We are currently trying to adopt a tri dog from a rescue. It's pretty far from where we live so we have to wait until 1/7 to get down there. If she hasn't been adopted yet (and she gets along with our 2 other rescues) then she will be ours to bring home!!!

We want to be prepared but don't want to overdue or overwhelm so any suggestions you could offer would help. She's a year old but I don't know when she had her surgery so I will need to check on that with the shelter. She lost her left front leg due to a car accident and neglect.

I'm a little nervous with the winter months closing in and being a new tri mom. From the little I've seen she seems pretty mobile but we are used to walking our dogs for about 30 minutes at least twice a day and are not sure she can handle that. We've been reading about beds, harnesses and elevated water bowls but really aren't sure what's best for her since we haven't had the chance to meet her yet. She's going to have a long 2 days of car rides just to get her back home, along with a hotel stay and I would like to know any recommendations from people on what they they think we should arrive with to get her home safely, and what we should wait to purchase until we get to know her and her needs a little bit better.

Any tips, suggestions and recommendations are greatly appreciated. We have learned a great deal from the blog already but know there is much more info out there that could be helpful. Thank you!

We didn't have to do anything special for Tate, but we didn't have to deal with snow and ice either.  I'd suggest getting a harness just to have on hand in case you need it.  After that, I'd be inclined to see how it goes.  Unless you are in the mood for shopping, of course.

30 minutes would have been a long walk for Tate but he was never a real long-walk kind of dog in the first place.  We used to regularly walk to my mom's, a little over a half mile away but that was too far for him post-amp and he was only 4 years old.  He'd rather play and could play outside for hours.  But he did take breaks and rest a lot more frequently after his amp. 

Tate was a rear amp, I'm sure a front-amp owner will weigh in.  How big is your future furkid?

Best of luck to you!

Thank you all for the help! She is a lab/retriever mix and appears to be on the small side currently weighing in at 31lbs. I should have mentioned that we live in a townhouse so she will be experiencing lots of stairs and steps. Thankfully the stairs are carpeted. We have some hardwood but already use lots of throw rugs due to the other paws in the house. Easy enough to increase those throughout. I figured going down would be the most challenging for her so we will definitely order a harness now and have that ready for when we pick her up. 

I will make sure that we both read up on the recommended info and we'll do some limited shopping to prepare. Great help, thanks!

Welcome to Tripawds! Please keep us posted on how things go.

A 30 min walk might be too much for a tripawd. Abby was only 15 mo when she had her amp. She is still able to go for an hour at the beach, but that is because it's off leash and flat and she can cruise along at her own pace, then rest and wait for me to catch up. In our neighborhood, which is hilly and she has to be on leash, she can only go for about 20 min, and that usually includes a good break at about the 15 min point. It is harder to walk a tripawd on leash since they need to sort of trot along to keep their momentum going.

You are very sweet to consider her. Hope all goes well.
Jackie, Abby's mom

Oh and I got some updates from the shelter. Her surgery was on November 8th, they get her about 4 weeks post-op. According to them she is no longer post -op, "you would never know she only has 3 legs". She manages a short set of 5 steps with no problems, although bigger staircases have not been tested.

Sounds like she could be a great little sister to my four year old Golden  and a nuisance to her older brother the Cockalier 

Just found out the dog we were trying to get was adopted today by another family. Feeling a mixture of sadness at our loss and happiness for her and her new life. 

I guess I shouldn't have ordered that harness so soon – dang it :(