Smokey Deserves to Walk Without Pain—Can You Help?

We adopted Smokey Blue from Animal Friends Humane Society in July 2024. He was just 8 months old, 45 lbs, and had been at the shelter for over a month. Franco and I went to the shelter that Saturday morning on a whim. It was 7 months since Dante (my first dog) passed away unexpectedly from prostate cancer, and we were ready to look for a new pup to join our family. At breakfast, Franco suggested we should go to the shelter and just “look around.” He told me not to get my hopes up in case we don’t leave with a dog that day.

It was “Empty the Shelter” weekend at Animal Friends, which meant the adoption fees were sponsored and each pet came with all the supplies they needed to go to their fur-ever home. We submitted an online adoption application while eating our eggs and toast and anxiously waited for the approval email.

Thirty minutes later we left the diner and headed to the shelter with our approval in hand! The lobby was full of families filling out applications, but the front desk waved us through to meet the volunteer who would take us to see the dogs. She took us up and down the rows of kennels and introduced us to each dog. They had over 150 dogs available for adoption that day!

When we made it to the end of the aisles, the volunteer asked us which dogs we wanted to do a meet-and-greet with. While we were talking, I felt eyes on me and I saw the smallest, quietest, sweetest face looking up at me. For some reason she had overlooked him, so we didn’t realize there was one dog we hadn’t seen yet.

Smokey was the very last kennel in the very last row of the entire shelter, and he was patiently sitting and waiting for me to greet him. I kneeled down and put the back of my hand up to his gate and he gently licked my hand; my heart melted. I looked up at Franco, he was watching us have our first interaction, and he knew right away we needed to spend one-on-one time with Smokey.

Long story short, we DID leave with our pup that day! Smokey Blue has been the best addition to our family and brings so much joy and happiness to everyone he meets. He has filled a void in our hearts that I wasn’t sure would ever heal after we lost Dante.

So you can imagine our concern when Smokey started limping and not acting like himself. Our vet determined he was born with a genetic mutation in his back knees. For dogs of his size it’s uncommon, but Smokey’s knee caps are not designed to stay in the sockets. The medical term is “luxating patella.” And the ligament, on his right knee, is attached at an angle instead of being perpendicular with the tibia bone.

Because of this he is in constant pain and in immediate need of surgery. Since he is a larger boy (he’s 70lbs now) he needs a specialist, orthopedic surgeon, to do the knee cap restructuring and detach/reattach his ligament to his tibia.

We have been keeping Smokey as comfortable as possible with anti inflammatory pain medicine, hemp oil and limiting his activity until we can save up enough money for his surgery. But the cost is beyond what we can afford on our own and Smokey is continuing to live in pain every day.

The total amount needed for Smokey’s surgery with the specialist is $4,350. He will require additional vet follow up visits, medication, and possibly some physical therapy or cold laser therapy—so the remaining $650 would cover those expenses.

It’s not easy to ask for help, but we’ve exhausted all other options and I’m asking for your help on behalf of my pup, Smokey Blue. He desperately needs to have his right knee corrected and the longer he goes without the surgery the more likely his left knee will also fail.

Any amount of donation is much appreciated and every dollar helps. If you’re unable to donate monetarily, you can still help by sharing Smokey’s fundraising link with your family, friends, and community.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, from my family, and from Smokey. Your support will give him the quality of life he deserves!