My friend, Joan Ravier's dog Marius is a 9 year old French Bull Dog/Pit Bull mix who resembles a 75 lb Frenchie. He lives in Redwood City with Joan, her sister Cathy and his best kitty buddy Itty Bitty. A couple of months ago, Marius started limping and a visit to the vet revealed that he had a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament. The only remedy for this injury is TPLO surgery which costs $8,000. Although this is the most common knee injury in dogs, it's a serious surgery and will require at least 3 months of exercise restriction and at least the first two weeks of this period he will have to be confined to a crate. He will require physical and ice therapy. Joan and Cathy will share his post op care duties including sleeping on an air mattress next to him while he is confined to the crate. He's currently on a pre-surgery, 3 week course of strong antibiotics to make sure no infection gets into the hardware. The surgery is scheduled for March 6 and it will require him to stay at the vet hospital all day which he will not like. This is a very painful injury and Marius has had to be on a regimen of pain drugs as he awaits surgery. It has been hard for Joan and her sister to see him in pain as he is being prepped for the surgery. In addition to Marius and Itty Bitty, Joan also has two horses Cassie and Ricky who live at Webb Ranch. You may know her for her horse care, pet and house sitting work. All of us who love our fur babies know that these kinds of injuries and illnesses can strike when we least expect them and we stuggle to afford to get them the care they need. Any amount you can afford to contribute is greatly appreciated.