Help Penny Get Back on her Feet

Hi! My name is Alissa. My housemate, Audrey, adopted Penny, a sweet and sassy black and white pittie puppy, in 2020 (she's a pandemic pup and it shows!). We've lived with Penny for more than 4 years now, and she has grown into a lively and spunky pup who loves people. Audrey is frequently stopped on the street on walks for people to comment on how cute Penny is. Her ears, permanently in a cartoonish one-up-one-down pose, are often commented on.

Today, Jan 11, Penny was acting a little weird in the morning. She wasn't eating (which is odd because she is usually VERY food-motivated), and she seemed to be in pain. By the time Audrey brought her in to the emergency animal hospital, Penny was walking stiffly and couldn't jump on her own. By the time Audrey heard her diagnosis, Penny could barely walk on her own, and she was sitting in an awkward posture.

Penny has Intervertebral Disc Disease, which is sort of the dog equivalent of a herniated disc. The soft tissue between her vertebrae has pushed out into the spinal column, compressing her spinal cord. Apparently this is a condition that some dogs are genetically predisposed to, but we had no idea that Penny was at risk. Audrey was told today that the physical issue could be fixed via emergency surgery, which would cost on the order of $15,000, a prohibitively expensive figure.

Fortunately, and with our immense gratitude, MSPCA Angell was able to cover some of the costs for us, but we still had to put down almost $7300 today, and this cost may increase depending on how her treatment goes.

Penny is currently undergoing this emergency surgery, and we are waiting to hear from the neurologists how the procedure went. We hope to have Penny back in our home in the next few days, warming herself by the heater, raising her giant Bartok ears to hear if the neighbors are out, and yes, even barking at the mailman (we tell her she's a cliche; she doesn't seem to care).

We are so grateful to the MSPCA for their care and dedication and their assistance in paying for this procedure. If you are able to and so inclined, we would appreciate any amount that you would be willing to send to help Penny. We've had an absolute rollercoaster of a day, with both of us thinking at one time that this would be, unexpectedly, horrifically, our final day with Penny. We are hoping that she will spend many more years propping her chin on our knees to beg for a bite of our dinners.

Thank you so much for reading our story, and an eternal thank you to anyone who donates.