Kage is a seven-year-old Bullmastiff/Pit Bull mix in New Castle, IN, who needs $900 for leg surgery.

Kage needs your help so he can have surgery, stat to remove his leg. He's in extreme pain.

"In June of this year, Kage's left front paw and leg started to swell, Kathryn S., Kage's owner, tells Waggle. "Within a day, his dew claw turned black, and his leg tripled in size. He was diagnosed with cellulitis. He lost 60% of his skin, all the way down to muscle on his leg. Now his bones are dissolving."

Kage's veterinarian at the Country Acre Animal Clinic says Kage needs his leg amputated. But Kathryn is struggling to pay for Kage's surgery.

"In 2018, my older brother, David, rescued Kage from a life of abuse and neglect," Kathryn says. "In early 2019, my brother died by suicide, and I took in Kage. He came to me a scared and broken dog, along with the two other dogs my brother had at the time of his death. Since bringing Kage into my life, though the circumstances were less than ideal, he has been both a light and a rock for me."

Kathryn made many changes after her brother passed away. "I had to move from my home in Georgia to be with family in Indiana," she says. "I make less money now, and it would take too long to save the money necessary to afford Kage's surgery. He saved my life, and I now need to save his. Amputation is his only chance."

Kage is an enormous-sized loving dog with a lot of life and love left to give. "Kage usually brings a mix of emotions upon first impressions," Kathryn says. "Where some see a big powerful dog who could eat them in one gulp, others see his wrinkly face and fall in love immediately. One thing is true, once anyone sees the lovable goof that I know and love, they fall in love too. His heart is about as big as his head."

Kage loves his toys. Not the ones you would expect either. Instead of toys built for a big tough guy like himself, he wants the soft small ones you would get for a much smaller dog. He also loves his jammies, which can be a challenge due to his size. He loves car rides but needs the backseat to himself, but he especially loves his best friends, two five-pound chihuahua mixes, as well as Kathryn's Lab mix.