Hello!

This is Metzi and she is 10 months old. Her name means “moon” in Nahuatl. Metzi has a condition called “luxating patella” which she was born with. Google says, “A luxating patella in dogs, also known as a dislocated kneecap, occurs when the kneecap (patella) slips out of its normal groove in the thigh bone (femur), causing discomfort and mobility issues.” It is graded 1-4 and Metzi unfortunately has grade 4 on both of her hind legs.

She is from an “oops” litter that I received from a family friend. When I first met her, she was a tiny puppy that was 1.5 pounds. I never noticed how she walked because we would hold her whenever we went to see her before she was ready to come home. When we finally brought her home - we noticed she walked kind of funky. As she has grown, her condition has become more prominent.

We regret not getting pet insurance because after we took her to our regular vet, her condition was then considered preexisting. Our regular vet suspected the condition and referred us to a specialist. We took her to the specialist last month and it was confirmed that she has ‘Grade 4 Luxating Patella’ which is the worse kind that can only be corrected with surgery. I have attached pictures of the estimated bill for surgery. She will be getting surgery on both legs at the same time which is estimated to be between $6500 to $7700 (as seen on estimate bill). We have scheduled her surgery for July 24th

We are looking into getting a loan, but I am in my 20s, work in a school, and am going to university soon, so we’re trying all of our options!

I was not able to attach videos, but some of the obvious signs of Metzi’s condition is that she handstands and drags her legs. Sometimes when she’s eating, she’ll handstand for a solid 10 seconds. She can walk but will occasionally drag her legs when she walks. Sometimes she can’t fully sit down and when she does she’ll sit with her legs to the side of her. She is so loving and full of life. We want to give her the best life possible and we will be so grateful for any kind of help at all!