Dolly's Spinal Surgery Recovery - IVDD Stage 2

My husband Jacob and I adopted Dolly in April 2021 with intention of a long, healthy, happy life for her. A life full of hiking, canoeing, occasional ice cream cones, and all the things she missed out on as a rescued stray from Tennessee, where she had been kept as an unlicensed backyard breeder dog. Our vets estimate she had had at least two litters in the short 2-3 years before we ever met her, and we were determined to give this mama the life she deserved. That was her life with us until 2/23/2024. Climbing the stairs up to our bedroom as she's done every night we've had her, she ruptured a disc between her L2 and L3 vertebrae. During her MRI it was discovered that this disc rupture was likely not her first. They were able to successfully complete her surgery to alleviate the pressure on her spinal cord on 3/7/2024, but this is the start of an 8 week minimum recovery, even if we were not working against scar tissue. Dolly's at a stage 2 out of 5 on the IVDD scale used to evaluate quality of life/possibility for mobility in the future, and her prognosis dispute the scar tissue is still great. As her pet-parents we have covered the costs we have been able, maxing out various credit cards and taking out new ones. Anything we are lucky enough to receive here will go straight to that debt so we can focus on her continued care and recovery.

Thank you for reading and a big kiss from Dolly,

Amanda Russell