Help Rambo Walk

Here's Rambo, a 6 and a half month XL bully who has been diagnosed with Arthrogryposis. For Rambo to walk, we need your help to raise 8,000 euro so he can finally take his first steps with 4 fully functioning legs. Please donate what you can or share to others, to see Rambo finally walk. 

 *Please read below for full details of Rambo's journey to date*

*Photos and videos in updates section*

This is my dog Rambo.

Rambo is a 6 and half month old XL bully. He is clumsy, protective, sassy, spoiled rotten and a giant softie. He is everything you want in a dog.

Sadly, Rambo cannot walk. His front two legs have knuckled over the whole way so that he walks on his wrists. He has had this condition since birth and it was only when his littermates began to walk that it was noticed.

Myself, and my partner as well as her mam, decided to take Rambo in and save him from being euthanised at 6 weeks old, in hopes that if we put in the time, love and care that he needed we could fix his paws and give him a great life.

It’s a long read and we still have a long road ahead to fix Rambos legs but we are determined and we know Rambo is a fighter. Which is why we named him after one.

Rambo is nearly 7 months old, and has already been diagnosed by 3 different vets with 3 different disabilities.

At 6 weeks old we were told he had a severe case of Rickets and we’re advised to put him asleep. Something felt wrong though so we ignored the vet and went on for our second opinion.

After two visits to a large franchise vets in Dublin, they had diagnosed Rambo with Carpal Laxity Syndrome.

They gave us false hope - telling us his condition would resolve with time, physio, splinting and a change of diet.

Unbeknownst to us, we continued with the treatment plan. For the next few weeks we became regulars in the vets. Rambos legs were splinted twice. We spent countless hours stretching and pulling his two limbs, spending hundreds on physiotherapy, and buying the best dog food while looking and hoping for any change in his paws.

When Rambo was 4 and a half months we were referred to an orthopaedics specialist in a different vet. After viewing Rambos X-rays and completing his initial assessment, the specialist insured us that it was just a case of Carpal Laxity and we could continue with the treatment plan.

At 5 months old, we brought him back to the specialist as he continued to show no sign of improvement. The specialist there seemed just as puzzled as us with Rambo’s condition but confirmed again it was Carpal Laxity Syndrome and we should give it another few weeks before we spoke about surgical options.

Three weeks later we returned with no improvement . It was then we started to speak about surgery. We found out there was a surgery that could straighten his legs which involved cutting the tendons in both paws. However to avoid this we decided to splint his legs 1 more time and see if he could tolerate it.

The splints lasted about 13 hours. Rambo could not sleep as much as he tried. He wouldn’t eat or play or barely move, So they had to be removed.

The specialist reminded us that at 6 months old, Rambo was still too young for surgery so that we should hold out for a few more months and hope for improvement.

At this stage we were frustrated with his treatment. Nothing was improving and he was only growing in size which was making it a lot harder for us to get him around.

A few weeks passed and I heard about Veterinary Specialists Ireland - a private referral only hospital for dogs in Meath. After consideration we decided to book in for a consultation with them - for a 3rd opinion on Rambo, because we knew something wasn’t adding up.

It took only 20 minutes for the surgeon there to realise Rambo has a very rare neurological condition called Arthrogryposis. It’s a condition that he will have forever and sadly he will never function cognitively like a normal dog. He has and always will be special. The symptoms of Arthrogryposis include the contractures of the forelimbs and can also include cleft pallet, scoliosis and can also affect the nerves and muscles in the whole body.

Thankfully, Rambo symptoms aren’t as severe and it is just the contractions of his front two legs that we have to worry about. However this comes at a cost.

It is costing €3000 per leg for surgery and €1000 per leg for CT scans and plan work ups.

€8000 in total plus aftercare so Rambo can walk one day.

The surgery’s involve opening the joint in his wrists and cutting them so they are straightened . Then solidifying the joints with pins and bolts. It will be done 1 leg at a time and will have a gap of around 3 months between each surgery due to the long recovery time of 10 weeks.

We chose Rambo knowing there was something special about him. He was the odd one out of the litter. Anti - social, quiet, clumsy at times, and of course the obvious reason that he was been trampled on by his litter mates since he couldn’t walk. After finding out surgery is costing €8000 we’re all shocked. Rambo is 6 and a half months old and we’ve had him since he was 6 weeks.

He is part of our family and there is no way we could take the easy route and put him down.

He’s the most friendliest, happiest dog I’ve ever met. He’s weighing in at 35kg now but is afraid of our 7kg dog Lola. He is so placid and friendly and he just wants to walk. He tries so hard to get around by himself but falls over or slips. He’s been through hell and back and he’s not even a year old.

As Rambo was born with this condition, he is not covered under any insurance policy. We have tried so many but at this stage we know it will have to be paid by us. We have already paid over €1500 on vet visits, consultations, splinting, x-rays, bandaging, physiotherapy and medication.

8000€ is a lot of money and we’re going to pay as much as we can but we could really use the help. We would be so happy with any amount towards the surgery even 1€ makes the difference.

If all goes well, by Christmas Rambo should be able to take his first steps.

Please share away and say a prayer for our puppy