Hello everybody,

The dog's story I want to share with you started on 13th (sic!) August. I was coming back from my grandma's who lives in a country side when I saw a dog lying on the pavement across the road. I pulled out and drove to the other side of the road. The dog was in shock – his front right leg was totally crashed. I called the people from the local shelter from homeless animals, where I voluntee, and in some 30 minutes they came and the dog was given treatment. He stayed at my place for two days, in the meanwhile it turned out that his right hind leg is broken… The dog was taken to the vet to had the front leg amputated and the hind one screwed. Since I live on the fourth floor and the dog is a mid-sized one, he is staying at the house a befriended woman from a local pro-animal ngo till the hind leg is cured. I visit him as often as I can and bring moisture absorbing mats, food, vitamins.
My huge concerns is this hind leg – the vet decided that the metal parts will be left in it. I would like to keep the dog, but I am afraid hopping up and down 4 floors might have a negative effect on the bones and I won't be able to carry him :-( So waiting when he gets more "photografable" and will start looking for a foster home for him, in a house or on a ground floor.
Does anyone of you had or has an animal like that – with front leg amputated and back one fixed?
Thank you in advance for your feedback and all the best to you and your tripaws!
Paulina

I don't have any advice as our pup was "just" a front leg amp and we do not have to deal with stairs at our house, but I wanted to say welcome and you've come to the right spot. And also hooray for you and the shelter and your friend for all working together to save this sweet pup!

All the best,
Jackie, Abby's mom

Hi,
Thanks for the welcome greetings!
The guy's name is Kosma (just read that in greek it stands for "order" and "beauty", hmmm…) and he's no puppy, the vet said he's around 10 years old… But quite a fighter, he survived two operations! Very lively and curious dog, though I am sure he hates us now – until the screws build into the bones and muscles he can move around as little as possible, so most of the day he is kept in a cage, and taken out for a pee and the other thing :-(
"Djbockman" – you mentioned the harness, any idea if it can be bought in Europe?
Please keep your fingers crossed for the hind leg!
Take care.
Paulina

I'm sure any number of people here would buy and ship the Ruffwear harness to Kosma. I would. Are there any on the angel exchange at the moment? Paulina, you can always (unless Mr. Admn. says you can't) post and ask if someone will get the harness to you. Reimbursement can always be handled. Do you happen to have a Paypal account? That's one way.

Shari

Hi again and thank you a lot for sharing your experiences. Visited Kosma today while he was having some good time chewing on a shop-made bone outside the cage. The scar from the amputation is getting nicer, looks quite neat. As for the fixed rear leg, the part where the wire was sticking out (it's shortened now) is unwrapped to let the air quicken healing of the wound. Now he weighs some 13 kilos (29 lbs) which is not much for a middle-sized dog, but he's got quite an appetite, and looking healthier every day.

I am leaving on a long awaited holidays (ticket bought in March) on Friday, back on 24th, hope to share with you Kosma's progress in recovery. I'm leaving him in the best hands possible, so I am sure he will be fine.

Take care and thank you agian for your warm feedback.

Paulina

Paulina, hit the "post new reply" button, below. Start to type, and when you get to the middle of the page (the one I am typing in now), you will see a little green tree. To the right of it is a piece of movie film, then something with a "T" on it. So right about the middle, directly over your first line of type, will be the tree. See it? In my post here, where I'm typing, it's directly over the word "to" in the phrase "start to type." See if that helps.

Shari