I am trying to save my dog's leg, but really I'm trying to save her life. Her name is Mollie and she is HAPPY. Happy to be alive, to run, to play, to sleep, to eat, to breathe, to be. At least she was until she got hurt and now she's not so happy at all anymore.
Before I tell you what happened to Mollie, let me tell you a little about her life story. The day I met Mollie, I was walking in the park with my Husband, who was very sick and had only a few months to live. His dog had died of old age about 4 months before that and he had been thinking of getting another one but I had been trying to discourage that. As we were walking along we noticed a homeless man sitting on a ledge with a dog asleep near his feet. My husband started asking questions about the dog and, of course, in no time he decided we had to have her. After negotiating for the right price, we got her. We took her to our vet immediately and found out she was a healthy Boxer pup, approximately 6-8 months old.
Aside from severe separation anxiety she has turned out to be the most joyous creature I have ever known. My Husband died in February, 2014 and instead of wishing I didn't have her, she has become my closest companion. After being married for 30 years I have no fear of being alone because I know Mollie will always protect me. In addition to that, I have Diabetes and she has become my medical rescue service dog. When my blood sugar fluctuates, she knows it even before I do. On 3 separate occasions she's come to my bedroom in the middle of the night to wake me up because I was having severe Hypoglycemic attacks in my sleep and didn't know it. She might have saved my life any one of those times.
Until Mollie's injury it was our habit to go to the dog park 3 days a week. She had a regular group of friends that we met there and she would be ecstatic for 2 or so hours every time we went. But one day in November we came home and she limped into the house and laid down immediately. I thought she had just overdone it a little but by morning her leg was sticking straight out to the side and when she tried to, she could not put weight on it.
After an exam and many xrays, they found she had a torn ligament in her knee. She has been on many medications and bed rest since then with no improvement. The 1 major change is that she is now so depressed that she also takes doggy Prozac and tranquilizers to keep her still. We have seen 3 Orthopedic Surgeons and they all say the only way to save her leg is by surgery. Of course they also say she could survive with 3 legs but because she is such an active dog, who lives to run, she will probably never be the same mentally.She won't run, she'll never go to the dog park again and she will lose her joy forever.
The success rate of the surgery is 99+ percent and once it's fixed it can never happen again. The problem is the surgery costs approximately $5,800.00 (UPDATE: We have found a surgeon to do it for 2,000!!!) Now, I am willing to give every penny of what I have but I am permanently disabled, I am a widow but since I'm not old enough, I can't collect my dead Husband's Social Security. Orthopedic Surgeons don't do payment plans and I have begged every organization that claims they help with this sort of thing and have been turned down repeatedly. If anybody out there can just see it in their heart to please help me save my Mollie's leg and get her joy back, I know that you will never regret it. Please help me if you can.
Thank you,
Bobbi V. McGhee