Helping Elliot

On September 16, 2021, a very pregnant Dane came to us. She was already dripping milk and was ready to give birth at any time. Three days later she did just that, blessing us with 10 puppies. We named the mother Allison for my mother, and the nine girls we named after famous and powerful women. The only male was a deaf white pup we named Elliot. 

Elliot grew big and strong but he's still just as sweet as that tiny white puppy. He's about a year and half old now and his owner started noticing one of his feet knuckling under as he walked. That's something that we often see with the rear legs of old dogs, particularly shepherds, who are losing sensation in their rear end. A visit to a vet neurologist, xrays, and an MRI confirmed the diagnosis as Wobblers disease. Here's the quick Wikipedia explanation of the disease:

Wobbler disease is a catchall term referring to several possible malformations of the cervical vertebrae that cause an unsteady gait and weakness in dogs and horses. A number of different conditions of the cervical spinal column cause similar clinical signs.

All of the puppy adopters from this litter had pet insurance and Elliot is covered as well, which helped with the initial diagnostic costs, but the policy has a specific exception that will not cover costs associated with this particular condition. Elliot is pursuing a multi-faceted approached to treatment, including medication, acupuncture, and other therapies, but surgery is also recommended. Those of us who know and love Elliot are pitching in to help with the costs. Towards that end a GoFundMe campaign was started at this link:  https://gofund.me/04858fdc*

I have donated and I know a number of followers of this blog have done so as well, thank you, but if you are able and inclined to help, this sweet pup will appreciate your help and so will I.

Elliot at just a few days old.

Dolly, Elliot, and Ruth

Elliot sharing some sunshine with his sister Sojo.

Elliot with the same toy, some months later.

  https://gofund.me/04858fdc

* If you want to donate but can't or don't want to donate on line, message me on Facebook or email me at vadogrescue@gmail.com and I'll get you an address where you can send a check.