Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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So those of you who don't know my story with Chloe, I just started grad school and am finally living with my dog again (2 whole weeks now). I have class 2 times a week and have to put her outside those 7 hours because I can't lock her inside (no dog door) and I can't take her to the lab facility. Apart from that she is inside with me always and we go on walks to the beach 2 times a day. Anyway, after I got home from class I received a visit from Animal Control. This is how the story went:
Lady AC Officer: Hi. We received a call saying that there was a dog left outside for days with no food or water and that the neighbors were never home.
Me: (confused face with Chloe on leash ready to go for walk) Hi, um I don't understand why, but I assure you I only put her outside 2 times a week when I have class and she only just moved in Sept 18th. Whenever one of my roommates comes home for lunch, they let her inside. (My roommate invited lady officer in) Would you like to see her food and water bowls outside (viewable from entry way through glass doors). I just put her food upstairs so that she can eat it when I am home, but as you can see there is water in her water bowl. (Nod from lady officer). I am surprised the neighbors don't hear me play with Chloe because she has one of the most annoying squeakers in the world (grabbed squeaker and proceeded to make obnoxious noise).
Lady AC Officer: (laughed) I see well, usually when I get calls there is no problem, I am just glad you guys were home.
Anyway, so I asked her where I could purchase a dog license from since we just moved in and she said I could purchase one from her right then! I offered to show her Chloe's vaccination records and she seemed surprised because I guess that is exactly what she needed to fill out the forms. So I purchased a dog licence and I got door side service! She was actually a really nice Lady Animal Control Officer and I think she felt bad for coming over to see that my dog was well spoiled and that everything was fine. Earlier when I said "its not like I can lock Chloe inside all day", the Lady AC Officer even said back to me, "well I leave my dogs outside during the day when I have work".
My questions are, WHO called the AC (we do have 2 story house next door that can look down on the yard, nobody lives next door on the other side and the people behind us can't see over the fence, so we assume it the 2 story house)? How do they not notice her when she is NOT outside probably 90% of the time or that she clearly has a custom built dog waterbowl/food holder? They didn't call for barking (cuz she doesn't, but rather animal neglect?!?!? My roommate and I were SO confused because Chloe JUST moved in!
It's not like they even had the courtesy to come over to see if we were here (at a reasonable hour like after work) to see that we indeed are home (we have a 2 car garage and we use it, even though there are 3 of us) and that she is indeed being fed and watered. Maybe they had good intentions? Maybe they are crazy? I don't know, but I worked so hard to fight for Chloe to live here with me and I would be devastated if she had to leave. I really love Chloe and I am doing everything I can to make sure she has a wonderful life here.
-Chloe's mom
P.S. You can see how much I don't neglect my dog on my blog
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
Oh my goodness Chloe's mom! I am sure you will look back on this and laugh.... much much later on I am sure.
Sounds like the neighbor has a gripe of some kind to me. I would be careful with how you deal with these people. Sometimes people aren't fully functional and a little dillusional (honestly and seriously there are lots of folks who are special needs or are dealing with emotional issues) so don't take it on a personal level but do make sure your fencing is secure and no one can enter your backyard without your approval. We don't want Chloe ending up in a "rescue" situation by a well intentioned person with issues.
It might be a great idea to get to know your neighbors a little. If they understand your love for your great girl, this might go away with no further issues. If you end up with neighbor problems, at least you will know which ones to watch!
Good luck and I will be happy to vouch for you and your lucky girl.
Elizabeth and Sammy
Diagnosed with osteosarcoma in the right front leg 8/23/10,
leg fractured 8/27/10,
leg amputated 8/30/10
http://sammyand.....pawds.com/
I couldn't begin to say how special Sammy is to us. Living and laughing with and loving this wonderful boy is priceless.
In some ways, I do laugh, but in other ways like you said they might have their own issues. I did ask my dad about trying to get to know my neighbors, but he advised that I don't go looking for trouble. It may be well intentioned on my part, but they might take it the wrong way…
As for the fencing, we have 6' fences and I talked to the landlord about closing the 4" gaps between the fence and the house (someone put the fence up real stupid). We have no gates that lead to the backyard, strict entry through our sliding glass door from the house.
And this way, if the neighbors call AC on Chloe again at least they have a record of someone coming over here while I was home (with my roommate) and can relay to the callers that everything checked out. I don't know…I might look into getting a sliding glass door insert sooner than I anticipated so that she is pretty much inside all the time. But it will cost me financially…
And I thought that once her amp recovery was going smoothly there wouldn't be more bumps in the road…
-Chloe's mom
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
Oh Nicole!
That's horrible! I would really suggest leaving Chloe in the house for a couple of weeks at least. I know you aren't comfortable but take it from experienced folks (okay fine, older folks) – like Sammy's mom and I…leaving her out may pose a threat to her.
There are cuckoo's out there. And they may take it upon themselves to "rescue" Chloe. They may see her being 3-legged and assume that you were neglectful and she got run over or something. Plus, the person may assume that since you are college age, that you don't care about your dog.
The last thing you want to do is go to battle with whoever it is that did this!
A long, long time ago I had two dogs and I had a neighbor came beating on my door because my dogs barked in the morning while he was sleeping. I never left my dogs outside but they did give a bark every now and then while looking out the gate and going potty. It was normal dog barks, not incessant like the dude said.
Well, let me tell you – it escalated! I even kept my dogs from going outside until I knew he was awake! Every chance he got he called animal control. One bark, he called animal control. And then when I got divorced and he knew I was all by myself, he even got worse. He resorted to yelling at me when he saw me! I lived on pin and needles for months! I was so afraid that he would poison the dogs since I knew he wasn't right in the head!
Finally, it came to a head when I was mowing my back yard. The dogs barked when he started yelling at me over the block wall for mowing the lawn at 5pm! And he came over and wanted to go toe-to-toe with me when I started mowing the front yard! I stopped the mower and told him I had had enough and went in the house and called the police! I filed a harassment complaint with the police. The police talked with him and encouraged me to file the complaint. It finally stopped him and nothing came out of it. But I was an utter wreck. I finally moved within a couple of months of that but to this day, I still get stomach pangs when the dogs bark because of the nightmare he put me through.
So, my advice is be careful for Choe and also yourself. IF someone went to the trouble of calling animal control without talking to you first, then something is amiss.
Okay?
P.s.
I was typing while you were typing. Please, please do like your dad said. Do not go searching the person, okay? Please tread carefully with these types of issues, okay? There are really crazy people out there and I question someone that would not investigate the matter before calling animal control.
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
It just makes me so sad that they might turn out to be crazies and try to "rescue" her like you say by calling the AC on us all the time. One of my roommates on one of the days I have class gets back super early (like 2pm), so maybe I can talk to my roommates about just leaving her inside at least 1 day a week when I am not here.
Until I get a sliding glass door insert, I don't want to take a chance that she will "mess" the house and have to pay for "damages" to the carpet from my deposit. I guess in the long run its cheaper that way than not having her at all, but this is all so disappointing.
I guess I will contact my landlord about adding a sliding glass door insert with a dog door. Don't know if they will let me since it might pose as a "theft" risk. Like a person crawling through the door and trashing the house. We don't live in a bad neighborhood, but we obviously have some weirdos next door...
The other alternative is to try to convince my professors to let me bring her to class. That way she is with me during school and with me at home. I just feel like I am having to go WAY out of my way to pacify this person. Makes me very sad 
. I don't want them to call the AC all the time until some how she gets taken away. Even if they call and make something up.
-Chloe's mom
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
Nicole - I can only imagine how distressing this is for you. This is such a violation. I have to agree with Comet about leaving her inside if you can. i would suggest maybe if you could even hire a pet sitter to come over once a day to let her out and then you don't have to worry about this or even get a doggie door. I don't let my dogs outside when I'm not home - you just never know. Sometimes it's worth the extra money to hire someone professional (who can also walk her too.) There are so many great pet sitting services out there who are bonded and really care about your dog. But I do understand if it's a financial issue, in which case, the doggie door would probably be the next best option (or maybe even a neighbor's kid who wouldn't have to be paid as much.) Just some thoughts.
So sorry you have to deal with this. Just know that you are a great mom and taking great care of her. I hope you're able to work this out. We're here for you!
Kami
My sweet golden Mackenzie. She became my angel on Dec 29, 2010 at the age of 8 1/2 although she was always my angel from the time we brought her home. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in Sept 2009 and officially became a tripawd (front leg) on Nov 5, 2009. She will be forever in my heart and now she's running free with all of our other tripawd heroes. I love you Mackenzie!
Nicole,
I'm so sorry to hear about your trouble. I had similar issues TWICE. Once, I was living in a rental, and when I was at work, I had to leave my dog outside. My place also had fencing "issues" (fence was not tightly pulled and sagged in many places.) Because of this, I had to leave Kelly (aka "Houdini") on a tie-out for a few hours. She had plenty of water and shade, and a dog house, but a crazy neighbor (who turned out to be a borderline "hoarder") kept calling animal control. Finally, I had to just keep her inside and run home at lunch to let her out. I also had another really great neighbor who volunteered to let her out again later in the day. Kelly never had an accident (I only lived there for a few months while we were building our house.) Then, once we moved into our new house, we had another "unstable" neighbor that constantly complained about our dogs barking. This guy started out while our house was being built by standing in front of the bulldozer that was breaking ground and saying that he was creating too much dust (those in Cometland, NV can probably relate) Anyway, we live on a little over an acre and our dogs are inside most of the time. This guy got so abrasive and started to trespass, that we finally won a restraining order against him! Thank goodness he finally sold his house, and our new neighbor has not once complained. I guess my only advice is to be carefull, but don't let them get to you. AC knows now how well you take care of Chloe, so although you don't have to worry about them, you do need to keep up your guard with the neighbor. Good luck, I'm sure it will all work out.
Lisa and Sadie
Sadie is my 9yr old Rott/Shepherd mix. Diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her right scapula 1/28/10. Our brave girl had her amputation 2/13/10 and her last chemotherapy on 6/6/10. Unfortunately, a tumor appeared in her back right leg and on 10/7/2010 Sadie's earthly journey came to an end. On 10/24/2010 we adopted Ranger, a handsome Rott/Lab mix tripawd (got hit by a car) I think Sadie sent him to us.
http://ranger.t.....pawds.com/
I am so sorry to hear you are having problems with your neighbors. Chloe might be "dancing" when you get home but I would think she would be able to hold it". Does she go all night without having to be let out? I don't think there is anything wrong with leaving her out, mind you, but I am concerned about what your neighbor might do. Comet's Mom is probably right. Someone saw a three legged dog and decided that you, a young college student, was negligent and allowed her to be hurt. (Little does that person know, huh!)
A few years ago I would have said to talk to your neighbor an try to make friends. I think I'm a little paranoid now. However when you are walking Chloe smiling and waving is still a good idea. That way they will see you are friendly and maybe not be so quick to judge. Some people are just plain old mean!
If you are not able to find someone to let Chloe out I wonder if you could take her to campus and have another student babysit her in their dorm room or apartment?
Good luck with it. I think I will go tell my neighbors how much I like them!
Debra & Angel Emily
Debra & Emily, a five year old doberman mix, who was diagnosed with an osteosaecoma. She had a right rear leg amputation on May 19, 2009. On November 10, 2009 she earned her wings and regained her fourth leg.
I am sorry about this issue. I know I often got dirty looks from people whenever Tazzie and I hopped with 30 m of a road. You could tell people might have been thinking I was negligent and here I was going to let him run into the road and lose another leg. Plus we all know that, if you haven't been in our shoes, many people don't understand that amputation can be the humane form of treatment.
I agree with everyone's advice about being careful. This does not mean you need to assume the neighbour is going to cause more trouble. They may have been well-intentioned and thought that Chloe was outdoors far longer than she was – maybe they only saw her twice during the day and somehow assumed she was always outside. The imagination leads people to create their own reality, some further removed from the reality most of us share. Animal Control probably did talk to the people after they met you and probably reassured them that Chloe was indeed well loved and care for.
If you are walking outside and bump into your neighbours, you might end up having encounters (hopefully good ones) that help make sense of the situation.
(p.s. 7 hours does not sound too long to be indoors, unless she is on extra liquids for some reason (for a kidney issue or if she is taking some drug that needs to be flushed. Does she have trouble waiting that long or is she unhappy indoors - or is your main concern your roommates?)
I guess my only advice is to be carefull, but don't let them get to you. AC knows now how well you take care of Chloe, so although you don't have to worry about them, you do need to keep up your guard with the neighbor. Good luck, I'm sure it will all work out.
If you are not able to find someone to let Chloe out I wonder if you could take her to campus and have another student babysit her in their dorm room or apartment?
If you are walking outside and bump into your neighbours, you might end up having encounters (hopefully good ones) that help make sense of the situation.
(p.s. 7 hours does not sound too long to be indoors, unless she is on extra liquids for some reason (for a kidney issue or if she is taking some drug that needs to be flushed. Does she have trouble waiting that long or is she unhappy indoors – or is your main concern your roommates?)
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
Idefinitely feel your pain, I too have dealt with mental neighbors. And Comet is right, be very careful. As I see it, you have several options, the first being leave her in the house and see how she does. She should be fine for 7 hours if she isn't destructive. I leave mine for up to 10 hours when I'm working and Bob isn't home for some reason. If she is destructive, crate her. Get a nice size crate and don't feel bad about it. Once they become accustomed, it is no big deal. Duke still goes to his crate when he feels insecure, or we're desturbing his sleep! It becomes a safe zone and isn't punishment. My third option would be the doggie door.
I am thankful the visit with AC went so nicely. At least now they know if they get another call, the dog isn't being abused.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
Nicole,
When I say that with the size of this community there is probably someone who has experience that can help, I am not sure if I was really talking about situations such as this. However, we are all here to help you and Chloe and it will be a privilege to share anything we can.
Though not a personal visit, I too had AC respond to a complaint on my two white Standard Poodle littermates in 1994. It was during the single period of my life and I had a morning flight out of town with a evening return. I did not want to crate them (more on that later) and I did not want to send them to the kennel. So, I placed them in the side yard, in an exercise pen, with a portion of this run in their normal potty area. Well, I was written up by AC for excessive barking and told that if this occured again they would sieze my dogs. I know that it was not my close neighbors and probably more likely some one walking by, talking too loudly, disturbing them, attempting to look over my locked gate, and taking upon themselves to take action. There regularly are dogs that have become "loose" because owners do not check their fencing and some dogs that bark whenever any one walks by. Just yesterday during Avvy and my walk, we saw one dog laying in the front yard off leash, another that charged us, and a third that literally pulled the housekeeper who was walking the dog over to the ground and totally slipped their collar. Slow burn here before I contine .....
Since I first read this posting, Trouble has responded with excellent information. I have always crate trained my Standard Poodles. They have a 500 size Veri-Kennel that is large enough for myself and both of my whites to crawl into. It is never used as punishment. They are never fed or bed overnight in the crates. It is only for when no one is in the house. When Emily and I met, she told me that this was cruel eventhough she fed and bed her shelties in crates (mostly to keep them from stealing each other food.) Once married and living in the house, she watched as we went for "The Last Morning Potty Stop" and as they then went directly to their crates and waited for me to open the door. I always made sure that I was ready to roll before this routine. To them it was quiet time in their personal dens. Just days after Cherry returned from her amputation and not yet getting her legs under her, I left her on a pillow bedding and went outside for ten minutes. When I returned I found that she has walked down the hallway to the back bedroom where I kept the crates, nuzzled the door open, and entered to lay down. To her, it was her refuge.
They will adjust to the schedule and situation. I started by leaving small bowls of water on the crate door, but they were smart enough not to drink. Just make sure that there is plenty of personal time afterward for they will have slept during this crate time. Also, do not make a big deal of comming home and letting them out. Once again, this is just the "normal" routine.
I will have to admit that starting crate training as they are puppies was easy. Now I am facing this with a one year old rescue that has not had the best of experiences. She even has problems walking down the hallway. I am not sure if I really want to know why that is so very scary to her – especially after seening how well she handled the huge uncontrolled yellow lab charge us.
Best of luck and please keep us posted. We probably will not make the Morris walk because I do not want to continue Avvy's overload.
Bob
Yes, accidents during recovery seem pretty common for tripawds, even if they have had strong bladder control previously. She is probably better holding it than she was in the weeks immediately following surgery.
You might be able to ask animal control for more information. Presumably they spoke to the complainer and they might indicate that she now accepts the situation. On the other hand, if the person is a bit of a crack-pot, you might be able to suss that out. Once when I lived elsewhere, my immediate neighbour complained about Tazzie (well, she also complained about my cat, weeds, , fence even though the fence was built to enclose the cat (!), and just about everything and everybody else on the block) so she was extremely well-known to AC and all the city by-law enforcement types. Although AC thought she was a bit of a nut, they also indicated that she applied pressure that was hard for them to ignore.
My cat is named Pup (yes, more of a dog-person than a cat-person, I admit). Once he leapt out of his kennel and car when I arrived home with him. I shouted "Pup" and within 2 minutes there was an by-law officer in the alley. Obviously my neighbour heard me yell "Pup" and called AC, thinking the big bad dog - Tazzie - was on the loose. Kind of funny, that one. (Thankfully, I now have truly wonderful neighbours who adored Tazzie and actually built a ramp for him following his surgery.)
In my experience, calls to AC tend to happen early, before people get to know a dog and its human, plus the dog is less settled so might be more likely to get into certain situations. Well-meaning neighbours called AC on Tazzie's predecessor, Orko, when he was outside in my yard the first week I adopted him. (I could not find a way to keep him in the back yard, so eventually gave up and took him everywhere with me). During my MSc, he spent a lot of time outside on campus just hanging out, visiting and begging for food (this was probably not a great idea - I never would have done this with Crazy Tazzie). He was basically the gentle giant "dog-on-campus" and everyone, including security, liked having him around. Each September when school started, there would be calls and security would explain who Orko was - they often let him ride with them in their truck but did not take him to the pound.
Thanks for everyone chiming in and sharing your stories of dealing with nosy neighbors and the AC. It was such a shock to me since I am a law abiding citizen (not even a speeding ticket), a helicopter dog parent (basically she is spoiled), and that anyone I have told (who knows me) is also completely shocked. I wonder if I should go out of my way to spend time outside with Chloe doing my school reading so that when they do their peeping tom routine into my yard, they see that she has company. Maybe I can sweetly smile and wave or something. I wouldn't need to make a big deal by making lots of noise playing with her, but just make a point of being outside all the time until the neighbors are convinced I live outside with her or something. I do have a young face so maybe we will get the cops called on me for someone leaving their teen outside for child neglect! (I am an adult, but people ask me what grade I am in all the time. I'm like, "I'm in grad school and I am over the legal drinking age". Plus I'm not short and nor do I have braces). THAT would be funny.
I guess I am developing a sense of humor with the situation after all. I looked into crates for a dog her size, which are only 1/2-2/3 the cost of a sliding glass door insert. I think would be worth paying the bit extra for a sliding glass door dog if my roommates and landlord OK it. Regardless, I am going to start training her to go to a spot on the carpet when I open the door. I really appreciate all of your ideas and if it is a no go on the doggie door, I will look into the crates. I have had a night to "sit" on these ideas and I think this is the first course of action I am going to take. I guess it will give me more bonding time with her if I train her to do a new behavior!
-Chloe's mom (aka the "neglectful" tripawd pawrent)
P.S. In all honesty, my roommate pointed out that most people wouldn't have given their dog a second chance if they found out their dog had cancer. Especially if they are older (Chloe is 9 years old). If the neighbors who called knew she had cancer and that her tripawdness wasn't a byproduct of neglect I am sure they would eat their words. Maybe karma will magically work their way back to them. I am certainly not going to go out of my way to do so. In the mean time we are heading off to the beach and I am not going to let these people keep us down!!!
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
Ok so I got a notice in the mail about Chloe's excessive noise. I know she doesn't make noise when I leave because when I put her oustide, I would wait inside for 5 min and then leave. She would always go to her dog house and be quiet. The roommate who came home for lunch wouldn't hear anything until a few minutes after she was inside moving around because she wouldn't let Chloe in. Not that I am blaming my roommate, but I guess Chloe expected to be let inside if people were home. Maybe she would just whine while my roommate was there and probably continue to after she left. I literally had her in doggie day care yesterday so they must have called on Wednesday when I had her outside. Just to let people know, she has only been outside 6 times in the last month. We have had AC called on her for "neglect" and now for noise.
Guess she will just have to be confined indoors once I get her separation anxiety under control. I have been working with her on her separation anxiety, but I guess I don't have to practice having her outside on her own because we have nosy neighbors who apparently don't like dogs outside 2 times a week. I just feel horrible about wasting $150+ on a dog house that my parents bought and spent time building for her last month. Gosh I am just so pissed! I already corrected the problem and now I have more problems.
-Nicole
P.S. And I was having such a good day…now my stomach is full of knots.
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
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