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CASTLE PINES, Colo. — Since she was born, this dog's life hasn’t been easy.
"Despite the fact that she is one year old, Missy has a lot of pain on a daily basis," said Dr. Marie Bartling with the Animal Care Center of Castle Pines.
Missy isn’t able to stand up straight or walk properly because her kneecaps are out of place, and her limbs are deformed.
Dr. Bartling has been working with Missy on her rehabilitation by using shock wave therapy, a harmless way of helping with muscle flexibility and pain relief. It's something her owner, Wendy Steckiel, says helps Missy almost instantly.
"We noticed that afterwards in the morning she went straight on her back and her legs were almost fully all the way up," Steckiel said.
But shock wave therapy is only one piece of Missy’s road to recovery.
Thanks to generous donations from Denver7 viewers and the Scripps Howard Foundation, Steckiel and Bartling received a $6,000 check to help Missy. Now, the beloved dog will finally be able to get the surgery she requires.
Steckiel said she wants to thank everybody who has helped her provide this care for Missy. Both of Missy’s knees will need to be repositioned, her patella needs realignment and the muscles must be sewn back into place.
This surgery will take place one knee at a time with rehabilitation in between and after each procedure.
"So there will be essentially three sessions of rehabilitation around this in terms of building her body back," Bartling said.
It's all possible because of Denver7's generous viewers.
"It means so much to me to be able to help Wendy and to help Missy. You’ve helped a person, a family, that is willing to go the extra mile in a really extreme case to help another soul," said Bartling.
And, hopefully, within six months, Missy will be able to for the first time, freely run alongside her family.
