WaffleNugget Turkey Leg Fund
Donation protected
Wafflenugget, our sweet, fluffy, psychiatric service dog has two torn ACLs and needs your help.
When Waffle came home, our lives transformed for the better. She also brightened the world of instagram as we started to share her journey through puppyhood.
Her presence brought life, laughter and joy into our days and many others with her bunny hops, snugs and snoozletown sillies.
She also brought light into darkness for me, her momma, while I was in a deep depression due to PTSD from a decade long misdiagnosis.
Through training, snuggles and lots and lots of bacon bits, Waffy nursed me through an incredibly dark time and back to health. She then also helped me get over my debilitating OCD through barking at my rituals and getting me to recognize what I was doing.
Whether it was snuggling me through hours of darkness, punching me out of bed in the morning, literally offering a paw during flashbacks, or yapping her way outside to get us active and outside, she was there for me.
To this day, she gets me out of bed in the morning with a punching paw, barks when I ritualize, comforts me during flashbacks and inspires me to get out and exercising every single day. She cares for me all day and all night. I am not exagerating when I say, this dog helped save my life.
That said, right now, it is my turn to take care for her.
Taking care of her means getting surgery. We have explored the options and TPLO surgery is necessary to get her back to her joyful, adventurous and lively self. The challenge is - we cannot afford the surgery that she requires to fix her two torn ACLs and alleviate the pain.
That is where you come in - we would so appreciate any and all help.
Really, ANYTHING MAKES A DIFFERENCE.
The Injury
This past summer, we noticed that Waffle was slow to get up from her daily snoozle and was particularly stiff after hiking adventures. We immediately took her to the vet, who was unable to detect anything major, so Waffle was given some pain medicine and some time off from exercise.
She was not particularly happy about her walk restrictions, as you can see. But her symptoms improved and she was soon back in action riding shotgun and romping in style.
In November, the three of us decided to take a hike on Camel's Hump.
The following day, Waffle was in serious pain and was limping severely. It was clear that her injuries had intensified. We took her to the vet and after some x-rays, she was diagnosed with not one, but two torn anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) in her hind legs.
This news was also met with disdain by Waffle.
Torn Ligaments and TPLO Surgery
Our veterinarian friends informed us that there are surgeries that can help repair these ligaments in dogs. While expensive, they have come a long ways in the past few years and have excellent outcomes. Our vet
recommended surgical repair since Waffle is so young and inaction could lead to severe arthritis as she ages. But, given the expense, we were hesitant to commit.
Some info on torn ligaments and TPLO surgery for dogs
After a lengthy discussion with vets near and far and family and friends, we decided that Waffle was a good candidate for surgery. Because both of Waffle's ACLs are torn, they need to be repaired one at a time. This is done so that she can still be slightly mobile during her recovery.
The procedure for this set of surgeries generally follows a certain time table. One week after a consultation visit with the surgeon (which is scheduled for Thursday, January 26th), Waffle will need to head to Burlington for surgery on her first ACL. She will stay there overnight to be monitored to make sure that she comes in and out of anasthesia safely. The recovery process for this first surgery is roughly one to three months. For the first two weeks, she will be on bed rest. Once she has regained some of her strength, the same procedure will be done on the other leg. All told, she will likely not be back in action fully for sixth months. Get ready for ridiculous amounts of snoozletown sillies.
The general costs for the two surgeries, her pain medication, and initial and post-operative consultations will cost roughly 8000 dollars. While we do not know the exact amount right now because it is likely that estimates for pain medication and outpatient procedures could slightly change the total amount, we pledge that we will document the bills online so that you can see the precise costs for reference. We are so grateful for your help and we want to be as transparent as possible!
Our Committment
We are so grateful for any support you are willing to provide to help Waffle recover and get back to her sweet dorky self. In addition to documenting the precise costs of all of her medical procedures online here on gofundme, we pledge to donate any funds in excess of the doctors' fees to the Upper Valley Humane Society, a 501-c3 non-profit that provides support for pet adoption and relocation in New Hampshire and Vermont. You can visit their website here:
https://uvhs.org/
Furthermore, if you are able to give any support, please leave us your name and address and we will send along a thank you from Waffle herself. Email your details to [email redacted].
We will also share regular updates on her and my instagram feeds so please feel free to follow along and watch her recover.
Anything you can do to help our sweet bunny bear get better will be tremendously appreciated.
With love, snugs and dork,
Kate , Dave, and Waffle
For those curious/interested - here is the information pertaining to Waffle's Service Dog Status:
Waffle's Service Dog Certification Number with the US Service Dog Association is: 1485618569
Section § 35.136 Service animals part "f" of the Americans with Disabilities Act says: (f) Inquiries. A public entity shall not ask about the nature or extent of a person's disability, but may make two inquiries to determine whether an animal qualifies as a service animal. A public entity may ask if the animal is required because of a disability and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform. A public entity shall not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal. Generally, a public entity may not make these inquiries about a service animal when it is readily apparent that an animal is trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability (e.g., the dog is observed guiding an individual who is blind or has low vision, pulling a person's wheelchair, or providing assistance with stability or balance to an individual with an observable mobility disability).
To uphold such standards which we fully support and endorse: I will disclose that Waffle is trained to help me with my psychiatric conditions.
Given my incredible support of mental health advocacy efforts and my own devotion to being open about such issues, I am happy to disclose that I struggle with PTSD, OCD and Panic Disorder.
Waffle is trained specifically to assist me when I have PTSD flashbacks and also when I ritualize for my OCD.
She has been trained to interrupt flashbacks by giving me a paw repeatedly until I acknowledge her.
And with regards to my OCD, she has been trained specifically to bark when I repeat behaviors and again, give me a paw to bring me back to the present moment.
When Waffle came home, our lives transformed for the better. She also brightened the world of instagram as we started to share her journey through puppyhood.
Her presence brought life, laughter and joy into our days and many others with her bunny hops, snugs and snoozletown sillies.
She also brought light into darkness for me, her momma, while I was in a deep depression due to PTSD from a decade long misdiagnosis.
Through training, snuggles and lots and lots of bacon bits, Waffy nursed me through an incredibly dark time and back to health. She then also helped me get over my debilitating OCD through barking at my rituals and getting me to recognize what I was doing.
Whether it was snuggling me through hours of darkness, punching me out of bed in the morning, literally offering a paw during flashbacks, or yapping her way outside to get us active and outside, she was there for me.
To this day, she gets me out of bed in the morning with a punching paw, barks when I ritualize, comforts me during flashbacks and inspires me to get out and exercising every single day. She cares for me all day and all night. I am not exagerating when I say, this dog helped save my life.
That said, right now, it is my turn to take care for her.
Taking care of her means getting surgery. We have explored the options and TPLO surgery is necessary to get her back to her joyful, adventurous and lively self. The challenge is - we cannot afford the surgery that she requires to fix her two torn ACLs and alleviate the pain.
That is where you come in - we would so appreciate any and all help.
Really, ANYTHING MAKES A DIFFERENCE.
The Injury
This past summer, we noticed that Waffle was slow to get up from her daily snoozle and was particularly stiff after hiking adventures. We immediately took her to the vet, who was unable to detect anything major, so Waffle was given some pain medicine and some time off from exercise.
She was not particularly happy about her walk restrictions, as you can see. But her symptoms improved and she was soon back in action riding shotgun and romping in style.
In November, the three of us decided to take a hike on Camel's Hump.
The following day, Waffle was in serious pain and was limping severely. It was clear that her injuries had intensified. We took her to the vet and after some x-rays, she was diagnosed with not one, but two torn anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) in her hind legs.
This news was also met with disdain by Waffle.
Torn Ligaments and TPLO Surgery
Our veterinarian friends informed us that there are surgeries that can help repair these ligaments in dogs. While expensive, they have come a long ways in the past few years and have excellent outcomes. Our vet
recommended surgical repair since Waffle is so young and inaction could lead to severe arthritis as she ages. But, given the expense, we were hesitant to commit.
Some info on torn ligaments and TPLO surgery for dogs
After a lengthy discussion with vets near and far and family and friends, we decided that Waffle was a good candidate for surgery. Because both of Waffle's ACLs are torn, they need to be repaired one at a time. This is done so that she can still be slightly mobile during her recovery.
The procedure for this set of surgeries generally follows a certain time table. One week after a consultation visit with the surgeon (which is scheduled for Thursday, January 26th), Waffle will need to head to Burlington for surgery on her first ACL. She will stay there overnight to be monitored to make sure that she comes in and out of anasthesia safely. The recovery process for this first surgery is roughly one to three months. For the first two weeks, she will be on bed rest. Once she has regained some of her strength, the same procedure will be done on the other leg. All told, she will likely not be back in action fully for sixth months. Get ready for ridiculous amounts of snoozletown sillies.
The general costs for the two surgeries, her pain medication, and initial and post-operative consultations will cost roughly 8000 dollars. While we do not know the exact amount right now because it is likely that estimates for pain medication and outpatient procedures could slightly change the total amount, we pledge that we will document the bills online so that you can see the precise costs for reference. We are so grateful for your help and we want to be as transparent as possible!
Our Committment
We are so grateful for any support you are willing to provide to help Waffle recover and get back to her sweet dorky self. In addition to documenting the precise costs of all of her medical procedures online here on gofundme, we pledge to donate any funds in excess of the doctors' fees to the Upper Valley Humane Society, a 501-c3 non-profit that provides support for pet adoption and relocation in New Hampshire and Vermont. You can visit their website here:
https://uvhs.org/
Furthermore, if you are able to give any support, please leave us your name and address and we will send along a thank you from Waffle herself. Email your details to [email redacted].
We will also share regular updates on her and my instagram feeds so please feel free to follow along and watch her recover.
Anything you can do to help our sweet bunny bear get better will be tremendously appreciated.
With love, snugs and dork,
Kate , Dave, and Waffle
For those curious/interested - here is the information pertaining to Waffle's Service Dog Status:
Waffle's Service Dog Certification Number with the US Service Dog Association is: 1485618569
Section § 35.136 Service animals part "f" of the Americans with Disabilities Act says: (f) Inquiries. A public entity shall not ask about the nature or extent of a person's disability, but may make two inquiries to determine whether an animal qualifies as a service animal. A public entity may ask if the animal is required because of a disability and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform. A public entity shall not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal. Generally, a public entity may not make these inquiries about a service animal when it is readily apparent that an animal is trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability (e.g., the dog is observed guiding an individual who is blind or has low vision, pulling a person's wheelchair, or providing assistance with stability or balance to an individual with an observable mobility disability).
To uphold such standards which we fully support and endorse: I will disclose that Waffle is trained to help me with my psychiatric conditions.
Given my incredible support of mental health advocacy efforts and my own devotion to being open about such issues, I am happy to disclose that I struggle with PTSD, OCD and Panic Disorder.
Waffle is trained specifically to assist me when I have PTSD flashbacks and also when I ritualize for my OCD.
She has been trained to interrupt flashbacks by giving me a paw repeatedly until I acknowledge her.
And with regards to my OCD, she has been trained specifically to bark when I repeat behaviors and again, give me a paw to bring me back to the present moment.
Organizer
David Lutz
Organizer
Hanover, NH
