BigMac needs surgery to treat Cruciate ligament damage

Hi, our names are Chelsea and Dylan, and I’m reaching out to ask for your support in helping our boy, BigMac, who is in need of a surgery called TPLO due to Cruciate Ligament Injury.

Since homing Mac, we've had several health issues from his weight, skin, paws and back leg. Which we've always tried our hardest to resolve as quickly as possible for him. All round health wasn't 100% when we brought him home but we make it a priority to keep him happy and healthy.

For a little while now we've had a limping and lame issue with BigMac's back leg. The first time was last October 2024, again in May 2025 and now a further instance this August 2025. In previous Vet visits, we've been advised that it's common in his type of breed to sprain or tear ligaments and that with strict rest, no walks and pain relief, this will resolve itself and he will recover.

Things appeared to be getting a little better until the night of 08/08/2025. Mac completely dropped his back end in our garden when doing his usual toilet time before bed. My partner had to carry Maccy inside and we spent the following hour or so speaking with emergency vets and having an online consultation where we had to share live videos of Maccy's current state. The following morning, we took Maccy into the vets following a referral from our online consultation. The vets (PDSA) advised that Maccy needs a surgery called TPLO due to damage to his cruciate ligament in his right leg. This damage is causing a bending to his knee and causes his thigh and shin bone to slide painfully out of place.

Sadly, our vets aren’t able to offer this type of treatment due to his size and they've recommended that we find a private vet that can offer the surgery that Mac needs. We have spent the weekend calling many different vets o discuss our options for treatment. Our Quotes have been between £3900 - £5000 + an additional £800 for x-rays to access the degree of inflammation on Maccy’s joint before surgery can take place. It's been suggested that we may also need to fund for him to have bloodwork completed to confirm that Mac is healthy enough for anaesthesia.

Unfortunately, due to Maccy's breed and previous health conditions, we've found it difficult to find anywhere that would offer him health insurance, so we are currently without that to rely on for support. It falls completely on us and sadly we just don't have that kind of money laying around. GFM has been a life saver before when we needed help fixing up Maccys cystic paws. The vets have made it clear that the surgery needs to happen as quickly as possible, to avoid any further damage, pain and even arthritis. We were advised that with this kind of injury, overtime it can follow to the other legs due to it bearing all the weight and movement. Until we're able to gather the funds together, Maccy is on strict pen rest, no walks and on anti-inflammatory medications - (Pheumocam)

We’re working extra, trying to gather funds from things such as Vinted but we just can’t see the end of the tunnel. The private vets were looking to go with are unable to offer us a payment plan and it’s expected as an upfront cost. We're hoping to raise £3500 to help us cover the cost of his surgery, any additional blood-work tests, X-rays, medications and post-op aftercare, anything more would be greatly appreciated. All funds raised will be used directly and only to help our boy.

I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to read our story. Any contribution, big or small, means the world to

myself, partner, and the boy himself, BigMac. If you can’t donate, please can you consider sharing this page with your friends and family to get his story out there.

We will be sharing Macs progress along the way with our lovely dog community and friends over on Instagram - @bigmacbullyboy