This is Cordelia, or Cordy for short. Please help us to treat her painful hip dysplasia so she can continue to be a “pit bull ambassador,” and to pass on the good will to other families in need.

Let me tell you a little bit about why Cordy is so special.

Cordy is a nine month old petite pit bull mix. She came into our lives during a difficult time, but it was the time we needed her most. My husband and I had recently adopted Spencer, a gorgeous pit bull/shepherd mix. We had met him at his foster home and fallen in love with his happy-go-lucky personality. We knew immediately that he was our dog.

When Spencer came into our home, he started displaying new behaviors. He was very mouthy and jumpy with us and was fear aggressive with strangers. We couldn’t take him for a walk without him growling and lunging at people. We couldn’t have people in our home. We were honestly scared for him and for us. We had adopted a pit bull in hopes of dispelling the myths about them, not perpetuating them.

We knew we had to help Spencer because he was still the dog we fell in love with. We hired a behaviorist and began rehabilitating Spencer through positive reinforcement training. The training was working, but we couldn’t help noticing that no matter how much praise we gave him, Spencer lacked confidence. This is where Cordy comes in.

I saw a Facebook post about a litter of 8-week-old puppies that needed foster homes. Something made me feel like I was supposed to rescue one of them. I soon found myself driving home a skinny, stinky, brindle pup. We named her Cordelia.

Neither of us had ever had a puppy, so we didn’t know what to expect. We assumed that because it was her first time away from her siblings that she would cry, but she slept right through the night. She lived for snuggling. She was smart as a whip, too. By the time she was 10 weeks old, she knew “sit,” “down,” “stay,” and “come.”

We took our time introducing Cordy to Spencer, but when we let them meet, they were instantly best friends. Our jumpy, anxious dog was gentle and affectionate with her. And his confidence grew. Cordy was the key. Cordy is the “pit bull ambassador” we were hoping for, and she’s helping Spencer find his way back to that path. They are extremely bonded. It’s no surprise that Cordy became a “failed foster” and is now a member of our family.

Everyone who meets Cordy loves her. They are often surprised she’s a pit bull, both because of her small size and because of her naturally friendly demeanor. We love that she helps to change minds about bullies. Don’t get me wrong; Cordy isn’t a perfect angel…she thoroughly enjoys destroying dog beds, chasing cats, and barking at the neighbor’s porch light after dark. But she is a happy, loving puppy who deserves to live pain-free.

This brings me to why we are raising money. A couple months ago, Cordy started hesitating and sometimes refusing to sit when we asked her. At first, we thought she was going through a “stubborn” phase, but we noticed other peculiarities in her behavior. When she would sit for us, she would put all of her weight on one leg. She stopped wanting to run, and when she did run she would “bunny hop.” She didn’t want to jump into the car. These were all signs of hip dysplasia.

Our vet did a physical exam and her hips seemed normal. It’s a good thing he did x-rays anyway because they showed subluxating hip joints: the balls of her femurs don’t fit properly in her hip sockets. This is likely causing her a great deal of pain, even though she showed no pain response during her exam. Cordy loves people so much that she doesn’t even flinch when someone is hurting her.

Our vet referred us to a surgeon, who explained that the best option for Cordy’s future is a procedure called Triple Pelvic Osteotomy (TPO): they cut the pelvic bone and reposition it so that the femur fits properly. This procedure can only be done while she is under a year old and has a very high success rate. Our surgeon has done hundreds of successful TPOs. If we can’t do this for her now, she will slowly deteriorate and will require extensive surgeries and physical therapy later in life. If we can do it, she will likely live pain free.

Each leg costs close to $4,000. My company went bankrupt in early April so I am now on unemployment, and my husband is a full-time student. We’re mostly living on my husband’s student loans and can barely afford our bills, let alone $8,000 in veterinary services. It isn’t Cordelia’s fault that I lost my job, and saving her hips is very time sensitive. We only have a couple months before it’s too late.

We will continue fundraising efforts, even after her surgeries are paid for, because we would like to start a non-profit: The Hip Hip Hooray Fund. We would like to help other families in tough times to save their beloved dogs from a lifetime of pain. The Hip Hip Hooray Fund will assist dog owners in paying for treatment for hip dysplasia.