As promised.....this is Ariel, a Yorkie Haven Rescue foster pup. I had to start a fundraiser for her this week and summarized her story for FB, so have decided to use it here since it tells her complete story.
Ariel is my foster pup. She was in such bad shape when she came to us .. Lolasmom had picked her up and our plans were to get her involved in physical therapy. We had been told she likely had swimmers....oh boy...it wasn't that simple as you will see by reading the story.
If not for Deb Sillers, of Amazing Yorkies, helping us, I honestly don't know that Ariel would be here. She stayed on the phone with us over and over...late at night and for extended periods, walking us through everything. She had no personal interest in this pup...it is just that she truly loves the breed and I love her for that! I have seen her help SO many with sickly puppies on this forum and also I have, over the years, referred people to her for assistance.
I am posting some photos here...and in extra posts since I cannot post them all here.....
ARIEL'S STORY
Ariel came to us in Nov 2018 at less than 1 lb and only 6 weeks of age. Another rescuer was at a vet when a lady came in to euthanize Ariel because she had hind limb issues that they thought was swimmers syndrome. The other rescue contacted us and we agreed to take her. She was a sickly pup and was in ICU at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists for a few days before being discharged to her foster home. She had to be syringe fed around the clock and had giardia that was very difficult to clear up. There was a time that we were honestly not sure we would be able to save her. She didn't want to eat and was constantly ill. She finally turned the corner and started to put on weight..She now weighs 4.9 lbs!
In the beginning, Ariel basically drug her self around, unable to use her hind legs due to severe muscle contractures. In January she was finally eating on her own and able to participate in physical therapy. Ariel has been going to GCVS for PT and it has done wonders for her muscle contractures. She is a vibrant, happy puppy who loves to play! Ariel saw the surgeon this past week and he was happy to see the improvement in her muscle contractures and her level of ambulation. X-rays were done and Ariel has luxating patellas which are a grade 4. We have discussed this at length with our regular vets and with the surgeon who gave us our options for her care going forward.
After much thought and discussion, we have decided to move forward with repairing her knees. The surgeon is not able to tell at this point due to her contractures, if he can repair her knees without doing some repair work on her bones which are curved. She is scheduled for a CT Scan on May 31st to hopefully get a better idea of how much will need to be done to repair her knees. Her surgery will then be scheduled for the first week of June.
There is a wide range in terms of cost for these surgeries. Each knee must be done separately and he said he would start with her right knee. For a repair of LP the cost for us for one knee is $2560 but if the bone is involved the cost would be $4560. The total cost for both legs will range between $5120 and $9120. The CT scan will be around $1000, so we are needing to raise $10,120 total for Ariel to have this surgery .
. After much thought and discussion with our regular vets and the specialists, we feel this is the very best option for Ariel. Yes, she can walk better now, but with her knees being a grade 4, in order to hopefully prevent insult to her cruciate ligaments, we are taking this step forward. It is not something that will make her perfect as she does have deformities and will always have contractures in her hamstrings; but, the surgery should hopefully straighten her little feet out where they will point forwards...and as mentioned above, hopefully save her from a future of torn ligaments.
PLEASE NOTE: The total we are raising could be more than needed. If that ends up being the case, we will apply the excess to our other foster pups unless someone requests a partial donation. We will, of course, keep everyone updated on the cost of Ariel's surgery.
If you are interested in reading Ariel's full story and/or would like to donate, the website is:
Yorkie Haven Rescue 20190503_133030.jpg Recent photo of Ariel.
IMG95201811289514371469495BURST00095COVER95TOP.jpg One of our first photos of Ariel. This was taken in Gulf Coast Vet Specialists, ICU and shows how her little hind limbs were so tiny and drawn up into her tummy. They could not be extended.
She weighed 3/4 lb and was 6 weeks of age at the time.
IMG_3158.jpg This photo also shows Ariel's knees and feet and also shows the improvement in her contractures.
IMG_3169.jpg This recent photo shows how much improvement there has been in Ariel's ability to extend her legs! She is being helped to stand on her hind limbs in this photo. This shows how her little feet turn out to the side.