Campaign to raise funds for puppy Kiro’s life-saving operation

An Alaskan Malamute, Kiro is a large puppy, full of energy and has become a vital part of the Goff household in Co Armagh.

Christopher Goff, who lives with his family in Magheralin near Lurgan, explained how the family adopted Kiro in March from a woman in Belfast and he became a close part of their family.

A full time carer for his mum Carmel, Christopher said the puppy had lifted the family’s spirits, particularly since COVID-19 Lockdown as they had to shield due to his mother’s illness.

“Kiro has given us such respite. He is such a great puppy. He loves walking and is very happy. We couldn’t understand it when we heard clicking sounds on his hips,” said Christopher.

He said when they visited the owner of the pups, they saw the puppy’s mother and were assured by the woman they had bought Kiro from that both were in good health.

“They all looked to be in good health,” said Christopher.

He explained that they took him to the vet for his first injections. “The vet stretched his hips and said everything was Ok,” said Christopher.

“We became concerned as he was starting to ‘bunny hop’ when he was running and if we picked him up he would yelp,” he said.

They took Kiro back to the same veterinary surgery for the second set of injections. Christopher said they were told that everything was good.

But two weeks ago they noticed his hips were ‘clicking’.

This time they went to a vets in Lurgan who said they could feel Kiro’s hips were ‘pretty bad’.

“He has Canine Juvenile Hip Dysplasia and it is pretty bad,” said Christopher.

The 26-year-old who isn’t working and is a full time carer for his mother and father, said they had taken out pet insurance but sadly it was not enough cover for this particular condition.

He explained that it is a genetic condition and rectifying it with a double hip replacement is going to cost around £12k. Already they have managed to raise £2,245.

“To give you an idea of how bad his case is, our vet explained that the worst case scenario would be a score of 1, where malamutes usually sit at around a 0.52. Kiro’s hip scores are a 0.95. This means he will require two hip replacements pretty much as soon as possible.

“We understand it’s a difficult time to be asking for donations, and this is a last resort for us.

“Our aim is to raise enough funds to get Kiro a double total hip replacement which would give him a new lease of life.

“However, if we aren’t able to raise enough funds for this, we will be using the money to give Kiro a double partial hip replacement which will help to significantly reduce his pain.

“Our vet also explained to us that by the time he is two years old, his condition will have worsened, therefore it is important we are able to give him the care he needs as soon as possible.”

If you would like to help check out the Go Fund Me page here https://www.gofundme.com/f/kiros-hip-replacements?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1&fbclid=IwAR2pDXrMFqgi4B6COaISkLOK6Bos_7YVaGicl_Y2bRFBEIpW2JRHJOMYLrk

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