Ella is mine & Brendan's 11year old American Bulldog cross Mastiff.. She is the most adorable, loveable & loyal dog anyone could of ever hoped for...
She has been there for me through the hardest times of my life during these times she would not leave my side & she has been Brendan's best friend throughout everything over the years.. A few years ago we were told she had cruciate ligament damage &
she would need to be put down...
Thankfully Brendan found a vet that wanted to help & give her quality of life.. I'd enquired about pet insurance but due to her existing ailments nothing to do with her hips, legs or lower back would be covered.. As the years past she has been happy, healthy & full of energy....
Unfortunately 9 weeks ago she began to limp, this wasn't unusual as she has had the occasional limp due to her running around/playing & not cooling down properly.. We took her to her vet & for 9 weeks we did as the vet said, get her back on her cartrophen injections (zydex) & her non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs plus we were taking her to hydrotherapy... we also updated the vet on any changes to her leg...
At no point did the vet seem overly worried or too urgent to get more tests even though Ella was barely improving... even after she had fallen & bitten her tongue & had a extreme amount of blood loss (1 week ago).. We had taken Ella back to her vet to get full blood tests done.. I received the phone call to bring her in the following day but things looked good as there were no signs of poisoning so it was just a check up on her leg...
Once the vet had seen Ella he asked to do xrays, as I was there I seen what I was dreading, what no human nor animal ower ever wants to hear.. He was quite sure Ella had bone cancer (Osteosarcoma) in her sore leg.. I was devastated not only from what the vet had told me but I didn't bring anyone with me... As I left the vet in tears I pulled into the nearest service station to get a drink & compose myself.. As I was waiting the driver in front proceeded to reverse into the front of my car & caused extensive damage (I'm fully insured so luckily this is no issue) it was just an added stress to an already stressful situation...
Once I had gotten back to Brendan's I had to break the terrible news to him that his beloved Ella had cancer.. The vet had told us to wait 3-4 weeks for the cancer to fully show up.. My mother's dog had also had a form of cancer & went to a specialist vet, Wilma is still going strong 2 years later.. SouthPaws in Moorabbin is where I took her. As soon as Ella walked in the vet (Dr Charles K***z) says "hi baby girl" & as he assessed her he was kissing her head & comforting her.. I was so happy that Charles was showing our girl as much love as we do.. He proceeded to explain that he feels that there is a tumor at the top of her femur & he wanted to book her in asap for a CT scan.. I went & explained everything to Brendan & booked her in for the following day.. My father was amazing with it all & allowed me to use his credit card to pay the $1487 & get the scan done (which we need to repay)
Myself & Brendan went to talk with Charles after Ella had come out of anesthetic.. Charles then showed us Ella's CT scan pictures which broke both of our hearts.. The tumor had nearly dissolved the top of her femur & she also has is further down her leg but this was the primary location & that her heart & lungs were clear.. We asked about all aspects of surgery/amputation, negative & positive & took Ella's back to Brendan's to discuss options & make a decision.. Ella is still a happy & healthy dog except for her hind leg & I think we both knew that there was only one option & that is for surgery.. As Charles said she is currently moving as a 3 legged dog so she will easily ajust...
The surgery is booked in for 9am Monday 8th of August.. (for surgery/amputation & 4 days of chemo $8000 not including pathology or medications)
I never thought I would need to do this but I'm asking for your help, your support & to get our baby girl Ella back to being herself.. Whether is be 20 cents or $5 every little bit helps.. I will be putting my tax refund towards repaying my father so there is $6500 (estimate remaining) that needs to be paid...
I don't know what else to say or how to thank those who donate except for I have always helped everyone that I can & always try to better people's lives so I'm asking please assist us in giving Ella quality of life & letting her live her life without pain...
You are more than welcome to ask any questions...
Many thanks Carley & Brendan
