Surgery for Rocket the Tripod Dog

This is Rocket. He is a sweet and loving three legged rescue dog with a torn CCL. He  desperately needs surgery as he doesn't have any more legs to spare. He is still a puppy, not even a year old yet, and can't run or jump or play until he gets this surgery. He lives for his daily dog park visits and can't go play with his friends until he's better.

His mom and dad are two wonderful people named Kate and Wes. We, their friends, have put this together for them as we love them and Rocket a whole bunch!

The surgery is $3600 which Kate and Wes can't afford. We are trying to raise a bit more to cover the fee from gofundme and wepay.

He is the light of so many people's lives, please help us allow this sweet baby to play again.

*From Rocket's mom, 10/8*
Wes and I are so grateful to Ariana for setting up this campaign for our little guy. I thought I should share a little bit about Rocket's history and current injury.

When Rocket was around 8 weeks old, he had some kind of blunt force injury to his hind leg, which his first owners left untreated. His owners allowed him to suffer with a severely broken leg. He was kept outside and competed with 10 littermates for food. He was skinny, shivering, and miserable. When he was finally rescued a month later, the best treatment for his old, infected, painful wound was amputation. His foster mom raised the money for the vet bills, (https://www.gofundme.com/u8dmae44), got him well enough for the surgery, and soon adopted him out to a loving family - us!
(photo courtesy of Paulina Gwaltney Photography)

Since then, he has been the light of our lives. Rocket is a snuggly, affectionate, happy pup who has never missed his hind leg until recently. He loves learning new tricks, hunting for bugs, charming the ladies (canine and human), and hanging out on the couch with his mom and dad. No one would ever know how challenging his journey has been. He trusts and loves every single person and dog he has ever come across.

We have loved raising Rocket so much, we decided to expand our family again - I'm 10 weeks pregnant as I write this, and am very excited for Rocket to be the best big brother I know he will be.
A little over a month ago, we noticed that Rocket wasn't wanting to put weight on his hind leg. I even saw him walking on his front two paws only. He only has the one back leg - we were obviously really concerned! After a couple vet appointments, x-rays, and a consultation with a specialist, we learned that there were two options for what could be going on with Rocket. The first was that he had some minor soft tissue injury that would heal on its own in a few weeks. We recieved pain meds from the vet, and waited. When it became obvious that Rocket wasn't better, we knew that the second option was, sadly, what was going on with Rocket. He has a partial cranial cruciate ligament (analogous to a human ACL) tear, which destabilizes his knee and could cut his lifespan in half due to painful arthritis. Even before arthritis becomes too much for Rocket, he won't be able to run and play like he loves to. He needs a very expensive surgery by an orthopedic surgeon, and up to 12 weeks of recovery. This kind of degenerative injury is more common in older dogs, and rarely occurs in a one year old puppy like Rocket. Pit bulls like Rocket typically see signs of aging knees closer to age 3 or 4, but since Rocket only has one hind leg, the process has gone much faster.

Rocket needs a TPLO for his knee, a major surgery that reshapes his bone to create stability. The implant should last 10 years, potentially his full life span. This type of operation is performed by a specialist, and we were quoted $3,600 dollars. We looked into low cost clinics, but those facilities only offer a tight rope surgery, which may only last for a couple years and is unsuitable for a three legged puppy who must use the leg extensively for many years.

So far in getting Rocket's diagnosis, pain medication, and surgery consultation, we've already spent over$700. We made the appointment for Rocket's surgery on October 11th. The reality is that though we have been saving since bringing Rocket home, we never expected he would need another difficult surgery so early in life. We will do anything to save our puppy, but we are a young couple with a baby on the way, and we're ashamed to admit we didn't get pet insurance in time to help with this injury.

Rocket is a sweet, loving boy, and after everything he's been through, he deserves to be able to move comfortably for many more years to come.

Please consider donating for his surgery. Anything helps! And if you're not able to donate now, please take a few seconds to share his story. Thank you so, so much.

With love,
Kate, Wes, and Rocket



Update 1/30/2017



Rocket had his surgery over three months ago and has recovered beautifully! We are so proud of him and so grateful to everyone who donated to his campaign. Here are some highlights of the last few months!


Rocket sees the ocean for the first time (in his post-surgery therapy harness)

Meeting Santa!

Being allowed to romp in the snow makes Rocket SOOO happy!

Helping announce that he's getting a baby sister!

Celebrating his first "Gotcha Day," the anniversary of his adoption on on January 18th. It's been a challenging year at times, but Rocket has brought so much joy and love into our lives that it's hard to imagine anything else. We love you, buddy.