Little Wren had a rough start in life for an Italian Greyhound puppy. She came into Italian Greyhound Rescue with a slipped cervical spine that would have certainly severed her spinal cord without intervention.

She first was splinted and put on crate rest for three months to see if her spine would fuse on her own...three months in a crate for a baby! Unfortunately, when she was re-imaged at six months old, that treatment was deemed unsuccessful. So IGRF moved forward with a surgical spine fusion with permanent hardware placement. Wren needed another four weeks of splinting and cage rest post-surgery.

This procedure has done the trick! Images reveal a fused spine, and there is improvement in her gait and neurological symptoms, which surprised the vets.

Wren still needs more crate rest so her atrophied neck muscles can strengthen enough to support her neck, but she's got good medications to keep her comfortable and she is growing well. As you can imagine, although her vet care was top notch, it was not free, and we are counting on Wren's friends to help us pay for her amazing road to becoming a mobile, happy little girl with a bright future!

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IGRF began as the Rescue arm of the Italian Greyhound Club of America (the AKC parent club for Italian Greyhounds) and later separated into a nonprofit organization to better serve our mission. Our goal is to provide education and support to current owners, and to be a resource for purebred Italian Greyhounds in need of rehoming.

All our dogs are vaccinated and spayed/neutered before placement with new families. We also provide necessary veterinary care for both emergencies and long-term needs of our foster dogs, as well as beginning training so the foster gets a good start on becoming a beloved family member. Our dogs range from seniors that have lost an owner to death or serious illness, to puppies that broke a leg their owners can't afford to repair, to dogs sent to us by local animal control after being seized from puppy mill operations. Every dog lives as a pet in our network of foster homes. There are no shelter facilities -- just a group of representatives and volunteers all over the country who open their homes and hearts to dogs in need.

We ask for financial assistance because the cost of vet care has skyrocketed in the last five years. We have no paid employees in our organization and except for a few minor administrative costs (insurance, postage, governmental filing fees, etc.), all donations go towards providing vet care and medications for the dogs.

Wren's Story

One tough little cookie

Team Members