Hello fellow animal lovers,

Many of you might have already had the chance to meet my wonderful, happy-go-lucky Yellow Lab Leo. He is 7 years old and a sweet, gentle soul with the mind and energy of a puppy. 


Unfortunately, last week after taking him out to play I noticed he was badly limping and wouldn't put any weight on his left leg. Believing it would be covered under his pet insurance policy I immediately took him to the vet to get X-rayed and examined.

It turns out he has a complete rupture in his knee (his Cranial Cruciate Ligament is torn, which is the same as the ACL in humans). The surgery to repair his knee to regain normal function was estimated by the vet to cost around $4200 (note: this number used to be $3300 but has been updated due to a reassessment by another vet who'd found flaws with the first's vet's estimation).





His costs for rehabilitation will be at least $700 (water rehabilitation, knee braces, etc.).

Unfortunately, I have just learned that his insurance policy won't be covering the costs of this surgery due to an earlier but what I believe to be an unrelated issue:



I am reaching out for help as we would like to be able to fund his emergency surgery as soon as possible. Dogs with CCL ruptures in one leg have a 50-70% greater chance of developing the rupture in their other knee due to the excess weight. His vet is available to do the surgery on January 23 or 24th and is away for a month afterwards, so we are really feeling the pressure to do this surgery immediately.

It breaks my heart to see him like this. For his age, he is incredibly mentally sharp and still has an abundance of energy. He still has so much life in him and I would hate to see his ability to be a normal, happy dog cut short.

He has been with me through many ups and downs and very hard times over the past few years. He has been my rock. For me and many others, he is a constant reminder to live happily in the moment and the relish in the sweetness of life as much as possible. 

Please, if you are able to help we would really really appreciate it! Anything helps. If you are not in a position to donate right now we would also greatly appreciate if you could share or pass along this campaign.

Thank you.

Sam