For the past 2 and a half years, Gibby has been battling valley fever, a fungal disease that spread throughout her limbs. Luckily, it never made it to her lungs which could be lethal. The disease manifested in her front right joint and mutilated her bone, making it extremely painful for her to put any weight on it. We have treated majority of the disease but the remainder of it is trapped in her joint, viciously eating away at her bone.

When she is in pain, she won’t get out of bed, won’t eat, and things that normally get her excited and energetic have little effect on her mood. If you know gibby girl, this is a really hard sight to see because it is the complete opposite of who she is.

We have contemplated the option of amputation for about 6 months. We have been taking it day by day, analyzing what makes the most sense, for her being only 3 years old and what makes sense for me financially. At a certain point, she was having more bad than good days, and our options slimmed down to two things, medicate and sedate her daily, or amputate her limb and improve her quality of life and potentially remove the remainder of the disease. It was a very difficult to decide, but ultimately we needed to go with the option that guaranteed her a pain free life, which is amputation.

Gibby is my first dog and she is my family. It may seem silly to some people, but I have never loved anything more in my life. She has taught me what unconditional love looks like, and I try my best to show her the same every single day. She is my soulmate and I will do anything and everything to ensure that she will be okay and live a fulfilled life with many years ahead of her.

If you’ve gotten this far, thank you for taking time out of your busy day to hear our story. It has been an extremely difficult few years but we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

If you feel it in your heart to help us pay for the girl’s amputation, it would help our little family SO much. I will be posting updates on social media of her healing journey. All funds will go directly towards medical costs.