Hello, my name is Ella and I am only eight months old. After a really tough start to life, I thought my life was starting to look up and now have to face another difficult challenge. Let me tell you my story…
I came to Rudozem Street Dog Rescue when my mum “Mama dog” gave birth to me and my siblings under an empty house in summer 2015. RSDR found us when we were five weeks old and took us to their shelter where we were cared for and looked after by wonderful people, Diane & Tony Rowles.
After a while, they told me I might be able find my new mum and dad by going into foster care so I got on the adoption bus in November 2015 and moved to the Netherlands.
It all seemed to be going so well. My foster mum is lovely and gives me lots of cuddles and I was loving my new life. But then, she noticed that I couldn’t stand on my hind leg and that I was in a lot of pain. She took me to the vet where he took some x-rays.
On first diagnosis, they said I was born without hip sockets and that my bones were rubbing along my spine. No wonder why I was in so much pain!
This is what the report on the x-rays said:
VD (belly-back) x-ray: on both sides, the acetabulum (hip sockets) are very shallow and flattened, the cranial (front side) is minimal and on both sides the head of the femurs barely located in the hip sockets .
SD (left-right) x-ray: at the level of the lower back, the femur visibly sticks out over the pelvis and there is a clear dislocation of this joint.
Conclusion: Ella has a serious form of hip dysplasia (HD) with a definite dislocation in one of the joints. There are several options: artificial hips, femur head removal or pelvic osteotomy (TPO?). Another option of course is euthanisation (!)
As horrible as this sounds, to continue as is, is not an option for her.
RSDR was given the difficult decision to put me to sleep. Diane and Tony thought long and hard because there are so many dogs that they need to help, but they just could not put an end to my life without me ever having the chance to know what it is like to be pain free and part of a loving family.
So I will have to have an operation. It will be painful, but I can’t wait to be able to walk properly and run again.
A specialist advised that I should have an operation to remove or adjust my hipbone so that there will be no more friction between my leg and hip. He said that my recovery will be 80% where I’ll be walking better, 95% of a painless life and it should only take me a few months of recovery time and building up my muscles.
RSDR has very limited funds and the surgery to give me two new hips to help me walk will cost approximately 1,200 euros plus 175 euros for the x-rays! I will also need meds to help with my recovery.
My foster mum said she is committed to helping me recover and looking after me, as well as giving lots of cuddles. But RSDR need to find the money to pay for my surgery & recovery costs so that they can continue to help other dogs and cats that come to them for help – it’s not all about me you know!
Wonderful news! Today, 3 March 2016, you raised enough money to fund my hip operations – thank you everyone who donated for me! Any extra funds raised not used for my operation & recovery costs will go back to the other dogs and cats at the RSDR shelter.
My first operation has already been booked in for later this month and I am really looking forward to be able run and jump like puppy should!
Thank you for reading my story and for your generosity.
Lots of Love and Licks
Ella xxx
Rudozem Street Dog Rescue 