Help Remus Get Back on His Feet

Hi everyone, I'm Lauren. My twin sister Taylor and her husband David need help, so I'm stepping in to ask on their behalf. They run Southlake Pet Care, a pet care business built on treating every animal like family. Right now, their own dog needs that same care, and they're too busy taking care of him (and their clients' pets) to ask for help themselves.

Remus is an 80-pound black Lab mix, and he isn't just a dog in this house, he's Taylor and David's child. He's also Taylor's emotional support animal, and she'll tell you honestly that he has saved her life more times than she can count. He has been there for her through everything. Now it's their turn to be there for him.

A few weeks ago, Taylor and David came home to find Remus hobbling on his back right leg. After two vet visits, they got the diagnosis: a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament (CCL), the same injury people know as an ACL tear in humans. Because of his age (he's 8) and his size, they had initially talked about managing it conservatively without surgery. But the more they learned, the clearer it became that for a large breed dog like Remus, surgery is really the best path to a pain-free, mobile life. Right now, he's on pain medication and strict rest while they get him scheduled.

Remus needs a surgery called TPLO, the gold standard treatment for this injury in larger dogs. Surgery alone is expected to run over $3,000, and that doesn't include rehab afterward.

Recovery means 8 to 12 weeks of strict activity restriction, short leash walks only, no running, jumping, or stairs without help, while the bone heals. After that, we're planning to get him into physical therapy, likely another $1,500 or more, to rebuild strength in that leg and his other rear leg too, since dogs who tear one CCL are at higher risk of tearing the other. We want to give him the best shot at staying on all four legs for years to come.

Altogether, this is more than $4,500 in care for a member of their family who has given them so much. Any amount helps get Remus through surgery and into the recovery he needs.

Remus has spent his whole life taking care of Taylor. Now it's our turn to take care of him.

Thank you for reading his story, and for anything you're able to give.

— Lauren