When Greg and Debbie Reinhardt adopted Charlie, a golden retriever/black Lab mix, from Missoula County’s animal shelter, they knew he had a history.

They didn’t know just how interesting and sad it was. A local veterinarian is taking steps to make the Reinhardts’ new friend happier and healthier than he has been since he was a puppy.

The 5-year old dog was for a time at the Flathead County Animal Shelter and was, by all accounts, a caring and well-behaved dog.

Below the surface though, was an old ligament injury that plagued him with pain. The Reinhardts didn’t know of his injury when they adopted him. Nobody did.

“I wish we had known this when we got him,” said Greg Reinhardt. “We felt bad for the dog. The poor thing had been dumped off.”

The surgery that would be required to repair Charlie’s cruciate ligament would cost well over $2,500.

Jim Thompson, a veterinarian at Whitefish Animal Hospital, called the Reinhardt family and informed them he would perform the surgery for free.

“Thank you Lord, I thought,” said Reinhardt. “He’s such a good boy, I wanted to give him a good home.”

The donation is a regular occurrence for Thompson, who performs pro bono work on shelter dogs.

Sometimes he takes his work home with him.

“They are nice dogs looking for a home,” he said. “I took one of those dogs home with me — Stormy — and my kids didn’t let her leave.”

The surgery Thompson is scheduled to perform on Charlie sometime next week is one that wouldn’t have been used as recently as a decade ago.

The surgery is designed to stabilize the joint after the ligament has ruptured or torn. It’s akin to a human tearing the anterior cruciate ligament. Labradors are genetically predisposed to the tear.

Margaret Evans, an employee at Whitefish Animal Hospital, serves on the advisory board of the Flathead Shelter Friends.

“We do a lot of work with the shelter,” she said. “Dr. Thompson is very generous with donating time and services to the shelter.”

The Flathead shelter was overflowing so a few dogs were sent to Missoula’s shelter. There, the Reinhardts were called about a happy dog named Charlie. They went and picked him up right away.

Charlie’s injury isn’t uncommon for Montana’s dogs.

“We have a lot of big dogs in the Flathead tearing up cruciate ligaments,” Thompson said. “This is the treatment of choice for active dogs.”

Charlie hasn’t let lingering pain bother him, though, as his owner can testify.

“He’s pretty laid back,” Reinhardt said. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make him healthy.”

Thompson’s generous donation will certainly help.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.