For those of you who don’t know, my dog, Vladimir, injured himself a couple of weeks ago. On Wednesday night, July 20th, my boyfriend Ryan, and I were playing fetch with him as we do almost every night. This time, as he jumped up on the bed, he let out a horrible noise that I knew meant something bad had happened. We immediately took him to an emergency vet who diagnosed him with a likely cruciate ligament tear. At that time, we were told to keep him from using stairs, playing, etc. for 14-21 days while the tear “scabbed over”. However, after meeting with another vet last week, we learned that he will need surgery to completely repair both his ligament tear and the damage it has done to his knee and the surrounding area. Essentially, without the surgery, he will not be able to use his rear left leg and will quickly either tear his other leg from overuse and/or get arthritis (among other things) in his joints from all the added pressure.

Those of you who know me know that Vlad has been my little buddy and true companion for the past almost 6 years. When I adopted him while living in South Carolina, I learned about his past and vowed to never let him be hurt or have to live a depressed life ever again. After he was attacked during a walk by an unleashed dog last summer, this event/diagnosis is a bit more than we can handle. I’m not one to easily ask for help, but this time I’m making myself because he deserves to live the best life possible, especially being that he’s only 6 years old.

For those of you who are able to donate anything at all, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Vlad is loved by so, so many & I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure he lives a long, fulfilled, happy life for the rest of his years.