A little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with deformed back legs will get a second chance if a rescue kennels can rally resources for corrective surgery.
Lizzie arrived at Ardley Rescue Kennels in Bicester severely underweight as a stray through the council.
After a referral to an orthopaedic specialist vet, she was diagnosed with grade three and four patellar luxation in each leg.
Patellar luxation is a dislocating knee-cap when it comes out of the groove in the femur that it should run in.
It typically first shows signs in older puppies, or young adult dogs, with a skipping lameness and occasionally “collapse”.
It means she is non-weight bearing on the left hind leg and partially on the right.
Two operations were needed to correct both back legs plus each one would have to be followed by physiotherapy and hydrotherapy.
Annabelle Pottle, from the kennels, which is a registered charity, said: “We have had the first operation done as she was really in pain - her leg was at the wrong angle.
"Now we have got to wait another four weeks until that one heals and she starts to use it before the specialist can operate on the second leg.
"We are trying to give her the best life going forward but she is going to need lots of aftercare and rehabilitation - and lots of cuddles."
The first operation cost £3,700 and she has had sessions of physiotherapy, which has been offered at half price, and hydrotherapy which is being done for free by Hills Canine Hydrotherapy.
Post-operative complications are possible including some arthritis of the joint while some dogs continue to skip despite full correction of the dislocating kneecap.
Ms Pottle said: "I don't really want to beg for money but we have set up a Go Fund Me for her and local businesses are helping.
"We aren’t about making profit here, we just want to make sure each dog is looked after properly and to do this we rely solely on donations from kind people."
It is expected Lizzie will be ready to be rehomed in around three months, however, thanks to shots taken by a professional dog photographer for free, there is already a list of people that want her.
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