Dollars for dumpling PIEROGI

On the night before Christmas, 24th of December 2024, a micro bully breeder delivered this adorable little puppy and surrendered into rescue.

At the time Pierogi was 11 days old and the breeder told the rescue that she was unaware of why all of a sudden, this puppy had a swollen left hind leg and seemed in pain.

Puppy was rushed to emergency in hopes for an X-ray and splint, as the breeder had only just taken puppy to the vet for the first time that morning and the GP vet suggested the leg was broken and an Xray was needed.

The breeder claims she was unable to afford the X-Ray the day before Christmas, the vet suggested the breeder wait until puppy was 6 weeks old (4+ weeks away) and then see if the leg still seemed odd and then try for an X-ray. The breeder also claimed that the Vet suggested it might be kinder to euthanise if the leg was in fact broken because this is a breed that is breed overly muscular, stocky and close to the grown and having a broken or amputated leg would be "cruel".

Why is this confusing and why are we giving you this info?

Well, this puppy was neglected by his breeder and once the puppy came into care and was seen to, and seemed to look like he was all better via a social media post of a short 40 second clip, the breeder now wants the puppy to be returned some 2+ weeks later.

You see, the information the breeder gave Life of Pikelet Rescue was that the leg was broken, it seemed to have just broken on its own and out of no where... So with that information we suspected perhaps this was a congenital birth defect where puppy was born with weak bone structure, a weakness in his muscular system etc. We thought it would be a quick X-ray, a splint and some pain relief until puppy grew.

What we didn't know what the breeder later confessed (in writing) to the rescue.

Mum and Dad dog were bred, dad of the litter is some 50kgs in weight so Mum needed to have her pups via C-section.

On the birthday of these puppies and as mum was coming out of anaesthesia the puppies were placed with mum, but the breeder accidentally moved the whelping box and mama dog reacted by attacking two of her puppies closest.

Sadly one puppy died and the other was puppy Pierogi. And puppy Pierogi suffered wounds to his back right left leg, hip and above his tail.

The breeder did not seek any vet care or advice for puppy Pierogi, but she did ask some *vet nurse* friend who advised her that if she were to take Pierogi back to the vet the day he was born with wounds, that the vet would urge her to euthanise. This is the story the breeder told our rescue, two days after he came into our care and two days after he had already gone to emergency on Christmas Eve night and into the morning of Christmas Day 2024.

Finally with some clarity and with our lengthy experience with neonatal care of birth anomalies, illness and injury, we now understand that Pierogi doesn't have a broken leg, but rather his back left hip is damaged and now has healed incorrectly.

Pierogi was at emergency vet from Christmas Eve night through to Christmas Day morning, this was a public holiday and emergency staff and the ability to X-ray a 11 day old neonate without sedation was not an option. That bill was $800.

This Wednesday the 15th of January 2025, Pierogi has a specialist surgical appointment at Advanced Vet Care in Kensington.

This appointment we hope to get an assessment by the specialist on next steps, likely he will have a on the day X-Ray and a plan for a surgery if needed.

We are hopeful that a surgery isn't needed, but it's obvious to us that this hip is a problem. Pierogi is now almost 5 weeks old, he is weighing in at 2kgs and is in a better position for sedation for an x-ray.

There is a chance (and we hope) that surgery isn't needed and it'll just be that we adopt this baby out to a forever family that will have the funds and ability to seek ongoing specialist advice in case of there being a need for a hip replacement or at best arthritis management.

Just like many breeders, this one meant well. She did the best she could do, but was it the best care and in the interest of welfare of Pierogi? No.

This puppy was badly injured and left untreated without any pain relief or antibiotics for the first 11 days of his life. And when she did take puppy in to the vet, and the vet suggested x-ray as premium next steps, she rejected that and opted the "wait and see" plan because it came down to funds.

Oh and did we mention that the breeder muzzled the mama dog for THREE DAYS after her c-section?

What a mess, and while we had an ounce of respect for the breeder for surrendering Pierogi in the first place, that has now been diminished into none, now that she has demanded the return of Pierogi because now she can afford an x-ray but doesn't understand how we got charged an $800 vet bill at an emergency vet after hours on the biggest public holiday of the year...

PIEROGI is doing fantastic in our care, he is safe, loved and being so well looked after.

We really need to raise a minimum of $2800 to start with, perhaps more if he ends up needing a surgery.

Can you help this little dumpling? Many many thanks in advance to those that can donate and those that will share this fund xx