Please help Baloo and Tom Cover The Costs of Surgery

Most of you that frequent Bastet Brewing know Baloo. Baloo and Tom are best friends and go pretty much everywhere together. Baloo is an incredibly smart and incredibly well behaved dog who gets along with all people and animals. Sometimes when Tom is at work, Baloo hangs out and acts as the official greeter at the front door - when he's not napping on the job. He loves seeing his two legged friends come in and gets very excited for the people that he recognizes.

Baloo is a six year old, healthy and VERY active Blue Heeler, German Short Hair Pointer and Bluetick Coonhound mix. His favorite pastimes are burying the dog treats Tom gives him in the back yard (for later?), playing with his dog friends at the dog beach and chasing rats and squirrels.

Recently, Baloo was playing at the dog beach and injured his left rear leg. The number one injury for highly active dogs is a CCL (cranial cruciate ligament) injury and that's exactly what happened with Baloo. He has a full CCL tear. To restore the activity level that Baloo is used to, his injury requires surgery. The surgery is called a TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy). When the CCL is torn or injured, the shin bone (tibia) slides forward with respect to the thigh bone (femur) and most dogs with this injury cannot walk normally and experience pain. The resulting instability damages the cartilage and surrounding bones and leads to osteoarthritis. The surgery changes the angle and relationship between the thigh bone (femur) and the shin bone (tibia). The overall intent of the TPLO surgery is to reduce the amount that the tibia shifts forward during a stride. This realignment of the surfaces within the knee helps to provide stability and helps to reduce future joint inflammation and osteoarthritis. Because it has been practiced for over 20 years, TPLO is one of the most researched surgical procedures in dogs. The success rate for TPLO surgery is very high-between 90% and 95%. Compared to any other procedure, dogs who undergo TPLO surgery recover more quickly and get back on all four feet sooner! With some luck, Baloo can be back to playing with friends and chasing squirrels in 12 - 20 weeks. This is sooooooo long for a highly active dog to restrict activities, but it's highly important that a full recovery be achieved.

This surgery is expensive. To maximize a favorable outcome, Baloo and Tom have chosen a surgeon who is American College of Veterinary Surgeons certified and is highly experienced in canine TPLO surgeries.

We hope you can spare a few dollars for the surgery fundraising. Every little bit counts and Baloo and Tom thank you greatly for your generosity and kindness. May your generosity and kindness be returned to you when YOU or your loved one are in need.

Thank you! Baloo and Tom