Kirby's Hip Surgery

Hi all! Kirby is a 10-year-old Morkie who lives with his two mamas in Boston. He has a spunky, sassy personality, and loves playing with his adopted sister, Galinda. He is a huge mama’s boy and a glutton for treats!

On July 1st, we were on our final day of moving to Boston. The window Kirby was sitting next to in the car accidentally rolled down. As it was rolling back up, Kirby decided to stick his head out the window, which caused his neck to get stuck. Naturally, this caused him to panic. Once he calmed down, he snuggled up in my lap and seemed to be fine. However, when we arrived at our new apartment and got out of the car, we quickly realized he could not use his back legs. Before even stepping foot in our new apartment, we rushed him to the emergency vet where, thankfully, his neck is fine, but unfortunately he ruptured his CCL (the dog version of an ACL).

Kirby is in need of an orthopedic exam and X-rays under sedation to confirm the rupture and assess for any other damage to his knee. He will also need surgery to repair his knee and allow him to live the rest of his life normally. Sadly, insurance won’t cover this due to pre-existing conditions.

Kirby is a very important dog. He was never formally trained as a service dog (and is not treated as one, meaning he doesn’t go everywhere with me), but at a young age, he took it upon himself to act as one for me. I have many chronic health issues, and Kirby is extremely in tune with me. He will bump my leg with his nose to let me know I need to sit down before I faint, he can tell where I’m in pain and will lick that area, and he calms me down during complex PTSD flares. He's also the reason why I discovered my neck was the source of severe health problems a few years ago. As my symptoms progressed, he relentlessly licked my neck more and more often. This was abnormal, so I wondered if my symptoms were due to my neck fusion, and sure enough, they were!

Until Kirby has surgery and is recovered from that, his activity is extremely limited. He’s gone from loving walks, wrestling with his sister, racing around the house with toys, and learning new tricks, to only being able to walk slowly around the house. No stairs, no walks, no playing…nothing. It’s heartbreaking seeing him like this! And Galinda is upset that her best friend can’t play and is in pain! She frequently uses her talking buttons to let us know Kirby is hurting. Kirby has many, many good years left ahead of him and we want to get him back to his sassy little self as soon as possible!!

Any donations will be greatly appreciated by the whole family!!

-Lindsay