Bobross is a 4-year-old Pitbull in Flagler Beach, FL, who needs $2,000 for Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy.

Bobross was adopted from The Animal Shelter in Brandon Florida by someone other than us at 3 months of age. They returned him 2 weeks later due to him being "to active and uncontrollable". Our neighbor adopted him next and planned to return him to the shelter for similar reasons. Instead, we took Bob in as one of the family. I have always been a fan of Bob Ross the painter, hence the name.

Before Bob's knees were hurting he would love to go on his walks. Now he can only tolerate walking for a few minutes before he has to lay down. We do this every few hours. The pain medicine seems to take some of the pain away. It just isn't enough. Nowadays Bob's favorite activity is going for a drive. I roll the window down so he can catch all the good smells.He is happiest when riding with me.

Everything Bob does makes me smile. His big brown eyes speak to me. I'm pretty sure I know what he's thinking. Bob used to shake uncontrollably when I would say the word "bath". He was afraid of getting in the tub. When I retired, we moved to a place with a walk in shower. I say bath and he goes right in, no hesitation. He also shakes when it thunders. In that case I hold him tight to calm him.

Bob has been diagnosed with torn cranial cruciate ligaments (CCL's) in both knees. The vet recommends surgery which has a 85-90% success rate. Tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) is a surgical procedure to stabilize the stifle joint. Dr. Nicole Hardie is his vet. Surgery will be performed at the Veterinary Orthopaedic and Mobility Center (VOMC).

The procedures costs four thousand dollars per knee. Rehab is six hundred and fifty dollars. I am retired and live on a fixed income. My girlfriend works at Publix. We have about two thousand dollars saved for this. It breaks my heart that we just can't afford this.