Tripawds Three Legged Dog & Cat Forum Archives
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat. Explore 17+ years of forum archives for stories and answers to questions about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery. Enjoy fresh discussion and connect with members in the new Tripawds Support Circle.
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Hello there. My name is Natasha, I stumbled upon the site through Google. My husband and I adopted a female German Shepherd/Shar Pei puppy that we called Asuka. Literally 2 weeks after we got her, we went to pick her up to put her back in front of her food bowl, after she had kept running away from breakfast, and she squirmed. My husband ended up dropping her and as a stroke of bad luck she landed wrong and broke her leg. We ended up having a surgery done to fix it. Last week, she went in for a recheck and was healing well, but at some point between last Tuesday and this Friday she did something to her leg and re-broke the broken bone and another one. It was either a long surgery that had less of a chance of fixing her leg and more of a chance of causing her more pain than we wanted for such a young puppy. After a lot of consideration, my husband and I decided to have her broke leg amputated. It was done Friday evening but she seems to be doing so much better than she ever did while her leg was broken.
Any advice or comments would be greatly welcomed.
welcome natasha and asuka!! your future posts won't require moderation. what an awful trauma for asuka, and for you guys. glad the amputation surgery went well and she is already recovering. puppys are so resilient, and fortunately you are not also dealing with a cancer diagnosis. hopefully you've looked at Jerry's Required Reading List : http://tripawds.....ding-list/ which is a great starting point.
we'd love to see some pictures of your little one, please let us know how she is progressing!!
charon & spirit gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
Thank you so much. The link that you gave me was very helpful. There has been no talk of cancer diagnosis. At the moment, there aren't any pictures, due to a camera with a dead battery, but as soon as I get it charged, I'll get photos up. Thank you!! Having someone to talk to after this surgery will be wonderful.
Hi Natasha,
Thanks for joining us here, we are so sorry that Asuka has had such a tough time! We see quite a few dogs here whose leg didn't heal after a bad break, so you're not alone. I hope that her recovery goes well and she gets back to her usual self very soon.
Have you seen our CARE videos about canine rehab and amputation recovery? You might want to check them out, they're full of lots of useful information about life on three legs.
Sounds like she's home from the hospital? If so, remember to keep her activity to a minimum during the next week, so that she doesn't overdo things and hurt herself. After a week or two you can start to give her more freedom, the recuperation doesn't last forever.
So glad you're here. Can't wait to see some pics!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Oh your poor husband! What a terrible accident. But gosh, it sounds like everything will be okay now. This will just make Asuka that more special!
We are here if you need anything. Most of us are old pros at this 3 legged business!
One thing you'll need to do is cover any slick or slippery floors, like tile. Walmart has some matching ones in various sizes and they aren't expensive. Also, if you have ROSS Dress for Less, they have a great selection for less too.
Let us know if you need anything!
Healing wishes!
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.
Welcome to Tripawds.
Sorry to hear about Asuka's accident. Once she heals up from the amp I bet you won't even notice she is a three legger! The young pups that aren't battling cancer seem to bounce right back from surgery.
I hope she heals uneventfully. Looking forward to seeing pictures.
Karen and the pugapalooza
Welcome Natasha and Asuka, I'm sorry you had to find us here, but since Asuka is so young, she should bounce back quickly and adapt well. She will be a very special girl, that's for sure!
It's an awesome thing to be a tripawd pawrent, so welcome to the club!
Jackie, Angel Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
Thank you all. It really means a lot to have found this site after bringing Asuka home after her surgery. It was a big life change and a life saver to have so many people able to help out and answer questions.
poor little asuka, stuck in the 'cone of shame '... since she is a rear amp, you might try getting a pair of little boy's boxer shorts, and putting her tail through the fly. this way she can't get at the stitches and can be 'un-coned' at least for a little bit. obviously the boxer come off to pee and poop, but, it works pretty well to keep the incision covered.
charon & spirit gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
Welcome Natasha and Asuka
Love the Cone Of Shame photo! 
Spirit Samson was Spirit Tripawd Daisys four legged "brother" and ruled as the self proclaimed head of the Monkeybutt Federations East Coast Division. Lady Chunky Monkey stayed from Oct 2011 and left for the bridge in Apr 2012. Miss Perdy is left and has some big pawprints to fill.
Do you have what it takes to be a Monkeybutt? Find out more at the Monkeybutt Federation
Awwww. Poor baby! But glad she is home
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.
Thanks for the boxer shorts idea. However, since my husband works nights and I work during the day, we've got a system going where we can keep an eye on her and her have the e-collar off. She's doing pretty well, actually, a lot better than I thought she would be. The first time around with the e-collar was horrible and she did everything in her power to destroy it and her staples. But this time she's pretty calm about it and seems to know that as long as she behaves she can lay on her make-shift bed with the e-collar off.
Of course, only with mutter and vater watching her.
She's still probably pretty groggy. I'm glad you got a system. She sounds like she has some great nursing care!
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.
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