dog needs help

In 2014 I took in a Spanish rescue dog. I learned about him from a facebook page dedicated to a Spanish animal rescue. Since I was then without a large dog, and had been actively looking for some time in the UK and not finding anything (I cannot risk taking on an adult large breed with unknown history due to the fact that I have tiny dogs, plus cats and livestock), except staffies, staffy crosses and the like, I was looking at adopting from Europe. There were many many dogs which had been in dire straits. Then I came across a photo of a pup, who had been a street dog. He was, I was told, a 'mastin' cross. A Spanish mastiff cross.
As the weeks went on, I communicated with the rescue centre and was approved as his adopter. I was told that he had a slight limp and had been Xrayed and the xrays showed "a bit of cartilage wear".What I was not told was that his knee had been Xrayed, and not his hip. Now I don't know how they do things in Spain, but last time I had a large dog with a limp, and had got Xrays done, they Xrayed his hips, knees, elbows etc while he was under anaesthetic, in order to be sure that everything was as it should be. But apparently, in Spain, with a giant breed, prone to hip displaysia, they only Xray the knees.

As time went on, he limped more and more. One day, as I was brushing him, and was doing over his hips, he moved slightly, and under my hand, I felt a sickening 'clunk'. I looked closer and could see that hip pelvis didn't look right at all. It was clearly deformed.

He was at this time, still fairly young. I had him on supplements based on the info I had been given about "slight cartilage wear on hi knee". I took him to the vet right away and the vet felt all over and told me that he had no hip joint at all on the right side, and that his leg was permanently dislocated. Had the Spanish vet Xrayed his hip, this would have been visible! Further communication this morning, lead to me being told that he only limped on his knee and that's why only the knee was Xrayed and that at the time, although he was old enough to have his knee Xrayed, he was too young to have his hip Xrayed....................

 I was told by the vet to never let him run and to keep him very lean so as not to put any strain in his other hip, which was also not great, but was bearing all his weight. He was given a prescription for Tramadol, to help his pain.

Well here we are in 2016, Grippa is now fully grown and the Tramadol is wearing off. Oh he's happy enough in himself, but he cries when he stands up from a prone position. The time has come for him to be fixed up.
 After discussing the options with my vet, I discarded the idea of excising the head of the femur. He already doesn't use the leg, to the extent that it is withered and has no muscle. He needs at least one  good hip to bear his weight (currently at 38KG)

So it has been decided that he needs a hip replacement.

The problem being that it will cost £6000 which is beyond my finances. I have nothing worth selling as I live so very frugally.The insurance won't cover it, as it was an existing condition. There are not charity pet hospitals near me. I have managed to save £500 but it's taken nearly a year. He needs the operation fast.

Or he has to be put to sleep.

Obviously I don't want this to happen!

He has come on in leaps and bounds. He's so intelligent and friendly. He learned to give a paw for a treat by watching the other dogs do it. I have taught him to 'speak' on command.
I live very rural and if someone comes to the door, I need a dog who will bark or growl to warn anyone who might be up to no good. Previously, he'd wag his tail and look every inch the friendly dog he is. Now, a hand signal behind my bark, starts him barking and growling. People tend to notice that more than the wildly wagging tail lol.
I have started a fund raising page in the hopes that people might donate even a quid towards getting my big Spanish boy fixed up. He has his own facebook page with more pictures and updates.

and his donation site is:Grippa's fundraiser

His current vet is his uncle Colin at Terrington veterinary surgery, but he'll need referring to a specialist to have the operation done.

Here is his latest X-ray, taken beginning February 2016.

Note the odd way he holds his right hind leg. It looks concave but in reality, that's because he has no muscle tone at all on that side.

In fairness, the rescue centre in Spain have just said that if I want, I can send him back and their vet will operate on him, but,since the vet over there seems unable to do what is needed with an Xray, I don't trust them to operate. Plus, what sort of owner would I be, to send my boy, back to the country where people were bad to him, to go through a scary operation surrounded by strangers. A 3 days journey in a van, then pain and fear. He'd think I had abandoned him.

So no, he will be operated on by people *I* trust, and examined while I am there to reassure him. At least he will, if I can get people to help me.

At some point in the future, BBC radio Cambridgeshire may be doing a feature about him. I regularly offer advice about animals with them and when I got a call this afternoon about doing another feature, I asked for this in return, previously always having just been happy to help at no cost to them.
The local papers may also be doing an article.
I am happy to invite anyone to meet my boy. You'll discover that he is worth helping.

please donate to Grippa's fund

In the last 2 photos, you can see how withered and misshapen his leg is. The foot also turns out at right angles.
He is going for a proper assessment and more X-rays, next Tuesday at Terrington Vets which is our vet.
If I cannot raise the funds to get him fixed, he will have to be put to sleep.
He is permanently on Tramadol to control the pain. I had to chuckle at the box though as it contains a warning not to drive or operate machinery, while the label also states "for animal use" and then his name on the label.