- Back In January, we agreed to foster a little 10 week old German Shepherd puppy for a few weeks. Monty had a ‘wonky shoulder’ and needed a few weeks in a home environment, while learning doggy manners and how to wee outside, until the right home was found for him. By March, the wonky shoulder had progressed to wobbly hips, and a wonky shoulder, so we started weekly physio and went to see a vet. The vet wasn’t able to give us a label to stick on the condition, but advised that he most likely had bilateral hip dysplasia and global laxity syndrome. He was given a ‘guarded’ prognosis. This meant the vet wasn’t expecting him to survive to adulthood, because of severe pain. We decided that Monty would stay with us and he is part of our family.
In the meantime Monty has grown in to a friendly little bear. He can’t run very far and he’s not too good on sits and down’s and other dog stuff, because of the pain. What he is very good at is leaning in to people for a cuddle and cheering them up, and his own version of gardening. He’s had x-rays which have confirmed the diagnosis of bilateral hip dysplasia, and a dislocated shoulder. Euthanasia was advised due to the level of pain that he would be experiencing. He’s now on a combination of pain medications and supplements, and has seen a specialist orthopaedic vet for a second opinion.
Provided Monty’s ‘good’ shoulder is alright when the review him in a few weeks, they specialist has recommended a hip replacement. He may need the second hip replacement and fusion of his shoulder, too at some stage. The hip replacement will eliminate most of the severe pain he experiences; which is our main goal.
Unfortunately his wonky shoulder and wobbly hips are excluded on his insurance. We need to raise £6000 for his hip replacement surgery, so we are asking for help for Monty, so that Monty can have the life he deserves.