Great Dane Ricky

Ricky is a Great Dane with Merle colorings. Ricky was found on the street last week. He has been abused and starved. We adopted him from The Harbor Shelter in San Pedro, CA. After visiting the vet we were told he has a premature fusing of the radius bone growth plates on both front legs. He needs surgery to repair his legs. We believe he has been kept locked up in a confined space on concrete  because of all the sores and scabs on his feet, tail, nose, and worst of all, his elbows. He is between 7 & 9 months old. He only weighs 80 lbs, he should be around 110lbs+. The vet is not sure if his front leg deformation was caused by Trauma or breeding. Either way , he should have been cared for. Our vet says the surgery could cost in upwards of $10,000. or more with aftercare. We are trying to raise money for his surgery/surgeries. We see the Orthopedic Surgeon April 26th and hope he will take on this daunting deformaty/injury so Ricky can be the great, dog he should be. His quality of LIFE should be so much better. We are reaching out to you, to try to bring in your family, friends and their friends etc. Some local Rescues have joined us to save Ricky as well. We are starting this fund now so we can get the funds to pay for this surgery and future medical costs. We have never tried a platform like this or used the generous help of rescues before. This is an incredible time we live in now and a little giving goes a long way. Ricky has only been with our family for 5 days now but is just as loved as our other pets. We have another Harlequin Great Dane "Minnie" who is 3 1/2 yrs, a Giant Schnauzer "Lincoln" who is 14 months, and "Chile" our awesome cat who already puts up with Ricky as well as the other 2 crazies. Ricky tries to wrestle and play with Lincoln nonstop now. Follows him around like a shadow. Ricky has an older brother now. Lincoln is very strong and has almost put his wresling on a lower level when he plays with Ricky. We think he knows Ricky is disabled in a way. Minnie is still being the timid girl she always is when a new dog comes into our home. Shes gettin there though and Ricky respects her,(Hes no dummy). Our pets are our children. We adore and treat them that way. They give us so much joy and laughter they are never forgotten.  Ricky is the sweetest, gentle, goofy puppy Great Dane and we wont give up on him. We were not expecting to have to do a major surgery on him. We have spoken with many experts and we believe this is the right action to take. He needs a better quality of LIFE. We cant thank you enough, words cant express the gratitude we have for those of you who care about Ricky to join our quest to raise funding for this well deserved Great Dane. NO animal should ever be treated as he HAD been!! Thanks again,
Ted,Dana, Minnie, Lincoln, Chile, and of course, RICKY!!