When Ernie arrived into the care of National Animal Welfare Trust Clacton, it was very clear that he was in a great deal of pain in both of his back legs. 

Whilst eager to chase toys and zoom around, his legs are simply not able to and instead he is crippled with pain. A trip to the vets confirmed the worst; Ernie has bilateral patella luxation. What this means is that his kneecap (patella) is dislocating out of position as he moves, meaning he can’t extend his knees properly leading to lameness and a lot of pain. To make things even worse for Ernie, this is happening in not one, but both of his back knees.  

Ernie is a typical 10 month old puppy, full of exuberance, mischief and cheekiness. He loves his toys and doesn’t quite understand yet that our shoes aren’t his toys! He loves cuddles and he loves doing what he can to make you laugh. But Ernie cannot live the life of a normal puppy. He can’t race around the garden zooming after the wind. He can’t go for walks and explore the world. He can’t live his life to the full without pain. We are determined to change that. 

Ernie needs surgery on both legs so that his kneecaps no longer slide out of position. This needs to be done one leg at a time due to it being such a big operation with a long recovery time. Being just a baby who loves being with people constantly, Ernie struggled massively within the kennel environment, only making his legs worse. During his recovery period, Ernie will need to be carefully monitored and kept very calm to give his legs the best chance of healing. For these reasons, we have found Ernie a lovely foster home where he will recover from these operations in a home environment.  

At a total cost of £2400 and with his first operation booked in provisionally for April 16th, we desperately need to raise urgent funds towards Ernie’s big operation. Whatever you can give will make a huge difference to this wonderful puppy's life.