https://pages.giveforward.com/pet/page-h9cnx82/ wrote:IVDD Surgery and Wheels for Lily
1% of $10,000
in 4 days
Donations appreciated for:
IVDD Surgery
Custom Cart for Back Legs
Description
Lily was found by a man on a rainy day in June under a dumpster. Her whimpers were so weak that he almost didn't hear her. He scooped up Lily and rushed her to his home. He immediately called the vet and made an appointment for the next day. The next call he made was to his niece to ask her if she would want to adopt a baby long haired Dachsund puppy.
She was over the moon and said yes. Later than night, be noticed that Lily would not walk on her back legs and would drag herself a small ways then stop. The next day the vet determined that Lily was suffering from IVDD and would need surgery and a custom cart to get around for the rest of her life. He was also informed that it would be an expensive venture. Upon notifying his niece the man was surprised to hear her ask to keep the dog still. She suggested that they reach out to the community to raise the money to get Lily what she needed. She already has a home, she just needs a few more things to make her life as normal as possible.
It is really nice of you to try to help this puppy. I can't tell for sure, but it sounds like the diagnosis was based on physical exam and not imaging due to cost, and if so then I don't think the vet can really be sure if she needs surgery. It sounds more like he was discussing possibilities.
It says the dog is going to need surgery
and a cart the rest of her life. If the dog is going to need a cart for the rest of her life because she will never walk, there is no reason to do surgery. If it really is IVDD and the exam shows the dog has a chance for surgery to succeed, meaning she could walk again and not need a cart, then surgery should normally be done ASAP, without delay. If she was found in June, I question how much good surgery will do at this point, 3 months later, but that should be evaluated by a qualified vet specialist. If it is too late for surgery, a cart is a few hundred dollars at most and they do not money for surgery. Sometimes a dog that seemed to be a good candidate for surgery will still come out of surgery paralyzed, and in that case you are talking about both surgery (which failed) and a cart, but that does not sound like what they were saying. It sounds like they are saying she needs both regardless.
I have never heard of IVDD in a puppy, only in adult dogs, but I am not a vet. It is true that dachshunds get IVDD, but it seems equally possible or maybe even more likely (?) she has some kind of injury, or else some kind of birth defect. I have a long-haired chihuahua that was found abandoned on a sidewalk in Riverside, California when she was just a puppy, unable to use her hind legs. Exactly like Lilly, they think she was abandoned by a breeder. She does not have IVDD, her issue is a birth defect like spina bifida, which was not apparent to the untrained eye. She was seen by several vets who missed it. It was not properly diagnosed until she was older.
There are ways for a dog to get a back injury that is not IVDD, for example if something fell on her, or she was dropped, or some other kind of trauma, which can cause a disk injury. If it is a disk injury, there are some cases where a dog with a disk injury can recover with strict rest and medication. I do not know if it is too late to try that. There are also some infections and diseases that can causes symptoms like this. You really need to find out what is going on for sure.
There is a loan for emergency veterinary care called Care Credit. Many veterinary hospitals have the application at the front desk and you can fill it out and they submit it for you and you find out very quickly if you are approved. This may be an option for you to at least get testing done to see what is really going on with her.
While you are raising money I strongly suggest the caretakers join Dodger's List and see if they can get help with appropriate nursing care.
http://www.dodgerslist.com/