Jaeger

About the Campaign

Jaeger is an 8-year-old male Labrador with a torn cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) and a torn meniscus in his right hind knee. His orthopedic surgeon at Steele Veterinary Clinic has recommended a TPLO, a surgery that cuts and repositions the top of the shin bone so the knee stays stable without the ligament. The quote is $4,400. If he does not get it, the leg will have to be amputated.

Jaeger has already had surgery on this knee. When he went lame in July, a clinic repaired it with a lateral fabellar suture, an older technique that works for small and medium dogs with moderate activity but has largely been replaced by TPLO for anything bigger. Jaeger is a large Lab who lives in rural North Dakota and loves to run. Five days after the July 1 surgery, the screw pulled out of the bone and had to be removed in an emergency procedure. On August 30, running in his grandma’s back yard, he screamed and went down. The meniscus had torn. Steele has now evaluated him and says a TPLO is the right repair for a dog his size, though they are concerned about the arthritis that has already started from months of instability.

Jaeger picked his owner Shawna. In 2018 a friend dragged her to a pet store to see a dog the friend wanted. Shawna was not looking for a dog, but there was a litter of puppies, and Jaeger ran up to her and followed her all over the store until she took him home. He is the happiest dog she has ever known: loves everyone, wants to meet everyone, and comes unglued at the word “Grandma”, who lives across the street and he loves to visit!

Shawna works full time in sales at a factory. She has already spent about $3,000 on the surgery that failed and the emergency procedure to remove the screw. This year her basement flooded and her car broke down. She paid for a fix once, in good faith, and now has to pay for it again, and the money is gone. Shawna has a little bit, but no where near enough to cover the cost of the surgery Jaeger needs by Oct 7th to save his leg!

TPLO is the right surgery for Jaeger’s size and has an excellent track record, even after a failed prior repair. Donations will cover his surgical consultation, x-rays, bloodwork, anesthesia, the TPLO, pain medication, and follow-up visits so he can keep all four legs and get back to running. All donations are paid only to the veterinarian. Estimate below, click to enlarge: