Support Felix's Spinal Surgery

Felix needs surgery!

Felix was born on September 7, 2020. He was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his waist. He has a number of health issues due to the umbilical cord trauma. He is a diapered dog who has some moderate incontinence. He also does not have feeling in or control over his back two legs. His back legs have unconscious spastic movement. He uses a wheelchair. Felix was taken in by Opie's Special Needs English Bulldog Rescue. We adopted him from Opie's and he moved to Rhode Island in February of 2021.

Felix needs surgery. Felix has an open wound on his dorsal midline. On July 27, 2021 it was determined that the wound is open and there is communication between the skin surface and the spinal cord. The wounds from the umbilical cord trauma have healed around his belly, sides and most of his back. There is a less then one centimeter defect over his spine that has never healed. Through the use of a small amount of contrast injected into the wound and performing sedated radiographs, it was determined that would is open and has direct communication to the spinal cord.

The total requested dollar amount represents the estimates for the MRI (single region with contrast) and the surgery (hemilaminectomy). These estimates were provided by the Cummings Veterinary Medical Center at Tufts University. This is where Felix will be having his surgery. The only goal of the surgery is to close the wound over Felix's spine.

Without the surgery Felix is at increased risk of infection of his spinal cord / central nervous system life-long. With communication from the outside world into his spinal cord, bacteria can infiltrate this area and make Felix very sick or worse.

Felix is a wonderful and happy boy! He loves life and all that it has to offer. He is friendly and loving to all! He goes to physical therapy and went swimming once. It was obvious right away that he loved to swim. Unfortunately, we found out that he can not swim again until the wound is closed. Water can facilitate the movement of bacteria into the spinal cord. We would love for Felix to be able to swim again.

I have included a few pictures of Felix as well as his wound. There are also pictures that show his condition at birth.

Thank you very much for considering a donation for Felix! We knew when we adopted him that he may need this surgery. We also knew that we may need to ask for help. We have the support from Opie's Special Needs English Bulldog Rescue to create this gofundme. Felix means the world to us and everyone donation is greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,

Laura and Kenneth