There are some pivotal moments in rescue when you have to decide if you can help a dog or not and sometimes even if there is medical treatment available you have to consider if your community would support it or not.
Champ is one of those dogs.
Champ is not even one year old and came to us from a local shelter. Once he was in our care and we understood what it would take to heal him, it was either commit to the largest, most complex and costly surgery we have ever attempted, which would correct his issues and give him the life he deserved, or put him down as within short order, his condition would leave him with no quality of life and no chance of being adopted.
In case that wasn't daunting enough, when our fundraising team saw his photos and video they panicked as Champ is an adorable little man, that much like the dreaded broken pelvis, you can't even hardly see what is wrong with him. There is no visually compelling reason to inspire people to donate - no wounds, no injuries, no graphic photos, no compelling story of abuse and abandonment, nothing - a young, happy little man, who has a couple wonky looking paws. No big deal.....why does he need a $10.000+ surgery and why would anyone consider putting him down without it????
Here's what Champ is facing..... he was born with serious orthopedic deformities on both of his front legs. On the left side, his foot is twisted 180 degrees backward and there is deformity on the right side that causes him to walk on his elbow. In a short amount of time as he grows, the way his legs and paws are formed, he will be walking on bones on both sides, which will lead to sores, ulcerations, etc which would be nearly impossible to manage to give him any quality of life.
Rescue never ceases to give impossible decisions. Orthopedic surgery can correct both issues with a very good prognosis, but it is a huge surgery and even at a generously discounted rate, is over $10,000.
Here is what is needed to correct Champ's deformities -
On the right side, Dr. Marin will break his leg and ankle, disconnect all the muscles and ligaments, shave everything down to "fresh bone", plate the bones, and rebuild everything around it.
On the left side where his foot is twisted backwards, she will break that leg and ankle as well, shave them down, and spin everything back around where it should be and fuse everything back together again.
The surgery is so complex that Dr. Marin plans to do the CT scan the day before so that she can get enhanced imaging over the existing x-rays to understand how all Champs bones are currently situated so that she has 24 hours to plan precisely how to approach the procedures.
This is a major surgery in every way possible and we do not make these decisions lightly. Champ's entire medical team, led by Surgeon Dr. Marin, believe that reconstructive surgery on both his legs leads to an extremely good prognosis or we would not even be considering it.
We now bring Champ's story to you to tell us if we made the right decisions. Is one handsome puppy worth our community coming together to attempt to raise over $10,000 to cover his care and give him the life he deserves?
We have thought long and hard about it and we believe his life is worth it. We are out on a limb farther than we have ever been before and are humbly here to ask your support in a donation of any size to a happy looking puppy with some wonky front paws that doesn't look anything like that our ability to provide him a major surgery will determine the rest of his life.
As always, every single dollar counts toward Champ's funding finish line and even if you are not able to donate, your comments and shares alone support him too.
