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Taz is a 4-year-old gentle giant. He is an incredibly loving and sweet dog and has spent the better half of his life in pain and unable to live a normal playful life. At three months old we figured out Taz was born deaf. We always wondered why we were so easily able to sneak up behind him and why he never greeted us at the door when the door slammed close.
Taz was a very playful puppy and a few months before his second birthday, Taz took a puzzle piece of the table and looked at me as if to say “try and catch me”. As I got up, Taz ran towards the kitchen and slipped on the floor tearing his cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Taz had his first TPLO surgery at 2 years old to repair the knee. Three weeks after surgery we started physical therapy for him only to find out 2 weeks after that during the follow up X-Ray that there were complications at some point during recovery. Taz had fractured the bone in his knee rending the TPLO surgery almost useless. Taz went in for a second surgery where they put Nylon sutures in place of the torn cruciate ligament. In hindsight, knowing what we know now, we should have opted to completely redo the TPLO surgery. But the vet recommended this surgery even though Taz is 120lbs and this surgery is usually only effective in much smaller dogs. Because of Taz’s size, 1 month later on his first jump onto the couch he tore the sutures and became instantly lame again. The cost of both of these surgeries and physical therapy was almost $7500.
The vet recommended a third type of knee surgery. In place of putting Taz under surgery for the third time in 2 and a half months we opted to focus on muscle development to help stability in his leg. In a few months Taz improved from about 20% to 50-60% in his leg where he has remained for the last 2 years. He still has a strong limp and can only do about 15 minutes of walking before the limping gets severe.
We had come to terms that Taz will mostly be an indoor dog, especially during the long winter months when it’s icy. We decided to get a second dog named Shadow, to keep Taz company through the winters. When we got Shadow we found a new vet through recommendations from a friend. At 4 months old, we found out our new dog Shadow has severe hip dysplasia, thankfully we have insurance for Shadow as these surgeries can run up to $10,000 per hip and he will need both of his replaced when fully grown.
While visiting the vet for Shadow’s hips we got talking about Taz and the vet asked us to bring him in during our next appointment for Shadow. The new vet assessed Taz and was very confident he could fix Taz’s failed surgery and significantly improve the quality and duration of his life. Due to finances we have been pushing this off for the last 6 months. However, our hand is forced now as last week, Taz tore the cruciate ligament in his good knee and has now become lame in that leg. Taz cannot bear any weight on the torn leg is really struggling to put all the weight on the knee that he has already had surgery on. Taz needs a TPLO surgery in his right knee immediately and the vet has recommended doing a TPLO surgery on both knees during the surgery which will minimize costs and recovery time. The cost for the TPLO surgery on both of Taz’s knees is $7000.
We find it very difficult to ask for assistance but it has been a long expensive road with Taz and we don’t know what else to do. We have had a couple people say that maybe we should consider putting him down. But this is our boy. He brings light and love to our life every day and we just want to return the favor and see him pain free and to be a dog again; enjoying walks by the river and playing with his brother. Taz is only 4 and still has a long life ahead of him. We would be extremely grateful for any donation no matter how small, that you can give to help see our Mr. Taz pain free and playing again.
Thank you in advance!
Taz sure loves kids and cuddles!
He also love being a goof :)
Taz was a very playful puppy and a few months before his second birthday, Taz took a puzzle piece of the table and looked at me as if to say “try and catch me”. As I got up, Taz ran towards the kitchen and slipped on the floor tearing his cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Taz had his first TPLO surgery at 2 years old to repair the knee. Three weeks after surgery we started physical therapy for him only to find out 2 weeks after that during the follow up X-Ray that there were complications at some point during recovery. Taz had fractured the bone in his knee rending the TPLO surgery almost useless. Taz went in for a second surgery where they put Nylon sutures in place of the torn cruciate ligament. In hindsight, knowing what we know now, we should have opted to completely redo the TPLO surgery. But the vet recommended this surgery even though Taz is 120lbs and this surgery is usually only effective in much smaller dogs. Because of Taz’s size, 1 month later on his first jump onto the couch he tore the sutures and became instantly lame again. The cost of both of these surgeries and physical therapy was almost $7500.
The vet recommended a third type of knee surgery. In place of putting Taz under surgery for the third time in 2 and a half months we opted to focus on muscle development to help stability in his leg. In a few months Taz improved from about 20% to 50-60% in his leg where he has remained for the last 2 years. He still has a strong limp and can only do about 15 minutes of walking before the limping gets severe.
We had come to terms that Taz will mostly be an indoor dog, especially during the long winter months when it’s icy. We decided to get a second dog named Shadow, to keep Taz company through the winters. When we got Shadow we found a new vet through recommendations from a friend. At 4 months old, we found out our new dog Shadow has severe hip dysplasia, thankfully we have insurance for Shadow as these surgeries can run up to $10,000 per hip and he will need both of his replaced when fully grown.
While visiting the vet for Shadow’s hips we got talking about Taz and the vet asked us to bring him in during our next appointment for Shadow. The new vet assessed Taz and was very confident he could fix Taz’s failed surgery and significantly improve the quality and duration of his life. Due to finances we have been pushing this off for the last 6 months. However, our hand is forced now as last week, Taz tore the cruciate ligament in his good knee and has now become lame in that leg. Taz cannot bear any weight on the torn leg is really struggling to put all the weight on the knee that he has already had surgery on. Taz needs a TPLO surgery in his right knee immediately and the vet has recommended doing a TPLO surgery on both knees during the surgery which will minimize costs and recovery time. The cost for the TPLO surgery on both of Taz’s knees is $7000.
We find it very difficult to ask for assistance but it has been a long expensive road with Taz and we don’t know what else to do. We have had a couple people say that maybe we should consider putting him down. But this is our boy. He brings light and love to our life every day and we just want to return the favor and see him pain free and to be a dog again; enjoying walks by the river and playing with his brother. Taz is only 4 and still has a long life ahead of him. We would be extremely grateful for any donation no matter how small, that you can give to help see our Mr. Taz pain free and playing again.
Thank you in advance!
Taz sure loves kids and cuddles!
He also love being a goof :)