Help Nala get back on her feet

Hello,

 

My name is Nala and I am a Springer spaniel/Labrador cross. I'm 11 human years old, but don't let that fool you, I still love to run and swim and play.

 

Sadly I can't do any of those any more as I have bad knees. I have ruptured the cruciate ligaments in both knees and this means I am very wobbly on my feet and in lots of pain.

My owner, Kaisha, has taken me to the vets and I am going to have surgery to help me run and play again. However this is very expensive and the insurance doesn't cover the full cost of the operations.

 

If you could spare a little to support me in my surgery journey, I will give you all the cuddles you want when I see you next (and hopefully I get a carrot or two as a treat from you too!) 

 

Thank you (wags tail and licks you uncontrollably)

PS. If you would like to see me in my prime, please follow @nalathespringerdor on Instagram.

 

(If you would like to know more about the surgery, it is called TPLO surgery. Following rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament, the knee becomes unstable. When the dog takes weight on the limb this instability allows the shin bone (tibia) to move forward relative to the thigh bone (femur). The knee feels as though it is ‘giving-way’ and this can cause the dog to appear severely lame.

The reason the tibia moves forward when weight-bearing is that the top of the shin bone does not sit at 90 degrees to the length of the bone. This is in contrast to people where the shin bone is parallel to the ground when standing upright with our legs straight.

TPLO surgery aims to make the shin bone vertical to the long axis of the bone and, in doing so, prevent the shin bone moving forwards. The knee thus feels stable for the dog when weight-bearing, despite the fact that the ligament has been ruptured.)