Little baby Roo, with spinal cord compression

Hi, my name is Tracy and I am reaching out to pull your heartstrings for a beautiful little puppy called Roo.

A little backstory:

The friends I am putting these appeal out for are the most kind, generous hearted folks you will ever meet and they will spend every penny of their hard-earned life savings to give this pup a chance. I am asking you if you could find it in your heart to give them just a little help.

Their 11 year old Rottweiler, Gator, passed away a few months ago due to a degenerative disease that over a period of months left him with zero mobility at all, and a lot of pain. During those months the family pulled out all the stops and tried acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and traditional medicine, but in the end the disease won. It broke their hearts (and their bank balance).

The wife thought that a puppy would help the husband get over his heartache and so, a few months later Roo arrived. The sweetest little thing. (See photo, on left).

Unfortunately after just a couple of months Roo started showing signs of there being a serious issue going on - hanging his head all the time, front legs splaying out like he had no control over them - sometimes to the point that his nose would crash onto the ground.

The family could not believe what was happening. The first vet visit confirmed their worst fears - a neuro-degenerative disorder commonly known as “Wobblers”. The poor pup. And the poor family - how could this be happening again? Not exactly the same disease as their last dog, but pretty close and heading for a very similar outcome.

He has seen a neurologist who did an MRI and multiple other tests, some of which we are still waiting for the results. He recommended acupuncture and put him on Prednazone for now. The total bill for that visit was $3500.

Update - the acupuncture is working amazingly well for his pain and mobility; particularly combined with the water therapy sessions he's also having weekly. Now the surgeons want to do a CT scan (a further $2500-3000) because they think he may have some kind of growth deformity in his joints in his front legs. If that's the case then surgery may be possible, at a further $10-15k.

ALL the surgeons fell in love with this big love-bug of a pup. You can't help yourself, he's such a sweetie.

UPDATE OCT 2023:

Roo is living the best life he could possibly have considering his condition. He has had three different kinds of specialised carts, and does enjoy the extra mobility the last one gives him, but none of them are perfect. He is a big sweetheart and just loves everybody. His acupuncture once a month keeps the pain of Wobblers at bay. His twice weekly swimming lessons have helped give him back some upper body strength and more mobility in his shoulder joints. His monthly Physical therapy sessions have also helped in this regard and given the family lots of tips and techniques they can use with Roo at home. All this effort is something that you wouldn't think twice about if it were your child, but so many people (vets included) have so heartlessly suggested that it would be better to euthanise him. Roo IS their child; just like my dogs are my children. Taking on a pet is an investment in your time and yes, your money. Would anyone want this level of commitment whether it were their child or their pet? No, of course not, but once you're in it, you give it all you've got.

Now we live in an awesome community and many of you have given already to help Roo and his family out a little financially, so I am asking you one more time, could you please consider giving $5, or whatever you can spare to help this dear family and sweet, sweet dog?

Thank you for reading.

Tracy