Sunny’s Second Chance

Hello, my name is Kay Chavez-Gonzales and I truly appreciate you taking the time to read my story. In November 2022, my kids and I were excited to bring home a new puppy, but we never expected that we would be so heartbroken a few months later.

Sunny is a 10-month-old Great Pyrenees Puppy who loves going to the park, car rides, trips to Petco, his training sessions, and looks forward to spending time with Grandpa and the senior residents, and most importantly spending time with his family. Sunny is a loving, gentle giant who enjoys cuddles, hugs, and kisses.

Unfortunately, he was just diagnosed with Severe Hip Dysplasia and Sudden Onset Glaucoma. We are trying our best to care for him, but the medical bills are becoming very expensive and we are asking for assistance to help Sunny battle these diseases.

Hip dysplasia is a deformity of the hip that occurs during growth. The hip joint is a ball and socket joint. During growth, both the ball (the head of the femur, or thighbone) and the socket in the pelvis (acetabulum) must grow at equal rates. In hip dysplasia, this uniform growth during puppyhood does not occur. The result is looseness (laxity) of the joint, followed by degenerative joint disease (DJD) or osteoarthritis (OA), which is the body's attempt to stabilize the loose hip joint.

Sunny will need to undergo surgery and have his hips replaced in order not to lose mobility in his rear legs. Sunny is still a growing puppy and he is expected to double in size. In a few months, his hind legs will not be able to support his weight and he will not be able to walk.

Due to his Glaucoma, Sunny has lost vision in his left eye and is also at risk of losing his vision in the right eye without the proper treatment which we have thankfully been able to provide for him until now. He will need to take medication for the rest of his life to treat his Glaucoma which is very expensive.

We love Sunny and he has become a huge part of our family. Kayla, Mark, and I are hoping that through the kindness and generosity of others, we will be able to raise enough money to help Sunny overcome his battle with these horrible diseases and receive his surgery. We are hopeful that after his surgery, Sunny will be able to live a long normal life and be able to run, play and be the Sunny that we have all come to love.