My name is Jen and I have started this fundraiser to help give my service dog, Tundra, an active future without pain.

Background:

Tundra has assisted me for the past 3 years with mobility support. I suffer from a knee/hip injury that makes it difficult for me to support my full body weight when carrying out basic tasks. I have trained Tundra to help me make my day to day life easier and prevent me from injuring myself further. She braces for me and helps stabilize me when I am on uneven ground, walking, using stairs, or moving from a sitting to standing position. She also helps me by retrieving things that have fallen on the ground or are simply out of my reach.

Tundra is a sweet-tempered gentle dog. I spent a great deal of time working with her from puppyhood, training her to help me and to develop the skills needed to obtain the Service Dogs Canada certification.

Tundra is more than a service dog. She has provided me with emotional support. She has been there for me at some of my lowest moments and I want to do the same for her. She’s not just my service dog. She is my family.

Injury:

A several weeks ago, when we were out in the forest walking near our home in Gooderham Ontario, Tundra came limping up to me. I found out that she had torn her cranial cruciate ligament (CCL), an important part of her knee joint.

In a reversal of our roles, Tundra now needs my support to manage basic tasks like standing, walking, and using the stairs. It breaks my heart to see her suffer and it has been hard to watch her deal with the same pain that I experience daily.

She is on medication to help manage that pain and requires surgery with a vet specialist. She will also require rehabilitation therapy to recover post-surgery.

Surgery:

Tundra’s vet has recommended Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) surgery. It has been scheduled for September 29. Tundra is still young and with this surgery she is expected to return close to normal functioning.

TPLO surgery has a success rate of approximately 90% for canines with injuries involving the CCL. With follow up rehabilitation and medication Tundra can be expected to return to normal physical activities such as walking, running, and playing within six months.

Unfortunately, the cost of the surgery, medication and rehabilitation therapy is expensive. It is more than I can afford.

Help:

Asking for help does not come easily to me. I have always done my best to be self-reliant. If this was only about me, I would not be asking for help in such a public way. But it is for Tundra. I want to give her the best possible change of a pain-free future and a normal life. But I know I cannot do this without help.

This is why I am asking for any help you are able and willing to give us. Every dollar donated here will go directly towards Tundra’s surgery and recovery plan.

Tundra has been a crucial part of my life, providing me with the best support I could ever have asked for. I hope with your help that Tundra and I can continue to provide the same support for each other going forward.

Thank you.

Summary:

• Tundra is my mobility support service dog. She is a 4 year old German Shepherd.

• She has a torn CCL and requires TPLO surgery, rehabilitation therapy and medication for pain management.

• Surgery is estimated a $5,000; rehabilitation and follow up care will be $1500 approximately; and, medication is approximately $400

• With surgery and rehabilitation Tundra has a 90% chance of a near normal recovery within the 6 months following surgery.

• Without surgery Tundra faces ongoing pain, the use of a brace to walk and help in moving about.

• Surgery is scheduled for September 29