Chiquita is a 7-year-old Aussie / Cowdog in Albuquerque, NM, who needs $2,000 for Cruciate Ligament Rupture Surgery.

Chiquita came into my life when her owner passed away recently. She was living in an RV with an elderly woman who my mom was friends with in TorC. Chiquita was all alone after she passed and one day I decided she could home with me and my pug Olive. She was very scared at first, having only been around Yvonne and had never been in a car or done much outside.

Chiquita has completely transformed into a dog that lived mostly indoor to a dog that loves to go on car rides and adventures. She gets along well with Olive my pug and we go on hikes, go rock climbing and travel a lot around the state. She is the most easy going dog I've met and she gets along with people and other pets.

Chiquitas probably the lowest maintenance dog I have ever met. She is just so happy to be around. She is sweet to everyone and just loves sitting outside watching the yard. She was quite overweight when we first got her, but now that she hikes and goes on trip with us, she has gotten to a healthy weight.

Last fall Chiquita jumped off a retaining wall and hurt her paw. The vet initially did X-rays and said she had no broken bones and she would heal quickly. After a few weeks she still could not put weight on her paw and it was hyper extended. We saw another vet who put a splint on her paw to help heal the ligaments. Since that did not work she has to have a very expensive surgery.

Last year I was out of work due to writers strike in the film industry for nine months. A $10,000 surgery is out of reach for me at this time. It would mean the world to have some help getting Chiquita back to being able to walk and not being in pain.