Memorial Day weekend 2013, I got a phone call confirming that my now fiancé Ryan and I were going to be fostering a puppy that had just come up from Georgia. Little did we know that a 5 minute phone conversation would change our lives! Three days later we become "foster failures" and adopted our first rescue puppy. 

Now, Tucker is a happy, shy, but very loving 3 year old yellow lab, but he wasn't always that way. Tucker had a rough start at life, being found on the streets of Georgia to eventually end up in a shelter. He was chosen by the kind hands of Maine Lab Rescue who worked effortlessly to remove him from the shelter and place him in foster care. However this wasn't the end of Tuckers pain. He was diagnosed with parvo but with the quick action of his foster mom and local veterinarians they were able to treat and cure him!! 


Tucker lives with his 2 year old American Bulldog brother, Dallas, and the 10 year old family cat, Jack. Tucker and Dallas have this crazy inseparable bond that was formed the minute we brought Dallas home. They love spending their days rough housing, chasing tennis balls, snuggling on the couch, and the occasional beach run or hike. Tucker will literally search the entire house to try and find Dallas, its the sweetest thing ever. 




Unfortunately in November of 2015 Tucker's pain would only again begin to resurface. We started to notice that after long lengths of running or real hard playing Tucker was favoring a hind leg and would act really "lame". We consulted our vet during a routine check up, she didn't seem concerned so we didn't either. May/June 2016 Tucker's troubles only seemed to progress, he was now favoring both hind legs and it took him great effort to lay down or get back up, stairs were an even bigger challenge as were having to carry him up and down them. We setup another appointment with our vet for her to tell us we needed X-rays to fully determine anything. X-rays were taken and they came back showing that Tucker had a complete rupture to both of his Cranial Cruciate Ligaments. Our vet then told us that we would need to be referred to an Orthopedic Surgeon, they gave us some recommendations for surgeons in our area. 





July 2016 we met and consulted with Dr. Gauger of Norway Veterinary Hospital. He was extremely friendly and knowledgeable. Any questions we had he answered in great confidence. He explained to us the details of Tucker's injury and what surgery would entail. He told us that there are 3 types of surgeries to repair this injury and that Tucker is without a debut the perfect candidate to have the Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy. Without this surgery Tucker would learn to be a "spectator", not playing with other dogs and just laying down a lot. He just wouldn't be living  a complete life and the thought of that just breaks our hearts.

We are looking to have this surgery done late September to early October of this year. The cost of the surgery ranges from 4,500 to 4,700 with additional medications and a lengthy recovery time. Any amount whether small or large would be greatly appreciated. Tucker just wants his life back and Dallas would kill to be able to run through a field with his big brother again. 

Thank you for your time and energy, 
with lots of love
Heather, Ryan, Tucker, & Dallas 





****Damage to the Cranial Cruciate Ligament of the knee (CCL) is the most common orthopedic injury and cause for rear limb lameness in dogs. In people this ligament is called he anterior cruciate ligament and frequently referred to as the ACL. Dogs can injure this ligament in a variety of ways. All shapes, sizes, and ages of dogs can suffer from this injury. Damage to the CCL, either partial or complete rupture, results in progressive lameness, development of osteoarthritis, osteophyte production, and meniscal damage. for more information visit https://my.vetmatrixbase.com/norwayvethospital.com/cranial-cruciate-disease.html