I am so glad you found a ride! We'll all pray that the vets will figure out what is wrong with Rioree.

Have a safe trip and update us when you get back.

I'll be keeping you both in my prayers.

Yep! I never dreamed she could or would jump that high! I am so glad to hear that you are going tomorrow. I will be praying for you and for her. I am also glad that you are not leaving here there... you are such a good mommy! Keep us posted, we are here for you!

Its official. Roriee has AAI and needs surgery. I do not have the money for it and not sure what to do now. She is getting better but needs that to make sure she can lead a good life.

I am so sorry to hear this, but it's not unexpected.

Now that you have a diagnosis, do you qualify for any of the grants through the vet school?

Have you contacted IMOM? They evaluate cases on a financial needs basis. If you don't qualify, I believe they allow you to use them to raise donations.

IMOM.org Helping People Help Pets

If you decide that you want to surrender her to a rescue please contact:

Yorkshire Terrier National Rescue Adoptions and Shop

Have you spoke to the person that you got Roriee from? Ethically and morally she should be responsible for the care of your puppy. In the very least help you with the HUGE medical bills that will be associated with her surgery. Did they tell you how much the surgery will cost?

I am so sorry....

Do you have any family or friends that could apply for care credit and you make the payments????

My parents just had to have emergence LP surgery (again) for their little Izzie. My Mom applied and got accepted. The plan is 18 months no interest.

i have applied to care credit and they turned me down.... i am going to try imom and see how that goes. also i am going to the make a wish website and make a wish for roriee. then i will figure out how to do some fundraising here in marietta.. i will get her the surgery one way or another... she will just have to have cage rest and keep on her meds until then. hopefully it will not be long. :)
she has to have a break in her little short life... she was a gift from god and i am hoping that he is still watching over her.

Randi, there is a link on IMOM for fundraising tips.

If you are approved, you may also post Roiree's picture and story and ask for donations.

Hopefully they may approve you for a grant, also.

How about the vet school? Any grants available there?

i will get the vet to apply for me at imom. the university told me their grant funds are empty because of the economy.

This economy is horrible for everyone, the grant money is just not there like it was a year or so ago. Know that you and your little one are in my constant thoughts. I hope that you are able to find the funds to pay for her surgery. :(

I think you have to apply yourself, Randi. Your vet will have to supply the medical information to confirm the diagnosis, though.

Will Roiree's breeder help you at all? Reputable breeders take responsibility for the puppies they bring into this world with congenital conditions.

the breeder was my exroommate and her dog had pups. it was a one time pregnacy and she has never had pups before. her dog had 5 pups and she is the person that took me to athens yesterday. i know for a fact that she has no money at all and cannot help me. when i went to the website for imom it has the paperwork for the vet but i didnt see where i can apply without his paperwork being with the application. i did sign up on the forums and i also posted roriee on wishuponahero.com. i also posted on facebook and myspace.

my ex-roommate thinks that another one of the pups has the same condition but found it alot earlier when the puppy broke a leg jumping out of her owners arms. they took her to the vet and from what they told her something about a genetic possibility that is going to cost alot. she has never heard of the condition and thinks it might be on the fathers side. she doesnt have paperwork for jessy (father) and she does have the paperwork for sissy (mother).

i am working on a website with photos of roriee and her short story. i think i might be able to post on bloggers.com as well.

Roriee's Mother and Father should be spayed and neutered, as AAI is genetic and could be passed onto to other pups. The breeder also needs to contact the littermates families to let them know what is happening and that they all should have the xrays done to see if any other pups have AAI as well. AAI pups if left untreated could do damage even with simple head gestures, their necks could break and they could either die on the spot or become paralyzed, (like Val's pup - Babybear)....

When you are creating your fundraising site, etc...You should set up with the Hospital that funds go directly into Roriee's account on hold for surgery :) People like to feel secure with their efforts and it going directly to the Hospital might make yes and no decisions easy ;)

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: Great post

Five puppies, two of whom have AAI? She must contact the other people who took puppies and let them know.

Such a sad reminder at what a huge responsibility breeding is. She has caused a lot of pain and heartbreak by her actions.

I know these are Chi/Yorkie/Silkie mixed puppies. Did she give them away or take money for them? If she charged for them, she needs to step up, borrow the money and at least reimburse for the purchase price.

Did they give you an estimate on how much the surgery will be?

she sold all the pups. she was my roommate and she charged me for roriee, but i was willing to pay for her, thats how much i fell in love with her :)
i swore the whole time she was weaning that i wasnt going to keep her.. and when the time came for her to be sold i couldnt let her go to anyone else. i was afraid someone would try to breed her once she got of age, and she was still way to little to even think about breeding her ever. you know alot of people want the tiny tiny dogs for fashion statements and not love. i loved her then and i love her now.. she is the light of my life.. LOl but everyone knows that...

the exroommate just told me about the other pup on saturday and i was very surprised to find out. she doesnt plan on breeding her yorkie again and roriee's dad is now fixed so he cant anymore.

the surgery will cost between 3500-4000 dollars. i have applied again to uan.org and i have printed out all the papers for imom.org for my vet to fill out. i applied to uan.org but was turned down but that was before i got the right diagnosis and i asked for a meningitis test the last time. so i didnt qualify.. this time i do qualify. i am not sure how long pups with AAI will live if they do not get the surgery but i do not think their prognosis is good at all. the chance of her turning wrong or anything can cause death if the neck breaks and they cant breathe. that is one of the qualifiers for their funding. and also that she only needs the one surgery to have a great outcome. so i am taking the paperwork to her vet in the morning to get this started. i have also started a website for her.. it isnt live yet but hopefully will be tomorrow or the next day. the url is roriee.com! its a very simple site.. no frills or fancy stuff as this is my very first website ever and i dont know much about building them. its one of the free hosting sites so unless i pay money they dont give you all the fancy stuff. i am hoping that one of the organizations approves me. that would be the absolute best xmas and i would be so thankful.

ok i am starting to ramble so i am off to bed. goodnight everyone :)

do i just call the hospital and set that up? that would be the best as far as i am concerned also. i would rather it go straight to them then me. hopefully i can set that up on her website also. i will call them in the morning and speak to the billing dept to see how i can arrange it. thank you so much!

Randi, I am so proud of how you've stepped up to get little Rioree the surgery she needs. I pray that you get enough grants and donations.

How about a few pictures of Rioree?

i can link the photos from photobucket.. the top ones are her at different ages and she is not sick. the bottem are a couple of her just last week at the vet. i will take some updated ones tomorrow since she is already in her bed and if i wake her up then she won't settle down right away

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...heissocute.jpg

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...hecamera-1.jpg

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...yandroriee.jpg

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...tthecamera.jpg

these are her sick photos below

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...1113-11211.jpg

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...1113-11181.jpg

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...91113-1118.jpg

those photos still bring fresh tears to my eyes.
my poor little baby girl.

thoughts and prayers with u and roriee. keep us all posted

Ah, what a sweet little girl Roiree is. I can see why she stole your heart.

Her "sick" pictures are so sad.

I am hitting roadblock after roadblock. .. but i will not give up!

uga university will not work with IMOM at all.. they said that not only do they not pay but they make the billing go through all kinds of rules and strict guidelines then they will not pay...

also uga says they are not set up to open a account for dontations in roriees name. .. they will not accept partial payments for small amounts.. they will accept large partial payments for a bill but say 15 people donated 25$ each.. they will not do that..

they will take 3 people donated 1500 each.. soo.. i am thinking that maybe a bank will set up a account for her and i will call my bank to see.. i am also going to call the ga vet office to see how much their aai surgery is and if they even do it. then find out if they would set up a account for her..

if their price is the same then i would rather go to them as they are here in marietta and i can get there when i need to.. i had a hard time getting one ride to athens.. i would be so far away from her.

anyway.. i am not beaten yet.. :aimeeyork

:eyeballpc

There is another light at the end of the tunnel!

Change of plans, vets and Georgia Veterinary Specialists can do the surgery and the price is approx 3500. which is at the lower end of the quote uga gave me. they are here in sandy springs which is great! they will take donations and apply it to her account like a savings account until there is enough there to do the surgery.. they have had people do that before and they dont care if everyone sends in one dollar or 2000 dollars. the money will sit in her account until its needed for the surgery.

they also will fill out any estimates and information that imom needs and requires.. they will work with imom where uga will not.

so.. when her website goes up i will link her donation request to them.

whew.. what a load off my mind... not only will she be here for her treatment but this vet is supposed to be the best in town for this procedure.

now i can quit shaking inside enough to get ready for work.. her appt is dec 2 and the neurologist that is seeing her is a personal friend of the neurologist that saw her at uga on saturday.. omg i feel so much better now.

ty again everyone here on yt that has given me advice, support, kindness and understanding. we all love our furbabies so much. i do not feel that i am roriee's owner but part of her family.. LOL if anything she owns me not the other way around.

Hi Randi! I am just checking in since I was not able to over the weekend. I'm glad that you got the diagnosis and am sad that it is AAI. The good news is there is hope and it is fixable! What a wonderful mommy you are to Roiree and I know that you will be able to make this happen! Keep moving forward and be encouraged, there is definitely hope! Hugs to you both!

I just got my application back from lifeline UNA.org and they turned me down. I emailed them again and begged for them to take another look at her application because she qualifies totally. she fills all the requirements for their funding. at least all they posted on their website. :(

roriee.com is live now.. there is a place to sign her guestbook and 2 pages of photos. both before and after she got sick. she is doing as well as can be expected except for one new thing.. my little baby is now in heat! there are not any male dogs around except for the pit bull next door and there is no chance he is getting to her. she is inside and protected at all times. this is her first heat so if she wasnt sick she would be having her surgery to fix this after her cycle is over. now i have to wait until i can get this surgery done and then worry about fixing her. no way any dog will get close to her though.

she is in my lap now sleeping while i type on the laptop :)
she is doing better but i know that anything could happen to injure her more and i treat her like a china doll. very very carefully.

hope everyone had a good thanksgiving!

Hi Randi! I was just checking in since I was not able to get on here over the weekend. Glad to see things are going well, I will check out Rorie's site now!

update on roriee

she is still pretty sick.. the neurologist thinks that she has a combination of problems.. her knees in her back legs are wobbly and he is concerned with her mental awareness when she first got sick. she is better now but he thinks she needs more testing.. (mri & spinal tap) those tests alone run 2200 and then her aai surgery would run 2500-3500.

so we are in a holding period.. we are reducing her steriod use 2x a day to 0.25mg.. she isnt in pain now and seems happy,.. she is happy when she is laying in my lap.. she is the love of my life :)

I am so sorry that her condition seems worse. How are you doing with fund raising?