Seamus' Surgery Fund

Seamus is our vibrant and loving 1 year old Malamute/Husky mix.  We have found out that he has what is known as a Grade III Luxating Patella. His knee constantly comes out of place and has progressively gotten worse over the last few months. At a Grade III diagnosis, the only remaining form of treatment is to have surgery known as a TPLO. TPLO, or tibial-plateau-leveling osteotomy, is a surgery performed on dogs to stabilize the stifle joint after ruptures of the cranial cruciate ligament (analogous to the anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] in humans, and sometimes colloquially called the same).In a TPLO procedure, the tibial plateau, the portion of the tibia adjoining the stifle, is cut and rotated so that its slope changes to approximately 5 degrees from the horizontal plane,.[3][4] This prevents the femur from sliding down the slope of the tibial plateau when the dog puts weight on its knee.[5] Thus surgery generally results in faster recovery times compared to other procedures to stabilize the knee. Most dogs (over 90%) are expected to regain a very active and athletic lifestyle with no post-operative complications and without the need for any long-term pain relieving medication.[6]We are currently doing stretches, massage and are giving Seamus a supplement to help keep his joints lubricated and healthy until we are able to get him the surgery. Seamus has 2 chihuahua "sisters" and a hound mix "brother" that he loves with all of his heart. It is heartbreaking to watch him try to play and keep up with them and then have to stop because a few seconds in his leg just can't keep up. He has so much energy, a wonderfully comedic personality, and so much love to give. We want to be able to give him this time, since he is so young, to be able to romp and play, and to give him a future where he is comfortable and pain free.