A couple has been left heartbroken after their adorable seven-month-old puppy was diagnosed with a self-destroying disease.
Owners Jacob Heneke and Leah Barrett rescued their German shepherd, Frankie, from Hailsham, East Sussex, after he was dumped on the side of a road with his mum and siblings.
The pup was settling well into his new home in Hastings, when he suddenly started to struggle with eating his food and stopped playing with his toys.
Knowing something was wrong, Jacob and Leah took Frankie to a vets to get a professional opinion - but wasn't at all prepared for what they were told.
Jacob said: "Immediately Frank became our child, we talk about him non-stop and show anyone that will look photos of him.
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"We’re 21 and 22 and thought we were being responsible dog parents getting Frankie insured, but unfortunately he started to feel poorly within the 14 day window when you aren’t covered and now we have a massive vet bill."
Little Frankie was diagnosed with Craniomandibular Osteopathy (CMO), an inherited bone disease which usually affects west highland white terriers, cairn terriers and Scottish terriers.
Suffering with "extremely severe" pain, his jaw is said to be "destroying" itself, prompting issues with eating, drinkings, as well as swelling and drooling when he tries to open the mouth.
Thankfully, the condition usually disappears on its own about a year after symptoms are first seen.
Despite this, Jacob and Leah have been desperately trying to help relieve their rescue dog's pain - and have had Frankie transferred to a specialist vets in London.
"Frank’s a little soldier who powered through, and the vet’s said he was the best tempered German shepherd they’ve ever me," said Jacob.
"He has had a lot of very expensive diagnostic tests done. It was very difficult leaving him there and coming home to an empty house, we called the vets so many times they must of been sick of us.
"[His diagnosis] was hard news for us to hear, especially as there is no ongoing treatment for the illness, only pain management.
"The vet described his pain to us as extremely severe, and he even said when Frank was completely sedated he was still trying to keep his jaw closed."
Hopeful Frankie will make a full recovery once he is fully grown, the couple have set up a GoFundMe page to help cover his medical costs, which cannot be covered by their pending insurance.
Jacob added: "Frank will have to spend more time in the hospital. It breaks our hearts that we haven’t been able to see him, and we desperately await our reunion.
"It’s very rare for a German shepherd to experience this, it’s mostly found in terriers and is even called the ‘Westie Jaw’.
"We love Frank so much and know that he deserves the best care possible and to be pain free.
"He will need a considerable amount of pain medication for at least the next six months and frequent monitoring by ourselves and the vet, but we are so excited for our boy Frank to come back to himself.
"Whilst being so happy that this isn’t a life-threatening disease and he will hopefully make a full recovery, the vet bill is a really big hit to us.
"We know everybody is struggling at the moment, and a lot of people won’t be able to donate but even the smallest donations are a great help."
To support Frankie, visit his GoFundMe page.
Do you have a dog story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
