On Wednesday 12th February, Ripple started to act a bit strange. She had been absolutely fine all morning but around lunch time she started shaking. Thinking she might just be feeling a little sicky, I kept an eye on her and left it a few hours.

She was eating, drinking and playing with her toys so I never thought too much of it. At 4pm, still shaking, I rang the vets and explained my concerns and got her an emergency appointment an hour later. The vet explained it's likely she had sprained her back and we should keep her on bed rest for a few days. To cut a long story short, by 11pm that evening she had already developed stage 5 IVDD. My entire world came crashing down in a matter of hours, she's not even 3 years old yet and I had taken every precaution to avoid this happening. The vets wouldn't refer Ripple until 8am the next morning, meaning I endured the longest, most agonising night of my life whilst I sat there and watched her suffer. I took her back to the vets twice that evening, paying the extortionate overnight consultation fees, I was willing to do whatever it takes to take the pain away from my beautiful little girl. On 13th Feb, she underwent surgery. The surgery went well but it is too soon to tell whether she will ever be able to walk again. She currently has no feeling or sensation in her back legs. I am absolutely heartbroken.

I have very good insurance for Ripple (covers up to £15,000) but unfortunately due to caps on certain procedures, I'm still left 1000's out of pocket and this is only the beginning. She will be needing specialised care and therapy going forward in order to give her the best chance of regaining any mobility as well as the recurring vet bills as she goes back and fourth to the vets for check ups.

If you can donate or share this fundraiser, it would mean the world to us. I cannot express in words how grateful I am for your support, i appreciate every single donation no matter how big or small.