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Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

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The scariest day of our lives
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Member Since:
12 March 2015
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26 March 2015 - 9:22 am
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My parents had gone out to eat and I was in the back yard playing with my big brother Morgan, he is a Basset Hound and I am a Morkie. There was this really loud dog that wouldn't stop barking behind our house so we went to investigate. Without too much detail, the mean dog was bale to get his mouth through our fence and grabbed my leg. I was able to get away from him and somehow back into the house, where I waited for my parents. Well, you can imagine when my mom walked in the door she went berserk! My dad was able to keep a cool head and my aunt Nikki was there with them to help. Nikki and dad wrapped me in a warm towel and we jumped in the car to head to the emergency vet. I was scared, but my dad held me tight and I knew I would be fine from then on. 

This is Timmy's mom, Jena. That night was the scariest of my life! To walk in and see my little boy bloody, hurt, and shaking was just almost too much for me to handle. Thankfully my husband and best friend were able to keep calm and we were able to get to a vet. The Dr said the nerve damage was beyond Timmy's scapula, so he would be losing his front left paw. I was devastated. Not so much about him losing the paw as much as not keeping him safe. I can't tell you how many times we have checked our fence to make sure his little rambunctious self could not get out of the fence. It never occurred to me that another dog would stick his nose INTO our fence. The next morning Timmy had surgery and came home a few days after that. He is recovering well, getting around a bit better than I or his dad anticipated. His surgery site is still sore and he will get his stitches out next week. I think I am having a harder time adjusting than anyone else in our house. Morgan doesn't quite understand why I carry Timmy so much, and my husband constantly tells me I have to let him walk on his own. Now, I know this in my head...but when he hops over to me and just looks at me with those big brown eyes..I mean, what is a mom to do?!

I have never reached ever for help via a blog or website, but over the last several days I have really thought that maybe I should. I feel so guilty, even though I know that is ridiculous. My heart still hurts so much when I look at him, and I find myself looking at old pictures of him running in the yard when we had a snow fall or positioned up on his two front paws so he could see out of our living room window. I am sure that it will get better with time, but wanted to talk to people who have gone through this before to see if I am just being crazy. I appreciate any advice! 

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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26 March 2015 - 11:07 am
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Hi Morgan, Timmy and Jena, welcome to the club nopawdy wants to join. We are SO sorry about this awful attack, I can't imagine how traumatizing it was for everyone. It's great that Timmy is on the mend though, that's wonderful.

Jena you are definitely not crazy. You love your dog and there's not a single person here who wouldn't feel the same way. We all love our dogs and feel responsible for them (and we are, right?), and only want good things in their lives. When something bad happens it's easy to blame ourselves but the thing to remember is that Timmy doesn't hold it against you. He is just glad to feel better and on the mend and once he's done with recovery, he's going to move on much, much faster than you ever dreamed.

Animals are way more resilient than we ever give them credit for until we go through something like this. I promise you will get to see that part of Timmy shine and you will be so so proud! Until then, focus on all of the good things and every day achievements that he's enjoying. Don't dwell on the past, you have no control over that. The only  thing you can control is how you respond today. And the more pawsitive you are, the better the day will be!

Meanwhile, you mentioned that just his paw got removed? If so, he could be a good candidate for a prosthetic if you wanted to go that route. These OrthoPets video interviews describe how prosthetics work.

We would love to see some photos! Here are instructions for adding images to forum posts.

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Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Livermore, CA




Member Since:
18 October 2009
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26 March 2015 - 1:13 pm
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Welcome to you and Timmy.

My best advice is to take your cue's from Timmy.  Is he sad or worried about himself? I bet no.  Dogs have an amazing ability to just deal with what life gives them and keep moving.  Around here we say Be More Dog !

As far as carrying him- stop it!  My little pug Maggie lost her left rear leg to a mast cell tumor.  My parents, my Mom specifically, took to carrying her around while Mag was at their house.  Soon Maggie felt entitled to be carried around and if no one was there to take her outside she would pee in the house, something she had never done previously.  And my parents had just installed new carpet!  When I had Mag at my house she would sit outside and wait for me to carry her back....we had several stand offs before she realized I wasn't coming to get her (of course I kept an eye on her).  From then on she got around my house and my parent's house just fine.

She was too little to go up a lot of stairs on her own on one back leg, so we did carry her then.  And I got her a stroller, we called it a chariot, that she could ride in when she got tired on longer walks.

This is a great place to safely express your feelings- we are first and foremost dog and cat people.  Most of us have dealt with cancer, but there are lots of pets here who had amputations due to accidents or deformities.  We are so open minded that we even let people with four legged dogs and cats join big-grin.

I hope Timmy's recover continues uneventfully.

 

Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls

Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.

1999 to 2010

 

              Maggie's Story                  Amputation and Chemo

Martinsburg, WV
Member Since:
3 June 2014
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27 March 2015 - 11:42 am
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I'm so sorry that little Timmy and your family are having to go through this.  Like others have mentioned our furbabies are extremely resilient.  Timmy will adjust to his new normal and be just fine.  It's the humans in the pack with our emotions that seem to take a little longer to adjust.  Believe me you are not crazy...you just want to protect Timmy and have him happy and healthy.  That's what we all want for our furkids.

And there is nothing wrong with reaching out for help.  This community is wonderful and the worries that you're experiencing are things we've all been through.  We are happy to lend support and advice to new pet parents starting out on this journey.  The road of amputation can be a rough one at times...especially if one is dealing with an underlying illness such as cancer.  Fortunately, Timmy isn't dealing with an underlying illness and once he's past the recovery period he should be back to his old self.

Just hang in there...Timmy will surprise you!

Sahana and her Angel Leland 

Leland

November 17, 2009 - June 30, 2014

May you finally be healthy and running free at the Rainbow Bridge. Until we meet again my sweet boy!

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