Doberman Assistance, Rescue & Education

This is Simera. She needs your help.

Hi I’m Hannah. As the President and Foster Home Coordinator of DAR&E the Doberman rescue, I see a lot of sad cases. Meet Simera. She is a beautiful 3 year old Doberman. She came to DAR&E in August. She is active and loves attention. She is very gentle with people and just wants to be loved! But when she came to us she couldn’t really sit down and when she did her legs were pushed out to the side. Her knees and elbows were very large and she was having a hard time with stairs because she couldn’t bend her knees correctly.

We took her to see an orthopedic specialist and he said she should look worse than she does. He suspected her CCL was torn in both knees. This is a non-healing ligament injury. He also suspected her meniscus was gone in both knees as well. She needed TPLO surgery on both knees. But that wasn’t all. She had Fragmented coronoid process (FCP) in both elbows where her ulna grew too fast. This was likely a birth defect. She needs surgery on both elbows to remove the bone fragments and clean up any sharp edges. This means surgery on all four limbs!!

The first of her surgeries was TPLO surgery on one of her knees. The surgery went well, however, she had a very rough recovery. Several more medical procedures were needed to keep her wound closed and healing well. We even had to bring in some medical maggots. I won’t get into the details. But 12 weeks post op, she got the clear from her orthopedic surgeon to go back to regular activity levels. At this point, Simera’s regular vetting through knee surgery totaled ~$15,200.

On Monday, Simera had elbow surgery on both elbows. She is recovering well and seems to be having a much easier time after this surgery. This surgery is another ~$3500. We have no regrets on getting her the medical care she needs to be a happy, pain-free dog to match her happy and carefree demeanor. But she is an expensive lady!

Right behind her, we had another dog come in, Samson, who also needed surgery at another $4200. So now I’m back with another goal - to fundraise $20,000 to help pay for these vet bills. 

So we have set up a Go Fund Me page and whether you have $10 or $500 that you can contribute, it counts. And if you can’t contribute financially, please consider sharing this video with your friends and family.

Let’s go team! It is dog saving time!

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More information about Doberman Assistance, Rescue & Education: DAR&E is a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting abandoned, homeless or unwanted Dobermans by placing them in qualified foster or permanent homes.
www.dobe.net

Please help us save Mozart! Doberman Assistance Rescue and Education (DAR&E) are raising funds to cover Mozart's medical expenses. Please consider donating and sharing with your friends and family.

Meet Mozart - a 5 year old Doberman Pinscher. He came to the rescue after his owner's landlord passed and they were forced to move and couldn't bring Mozart with them. DAR&E then determined he was heartworm-positive. Mozart spent months in treatment and recovery and we thought he was ready to start his forever life. But then Mozart was diagnosed with Wobbler Syndrome (Cervical spondylomyopathy). Wobblers is instability in the vertebrae of the neck which causes spinal cord compression. In Dobermans, we tend to see C5 to C7 vertebrae affected, and in Mozart it is between C6 and C7. This disease tends to be gradually progressive. Wobblers affects Dobermans (50% of Wobblers cases) and Great Danes most commonly and about 5.5% of Dobermans have Wobblers.

Now Mozart needs surgery to repair a disc in his spinal column. Specifically, Mozart needs a new surgical treatment where an artificial disc is placed in place of the affected disc space. In preparation for this surgery, a number of other tests have been done: echocardiogram to make sure his heart could handle surgery (since he just recovered from heart worms), blood work, MRI, and Von Willebrand disease (VWD) test (a clotting disease common in Dobermans). As you can imagine, these tests and this surgery are very expensive.

DAR&E is partnering with Veterinary Neurology and Imaging of the Chesapeake and Dr. Jay McDonnell to get Mozart the surgery he needs. Dr. McDonnell is well-known for his work on Wobbler's disease.

Mozart deserves to be saved - not just because his life is precious, but because Mozart is a wonderful dog with a lot of life in him. He loves everyone - people, other dogs, cats. He wants to run and play but he isn't able to. The neurologist said after reviewing his MRI results that he can't believe Mozart is still walking. Despite the seriousness of this disease, Dr. McDonnell feels he has an excellent chance of a full recovery. Without the surgery, Mozart will deteriorate and has months to live.

This dog has a lot of fight in him. Let's help him recover so that he can live the life he deserves. Your donation will make such a difference.