Nala's CT Scans
Donation protected
Help us to raise money for Nala to have CT scans and an appointment with a consultant.
Nala came to be a part of our little family when she was just 7 weeks old. She was rescued from being passed around a college by teenagers at the age of 5 weeks. Removed from her mum as such a young age, she was left to fend for herself and find her own way in what was then, a cruel world for her.
My partner Callum actually saw Nala first. He was waiting in line in a coffee shop on his lunch break at work and saw her sat on the lap of a lady we fondly came to know as Meryl. She had been Nala's first saviour when she gave her a home when her next door neighbour brought her home from his college.
Meryl told Callum how she had no room for her, and Callum shared his delight that we had been looking to expand our family with a rescue dog. It seemed in that moment that fate had put Nala in our path so that we could love her and provide her with the loving family that she deserves. We brought her home 2 days later and there she found a loving big sister in Lexi. They have been inseparable since. We had no idea what breed she was or the laughter and love we were letting ourselves in for.
We ordered a DNA test from Amazon and found out that she is 50/50 Canary Mastiff and Staff. It was amazing to watch her grow. She was putting on a 1kg every 5 days in the first 6/8 months. We almost didn't recognise her each morning when we came downstairs!
Nala is now 17 months old, weighs 42kg and is a big bundle of joy. She loves running in the park, chasing her sister for the ball (even though history has taught her that she won't catch up to her!) but her favourite pastime is to cuddle on the sofa with every inch of her body touching the human that she has inevitably sat on. She is the only dog I have ever known that LOVES the vets. She pulls us in there and charms every nurse and vet in the building. She is such a kind, sweet soul. She has improved our lives beyond words.
Two weeks ago we noticed that Nala wasn't walking properly. She was lifting her paw after short walks and was refusing (more than usual) to walk down stairs and to come to us when called. We also noticed that almost overnight she lost her sociable nature with other dogs. We took her to the vets and they examined her, noticing almost straight away that she was indeed carrying herself oddly. We booked her in for x-rays and waited anxiously to hear what was going on for her.
The vet showed us the x-rays. Clearly it could be seen that she has a double dose of elbow dysplasia with a hefty amount of calcification on both sides that look like spurs coming out of the back of her elbows. Elbow dysplasia is apparently common for giant breeds and some dogs can live to 10/12 years with appropriate treatment. Without this it means that Nala is pain almost all of the time.
We used to think that her splaying on the floor when we were out for a walk was because she was a big dog and a little lazy. After this appointment the terror has hit us that this was probably because she was in pain. Her refusing to walk on her morning walks some days was probably her elbows flaring up and her being in pain. We have teared ourselves apart with guilt at not pushing this more with the vets.
Friends and family have helped us to realise that we weren't to know, and we did persist at the vets and this is what has led to this situation today. We just want to make sure that we can give her all she needs and that costs money. Money we don't have right now.
The vet explained to us that there is no way to see the extent of the problem without taking CT scans and seeing a consultant. He told us that because of her vet history (she was a sickly puppy on account of her being removed from mum too early, and multiple visits before her insurance started about her rolling on her paws) that the insurance wouldn't cover the costs.
There are options available to Nala for treatment, but the CT scans are the gateway to finding out what this means for her in particular.
So here we are. Trying to find the money to be able to see what the next steps are for Nala. It may be that she is in too much pain and needs surgery, which could cost up to £10,000, if this as option depending on her case. Or maybe she will be able to manage with long term medication. At the moment we have such limited information about how to move forward and we are in need of your help to get us to the point that we can make the best decision for her quality of life.
Our girl needs us and it's breaking us to think that she may have been in pain for some time and the vets haven't picked up on it, and that financially we are at our limits as to what we can do. We aren't eligible for any help from the local charities and we have been looking at all options. This is our last one before having to contact re-homing centres to see if they can give her the much needed treatment she needs, but to do this we would need to surrender her. The thought of this leaves us in streams of tears and we need to know that we have done all that we can for our gorgeous and loving girl who doesn't deserve any of this.
We need to get her in for these scans as soon as possible, she is currently on pain medication and we are instructed to keep her weight down and only to only give her short walks. The vets are waiting to hear from us asap.
Please can you help us to navigate this as best as we can, for Nala. It would mean more than any words on this page could quantify. To be able to know our girl was getting what she needed, is all we can hope for.
Thank you.
Sarah, Callum, Lexi and Nala
xxx
Nala came to be a part of our little family when she was just 7 weeks old. She was rescued from being passed around a college by teenagers at the age of 5 weeks. Removed from her mum as such a young age, she was left to fend for herself and find her own way in what was then, a cruel world for her.
My partner Callum actually saw Nala first. He was waiting in line in a coffee shop on his lunch break at work and saw her sat on the lap of a lady we fondly came to know as Meryl. She had been Nala's first saviour when she gave her a home when her next door neighbour brought her home from his college.
Meryl told Callum how she had no room for her, and Callum shared his delight that we had been looking to expand our family with a rescue dog. It seemed in that moment that fate had put Nala in our path so that we could love her and provide her with the loving family that she deserves. We brought her home 2 days later and there she found a loving big sister in Lexi. They have been inseparable since. We had no idea what breed she was or the laughter and love we were letting ourselves in for.
We ordered a DNA test from Amazon and found out that she is 50/50 Canary Mastiff and Staff. It was amazing to watch her grow. She was putting on a 1kg every 5 days in the first 6/8 months. We almost didn't recognise her each morning when we came downstairs!
Nala is now 17 months old, weighs 42kg and is a big bundle of joy. She loves running in the park, chasing her sister for the ball (even though history has taught her that she won't catch up to her!) but her favourite pastime is to cuddle on the sofa with every inch of her body touching the human that she has inevitably sat on. She is the only dog I have ever known that LOVES the vets. She pulls us in there and charms every nurse and vet in the building. She is such a kind, sweet soul. She has improved our lives beyond words.
Two weeks ago we noticed that Nala wasn't walking properly. She was lifting her paw after short walks and was refusing (more than usual) to walk down stairs and to come to us when called. We also noticed that almost overnight she lost her sociable nature with other dogs. We took her to the vets and they examined her, noticing almost straight away that she was indeed carrying herself oddly. We booked her in for x-rays and waited anxiously to hear what was going on for her.
The vet showed us the x-rays. Clearly it could be seen that she has a double dose of elbow dysplasia with a hefty amount of calcification on both sides that look like spurs coming out of the back of her elbows. Elbow dysplasia is apparently common for giant breeds and some dogs can live to 10/12 years with appropriate treatment. Without this it means that Nala is pain almost all of the time.
We used to think that her splaying on the floor when we were out for a walk was because she was a big dog and a little lazy. After this appointment the terror has hit us that this was probably because she was in pain. Her refusing to walk on her morning walks some days was probably her elbows flaring up and her being in pain. We have teared ourselves apart with guilt at not pushing this more with the vets.
Friends and family have helped us to realise that we weren't to know, and we did persist at the vets and this is what has led to this situation today. We just want to make sure that we can give her all she needs and that costs money. Money we don't have right now.
The vet explained to us that there is no way to see the extent of the problem without taking CT scans and seeing a consultant. He told us that because of her vet history (she was a sickly puppy on account of her being removed from mum too early, and multiple visits before her insurance started about her rolling on her paws) that the insurance wouldn't cover the costs.
There are options available to Nala for treatment, but the CT scans are the gateway to finding out what this means for her in particular.
So here we are. Trying to find the money to be able to see what the next steps are for Nala. It may be that she is in too much pain and needs surgery, which could cost up to £10,000, if this as option depending on her case. Or maybe she will be able to manage with long term medication. At the moment we have such limited information about how to move forward and we are in need of your help to get us to the point that we can make the best decision for her quality of life.
Our girl needs us and it's breaking us to think that she may have been in pain for some time and the vets haven't picked up on it, and that financially we are at our limits as to what we can do. We aren't eligible for any help from the local charities and we have been looking at all options. This is our last one before having to contact re-homing centres to see if they can give her the much needed treatment she needs, but to do this we would need to surrender her. The thought of this leaves us in streams of tears and we need to know that we have done all that we can for our gorgeous and loving girl who doesn't deserve any of this.
We need to get her in for these scans as soon as possible, she is currently on pain medication and we are instructed to keep her weight down and only to only give her short walks. The vets are waiting to hear from us asap.
Please can you help us to navigate this as best as we can, for Nala. It would mean more than any words on this page could quantify. To be able to know our girl was getting what she needed, is all we can hope for.
Thank you.
Sarah, Callum, Lexi and Nala
xxx
Organiser
Sarah Henderson
Organiser
