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TAMPA (FOX 13) - There are times when fluffy loved ones need a life-saving surgery. In many cases, the choice is made to put a pup down instead of paying for a costly surgery to save its life.
However, organizations like the Mia Foundation can step in and help ease the expense of life-saving surgeries. Most recently, the foundation traveled across man states to save a Yorkshire Terrier from possible euthanasia.
The toy breed is prone to having issues after birth including issues with its neck and spinal cord.
For Giuseppe, a 7-month-old from New York, he had AAI, a rare spinal condition. He was initially unable to stand, sit, or walk.
Thanks to the Mia Foundation, who reached out to veterinarians in Florida, he was able to have a life-saving surgery that doctors in his home state were reluctant to even perform.
"Without the surgery, he would have died," said Susan Winslow, who is fostering Giuseppe.
Sue Rogers, the founder of Mia Foundation, flew him down to Tampa Bay Veterinary Specialists and Emergency Care Center for the special surgery and will fly Giuseppe back to be adopted out to a forever home.
"It's an immediate gratification thing," explained Dr. Matt Oakes, the surgery department head for TBVSECC, who also performed the surgery. "It's a surgeon's thing where you see something broken, and you fix it and you get to take credit for it."
It's not the first time Dr. Oakes completed a surgery for a pup in the Mia Foundation. Frankie, who is from the same litter as Giuseppe, also had AII and received the same surgery. Dr. Oakes also did the life-saving procedure on three other pets rescued by the Mia Foundation in the past year.
Rogers began flying pets from New York to Tampa to receive treatment from TBVSECC after learning that veterinarians in nearby hospitals were unable to perform the surgeries saying the dogs were too small.
The cost of the surgery is about $3,000. The Mia Foundation is given a discount and goes the extra step to find help for these pups.
"We feel that everything has a chance to live," Winslow said. "Just because you're a little different doesn't mean you dot deserve a chance at a happy life."