This beautiful boy started training to be my service animal at 4 months old. He graduated his core obedience class weeks early for being such a stellar student (the cover pic is his graduation photo at 6 months). I'm a disabled Veteran, and he's become my guardian angel! During his training, he started having some issues getting up and down, and moving quickly after standing. Neurological problems or hip dysplasia are what we feared, so we followed up with his primary vet (who determined hip dysplasia was probable), the breeder, and his trainer to decide what to do about it. The overall consensus was to wait to see if the problem fixed itself as he continued to grow. Unfortunately, the hip dysplasia is getting worse, and it's in both hips. He went from an enthusiastic, playful puppy to a slow-moving, less enthusiastic older puppy that mostly sits or lies still (but clearly wants to play). For those who are wondering, the answer is "Yes! We absolutely have pet insurance!" But therein lies the problem, even with insurance, the cost to perform the necessary procedure on both hips is quoted at $10,000.00, including aftercare and medications. "PROCEDURE: Triple/Double pelvic osteotomy (TPO). Common in dogs less than 18 months old without evidence of arthritis. The pelvis is cut in multiple places, repositioned, and held together with implants for a better fit."

If you're wondering about his temperament, he loves everyone, especially young children. He has helped raise two litters of bottle-fed foster kittens and is very protective of and extremely gentle with them. The entire staff at both his vet and the surgeons' clinic fell in love with him in moments (feel free to enquire!) and wanted to keep him. They took pics and want to post him on their website. He has the sweetest heart and the gentlest soul of any creature I've ever encountered.

Being disabled, I'm on a fixed income, and have already spent thousands on the purchase, AKC registration, insurance, training, and vetting of this amazing soul. Sadly, I was totally unprepared to cover the cost of such an invasive surgery at this point in his life, and waiting too long will disqualify him from being able to have the procedure and doom him to a life with chronic arthritis and the eventual need to replace both hips (though the arthritis will remain). Were it legal, I would sell a kidney to save him from a life of pain. Since it's not, I'm literally begging anyone who can help, or even share this, to do so. If you prefer to donate directly to the clinic, that would be fine too. I will be completely transparent with every step of this journey. I will provide proof of diagnosis and cost to whoever needs it. If there are any funds left over from donations, we will be paying it forward to someone else who needs help by leaving the funds with the clinic for another animal in need. We will never have access to any of the money. His first surgery is scheduled for the 27th of May, and we have to have 5k on that day. He will be going to AVES in Little Rock, and Dr. Fields is his surgeon. Thank you to whoever has taken the time to read this and consider helping out a sweet, amazing dog and his lovestruck humans.

Dr. Fields

Arkansas Veterinary Emergency & Specialists

11619 Pleasant Ridge Rd.

Little Rock, AR 72212, US

(501) [phone redacted]

The clinic takes direct donations over the phone during regular office hours. Simply give them his full name, and that is all they will need to apply it directly. There's no processing fee, and they don't keep any debit/credit card information.

Full name of Patient: Deimos Myers

pronounced Day-mos (like the moon of Mars)