Tripawds Three Legged Dog & Cat Forum Archives

 Hello!  New to this forum and glad to have found a group of fellow tripod parents.   Whiskey was a stray of unknown age who was picked up and taken to a rural, high kill shelter.  I had just been approved to foster for Lab Rescue and I asked to foster him because he had the sweetest face and, for some reason, because he had a leg injury.  I thought we could help him heal and find a forever home.  We already had two lab rescues and a rescue cat.  

The transporter showed up with a silky black boy who was completely submissive and dragging his left front leg.  He would lie down every two steps when we walked him.  Finally, my son picked him up and carried him into the house.  I know, the wrong way to introduce a new animal but he would not get up off the ground.   It worked though, and within an hour, he was playing with our other two dogs and the cat.

I looked through his medical records and saw that he had no pain response in the leg.  He was falling over it.  I took him to the rescue vet, who immediately said that the leg needed to come off as all the nerves in the shoulder were severed from some kind of trauma.   The surgery was scheduled for the next week.  In the meanwhile, my three boys and husband had started lobbying to keep Whiskey.  The foster coordinator had warned me that most foster parents adopt at least one of their fosters.

I dropped him for surgery and they told me that he would need to stay for about three days.  The next morning, they texted me pictures of Whiskey attending their staff meeting and loving on everyone.  I picked him up that afternoon.  Apparently, because he had no feeling in the leg, he had no phantom leg pain and very little discomfort.  He healed very quickly and when cleared to go for a walk, he went three miles and begged for more.  He prefers running to walking, probably because it is easier for him.   This is fine with me, as I am a distance runner.  I never expected a three legged dog to outrun me and my other four legged running partner.

This was in April.  Needless to say, we could not part with him.  He has the sweetest disposition of any dog I have ever met.  People stop their cars to admire him and everyone wants to pet him.  I'd like to have him become a therapy dog.   He is like a blanket, just drapes himself on you.   He looks like a panther and I think he is a black lab/greyhound mix  He is about fifty pounds and slim. The vet thinks he is young, probably about a year old.   I am looking forward to learning more about tripods here.  So far, he is doing wonderfully but I want to educate myself about any potential health issues for him.