Help Ren walk again
Donation protected
I really don't know how to start this and publicize our reality online, but my reality has become a nightmare and I thought I'd give it a try through the likes of gofundme.
We are the owners and loving parents to our soon to be 3 yr old dog Ren. He is a half dachshund half chihuahua who has filled our house w happiness and moments of laughter. We rescued him from The Maggie Society in South Carolina and he found a home with us in November 2017 via Wags Rescue. We call him Ren because when we first saw him, he was so skinny, has a tan coat, and is a chihuahua like "Ren" from Ren & Stimpy =o) . My wife and I didn't learn until later that he was found on the side of the highway in a plastic tote with his brother and sister and another sibling who didn't make it (see link below).
https://i.imgur.com/W9UbRqY.png
My puppy didn't have a great welcome into this world, but I'm glad we found him and that his brother and sister also found a place they can call home.
Although he is no bigger than 14 lbs. soaking wet, Ren has a big heart and it shows through his personality. Every dog owner in the neighborhood knows who he is know's that his happy soul won't allow walking by without greeting the other dogs. That's just Ren. He's a great companion, our best friend, and our family.
In December, Ren went through some trauma where he was attacked by another dog, and didn't recover for almost 2 months. He struggled to walk, had bad neck pain, but showed no physical signs of damage. Soon enough he was back to zipping around our house, jumping on the couch, and air diving between my wife and I at any sign of affection. It wasn't until recently he started going back to showing pain. As of July 7th, 2020 I went to take him for a walk and he didn't seem too interested in going. I monitored him through out the day and noticed that his back legs were dragging and later on seemed as if they were no longer working. As any worried pet owner would, we started looking online for symptoms and causes, and we rushed him to the vet. I didn't want to jump to conclusions, but my own research led me to believe he has what is called Invertebral Disk Disease (IVDD). 2 vet's, 1 neurologist specialist later, we learned that he has a herniated disk, which is why he has no feeling in his back legs. His tail no longer wags. He doesn't feel anything even if you were to pinch the soft part of his back paws. We can keep him on steroids, but there's no guarantee that he will make recovery and his condition can leave him permanently paralyzed. At the same time that the possibility of our best friend no longer being 100% or let alone being with us, we are dealing with the struggle of medical bills from IVF as we are trying to conceive a child, and it's not likely that we will have the money to pay for Ren's surgery to remove the pain from his spinal cord. We were told from a neurologist specialist in New Jersey that an MRI scan, a CT scan, and surgical procedure will cost us 8,000 with a 85-90% chance or recovery.
All good dog's go to heaven, but my boy's journey started through hell and his story can't be over. Please help us make it possible for Ren to walk again.
We are the owners and loving parents to our soon to be 3 yr old dog Ren. He is a half dachshund half chihuahua who has filled our house w happiness and moments of laughter. We rescued him from The Maggie Society in South Carolina and he found a home with us in November 2017 via Wags Rescue. We call him Ren because when we first saw him, he was so skinny, has a tan coat, and is a chihuahua like "Ren" from Ren & Stimpy =o) . My wife and I didn't learn until later that he was found on the side of the highway in a plastic tote with his brother and sister and another sibling who didn't make it (see link below).
https://i.imgur.com/W9UbRqY.png
My puppy didn't have a great welcome into this world, but I'm glad we found him and that his brother and sister also found a place they can call home.
Although he is no bigger than 14 lbs. soaking wet, Ren has a big heart and it shows through his personality. Every dog owner in the neighborhood knows who he is know's that his happy soul won't allow walking by without greeting the other dogs. That's just Ren. He's a great companion, our best friend, and our family.
In December, Ren went through some trauma where he was attacked by another dog, and didn't recover for almost 2 months. He struggled to walk, had bad neck pain, but showed no physical signs of damage. Soon enough he was back to zipping around our house, jumping on the couch, and air diving between my wife and I at any sign of affection. It wasn't until recently he started going back to showing pain. As of July 7th, 2020 I went to take him for a walk and he didn't seem too interested in going. I monitored him through out the day and noticed that his back legs were dragging and later on seemed as if they were no longer working. As any worried pet owner would, we started looking online for symptoms and causes, and we rushed him to the vet. I didn't want to jump to conclusions, but my own research led me to believe he has what is called Invertebral Disk Disease (IVDD). 2 vet's, 1 neurologist specialist later, we learned that he has a herniated disk, which is why he has no feeling in his back legs. His tail no longer wags. He doesn't feel anything even if you were to pinch the soft part of his back paws. We can keep him on steroids, but there's no guarantee that he will make recovery and his condition can leave him permanently paralyzed. At the same time that the possibility of our best friend no longer being 100% or let alone being with us, we are dealing with the struggle of medical bills from IVF as we are trying to conceive a child, and it's not likely that we will have the money to pay for Ren's surgery to remove the pain from his spinal cord. We were told from a neurologist specialist in New Jersey that an MRI scan, a CT scan, and surgical procedure will cost us 8,000 with a 85-90% chance or recovery.
All good dog's go to heaven, but my boy's journey started through hell and his story can't be over. Please help us make it possible for Ren to walk again.
Organizer
Brian Ariza
Organizer
Plainsboro, NJ