~Updates at the bottom~

Howdy! My name is Jake, and I am a 5.5-year-old, beautiful, well-behaved, intelligent, energetic, and eager-to-please Pit Bull. Last year, my owner, who raised me since I was a puppy, decided to move to a home where I was not allowed, so they were going to euthanize me. Luckily, an angel found out and she took me in. She got me accepted into the iRehome program through The Love Pit. My charming good looks and fantastic personality helped me to secure my forever home. I was adopted by the Wynnes. I gained a feline sister (I love her so much, but she’s not too fond of me), two wonderful humans, and I’ve been able to help my family turn their house into a home!

After being in my new home for a few months, I began to develop a very pronounced limp. My humans took me to the vet, XRAYs were done, and it was discovered that my cranial cruciate ligament had ruptured and I had a severe luxating patella. Unfortunately, I have this disease on both of my back legs, but the right one is much worse. My vet suggested I needed TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) surgery. This will stabilize my cruciate ligament and help me to live the active, healthy life I so deserve and desire. My humans have tried everything to help ease my pain: carprofen tablets, collagen tablets, adequan injections, and now cannabinoids. These have been necessary steps, but unfortunately, the only fix for my issue is surgery. I never whine, but I do try not to put any weight on my right leg more often than not. The vet has estimated that my surgery will cost $5600. Unfortunately, this is not a sum of money that my humans can afford. In fact, the vet says that I most likely will need to repeat the surgery on my left side after I have healed, which would double the cost!

When my family adopted me, they were prepared for the costs of introducing a new canine into their home. They’ve spent hundreds of dollars to help me thus far, but now they could really use your help. If you’re able, please consider donating so I can get the surgery I so desperately need. I’ve been working so hard on walking beside my human on the slip lead; I would love to be able to use that skill and walk outside in my new neighborhood. I would love to be able to protect my home from squirrels without pain. I miss getting to chase my ball in the backyard. I got a new chance at life when the Wynnes adopted me. Now, I just need to get my back legs repaired, and I will be the luckiest dog in the world!

100% of your donation with go towards my TPLO surgery, and truly, every little bit helps.

Update 01/04/23: Jake has a follow up appointment with the vet on the 13th. Since our last visit we started the cannabinoids, but we aren’t seeing much difference. He still only puts full weight on his right hind leg when his adrenaline is up. We’ve had to pause the adequan injections as Jake has developed a fear of needles and peanut butter no longer works as a distraction, so we are working on muzzle training in the meantime. I’ve reached out to a few charity resources, but John and I don’t qualify for any assistance. Unfortunately, John and I genuinely cannot pay for this surgery, so if we are unable to raise the amount of funds needed, we will have to begin conversations about what the next step for Jake looks like. 

Update 09/22/23 Just a quick update. As we have been unable to raise the funds for his surgery, we have decided to let Jake live his happiest, most comfortable life until he can no longer do that. It’s been 9 months since we really started this journey, and Jake has seemed to stabilize (from what we can tell). He still has good days and bad days, but he’s happy. The money we live raised has gone to his medications and care. We spend about $300 monthly on his meds alone, so I promise it will not go to waste. Jake is a great dog. He deserves the world, and we are dedicated to giving it to him. Once he shows us the pain becomes too much, we will approach hospice. But we believe that will not be for a very long time.