Putting this fundraiser together to provide an opportunity for friends and family that may want to help in covering the life-saving removal of a tumor and ACL surgery for Duke.

Several weeks ago, Duke was going outside to use the restroom like any other day. Like he typically does, I let him out into the backyard to do his business. When he came back to the door, I knew something was wrong. He was clearly in pain and hopping on one leg.

As you can see, the poor pup tried to hop up onto the deck and tore his ACL. Unfortunately, we have been through this once before, so I knew what had happened. After a few days, I was able to get him an appointment with an Orthopedic Surgeon to have a pre-surgery consultation. Everything checked out to be fairly normal. With Duke being higher in age, they recommended to do a senior screening just to double check the body one last time before surgery.

After over an hour, the surgeon came in with a long face. Something wasn't right. He proceeded to tell me that they found a tumor. The tumor was in one of the two adrenal glands that dogs have, which isn't totally uncommon. However, the tumor had started to spread and had made its way into the vena cava (the largest artery that returns blood to the heart). The tumor was starting to reduce the blood flow and was working its way toward the heart. If nothing was done, Duke would only have a few months to live. The surgery would be quite risky as they artery would need to be opened to remove the tumor and blood flow cut off temporarily to the heart.

After several days of contemplation, I decided that it was worth the risk to help save Duke's life. Though he may be higher in age, he shows very little signs of aging. I felt, should he make it through the surgery, he would have many more healthy years to come.

Duke's surgery was successfully completed on Thursday April 18th. Overall the surgery was successful with little issues. Duke is now on the path to recovery from his tumor removal and is expected to completely recover.

Now comes the ACL... Having put him through the life saving tumor removal, I would be remis to neglect to repair Duke's ACL. As with all of us, the financial impact of not one but two surgeries has become a major reality. I know there are some friends and family that may empathize with our situation and be willing to lend helping hand. I truly hate asking for money, but I simply don't have $15,000 to cover both surgeries.

Any little bit will help, and I appreciate everyone that has taken the time to send kind words, prayers, and more over the last week.