Meet Gidget, a Cherished Emotional support animal who earned a Gift of Mobility from Max’s Helping Paws When the healing power of animals meets the kindness of the human spirit, magic can happen.
Carmel, CA, September 01, 2020 - Just ask Melinda Moxley, a CSU-Monterey Bay student and tutor who discovered the perfect therapy for her debilitating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder — a rescue dog named Gidget.
https://www.maxshelpingpaws.org/success-stories/2020/gidget-genetic-condition-repaired Melinda found the 8-year old Chihuahua mix wandering the streets of South Central Los Angeles and gave her a safe home in Monterey. This past May, Gidget grew ill, unable to stand or walk on all four legs. Melinda brought her into Pet Specialists of Monterey and they said she suffered from bilateral patellar luxation, a structural issue she most likely had since birth. Dr. Michael Dearmin recommended a procedure called Bilateral Lateral Fabellar, which could give Gidget the ability to stand, walk and function normally. A full-time student who suffers from a disability herself, Melinda was unable to afford such a surgery. So she turned to Max’s Helping Paws Foundation, a local nonprofit that helps families fund treatment for pets in crisis. Melinda’s initial letter brought tears to the eyes of Max’s co-founder Dyanna Klein. It read, in part: “Gidget is the one I talk to, I laugh with, study next to on the floor, and my ‘co-pilot’ in life. Please help us.”