Help Shelley get CCL surgery!

Shelley is a super sweet girl who had a tough start to life and now she needs her final CCL surgery to truly begin living her best life!

Shelley was seized in a cruelty and neglect case in October 2024 with wire tightly wrapped around her legs. LifeLine’s veterinary team suspects this abuse initially weakened her CCLs and caused both CCLs to rupture later when she was playing.  

What’s a CCL? A cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) tear is the most common orthopedic injury in dogs, roughly equivalent to an ACL tear in humans. It causes knee instability, pain, and lameness. CCL surgery repairs a torn cranial cruciate ligament, stabilizing the knee to relieve pain and prevent severe arthritis. 

Shelley was scared of everything when she first came into foster care as a court case foster. She would drop to the ground and army crawl behind her foster mom. Her foster family was heartbroken to realize the cruel life she had endured, and promised to help her heal her spirit and body. 

Over the last year and a half, Shelley has blossomed into a dog that truly knows love. She loves going on walks, playing fetch, playing with her human sister, cuddling and being a best friend to her humans.  She has completed one CCL surgery and is ready for the next and final surgery to start a new chapter of living the best life that she deserves.

About LifeLine Animal Project:

LifeLine Animal Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission of ending the shelter euthanasia of healthy and treatable animals. Our goal is to keep people and pets together as we look at the root causes of animal homelessness and work with our community to provide accessible pet care and solutions throughout metro Atlanta. 

We manage the Fulton and DeKalb Counties' animal shelters as well as our Community Animal Center, our headquarters, with a state-of-the-art shelter and full-service, low-cost veterinary clinic.

LifeLine Animal Project is a nationally lauded leader in animal welfare and the largest animal welfare organization in Georgia. Since its inception, LifeLine has taken a strategic approach to create a safety net for at-risk companion animals, both in our shelters and our community. Thanks to the leadership and vision of LifeLine founder and CEO Rebecca Guinn, LifeLine has transformed how metro Atlanta cares for the most at-need animals in our city.