Ivan's Knee Surgery

Ivan is a 17 month old German Shepherd and Bull Mastiff mix. Despite his young age, he has some very serious problems with the knees of his hind legs. After an active summer (turns out it was too active, unfortunately) he beginned to show some signs of weakness. After a long walk, he would be sore for a few hours. As more time passed, his recovery times lengthened, until he was eventually limping everywhere whether or not he had been under any strain. I took him to the vet and was told that he has a degenerative disorder in his CCL's (cranial cruciate ligaments; the equivalent of a human's ACL) that will only get worse as time passes. He was given painkillers that have returned most of his mobility for now but sadly, the only way to stop his condition worsening is an extremely costly surgery on both of his knees. I can cover the $250 per month in medication costs but I am a labourer and the $12000 needed for x-rays and surgery is way beyond my means.

I love Ivan. He is a gentle and obedient dog that just wants to be loved, and to be allowed to follow me around. He is still so young and it's very painful to see how restless he has become since I've started restricting how much activity he is allowed. He's still a puppy and can't understand why he can't go run around in the woods like he used to. If he does not receive these surgeries, then over the next few months (years if we're lucky) his level of pain and immobility will steadily increase until it is too much and the only humane thing left to do will be to put him down. Please don't allow this to happen. He is so young and otherwise healthy. The vet has assured me that with these surgeries, he will be able to live a long and active life. Please donate and give Ivan his life back. Thank you.