One minute, sweet Rigby was running and playing like any puppy. Within literal hours he had completely lost the ability to move his back legs and had become incontinent. Rigby has one of the worst cases of the spinal disease IVDD that our vets have ever seen. Now this young boy, who was so vibrant and joyful, has a slim 20-30% chance to ever walking again.

Rigby is one of the sweetest, most loving french bulldogs we have had the joy to meet. He is so young, and it breaks our hearts that he is going through so much pain. Rigby very suddenly lost the ability to move his back legs and became incontinent. He was rushed to the vet who diagnosed him with IVDD, or Intervertebral Disc Disease. This degenerative spinal disease affects the discs, or bones, of the spine.  Rigby’s spine was black and blue with bruises. His injuries were so awful that our vets pronounced his case one of the worst they’d ever seen. The first vet he saw even recommended euthanasia, but we knew that his life was absolutely worth fighting for.

Rigby’s condition will require immediate surgery. IVDD is not an uncommon disease in french bulldogs, but unfortunately, the breed also has a smaller chance of recovering after the surgery. While other dogs may face a 50% chance, Rigby is realistically looking at about a 20-30% chance of ever being able to walk or go to the bathroom by himself ever again.

Rigby’s necessary surgery will cost the rescue nearly $6000 dollars. This doesn’t even include the cost of his stay at the hospital or for the rehabilitation and expensive neurology appointments he will need in the future. And because he is currently incontinent, he will also require extra care while in his foster home to ensure he is not put at additional risk due to a potential infection.  Although this process is extremely expensive, it is worth every penny for the chance to get Rigby back on his feet.

We are always so amazed by the generosity of our CUDDLY community. You literally save the lives of dogs like Rigby. And we are hoping with all of our hearts that he will not only be saved but be able to walk again! We hope that our belief in this beautiful boy inspires our CUDDLY community to come through for Rigby. We can’t wait to see him back to running, playing, and doing all of his favorite things again.