Liberty came home from the hospital last night! She had surgery on Sunday to remove her right hind leg after a nasty infection from a centipede (we think). On June 30th she was bitten by some kind of insect in Hawaii, many visits to the vet later we had to make the decision to amputate or let the necrosis continue to spread. 

She is doing a lot better than I thought she would. She is eating and moving around, the problem is actually getting her to be still and relax. Her brother Bandit (also a Shiba Inu, about 6 months younger than her) doesn't make it any easier! He has missed her a lot since she has been gone and wants to play.

She did alright last night, she's in a dog pen to restrict her movement and my husband and I slept downstairs with her on the air mattress. She hates wearing the cone and while she cant get her mouth to her sutures she can scratch them with the cone. We're keeping a close eye on her to make sure she doesn't do any damage. I'm home from work today with her and she seems to be doing well. She hasn't gone to the bathroom since we've been home but did go at the vet before we picked her up last night. 

I've taken her for a few walks since we've been home and she doesn't seem to be very interested in sniffing like she used to be, I'm not sure if its because she cant get her nose to the ground because of the cone or not. She still seems to enjoy the walk very much, I was surprised at how quick she gets around. She was always a fast little thing but I had thought the amputation would slow her down, not speed her up.

All in all, she seems to be recovering nicely. I'll keep everyone posted on her progress!

-Stephanie (Liberty's Mom)

 Liberty so glad you are home, I hope for a speedy recovery for you. Keep us updated on your progress!

 Jo Ann & Tasha

Heal quickly Liberty and stay away from those nasty bugs from now on…

Angel Jake's Mom

Hooray!  We're on day 10 and Ajax has gone in and out of his super-sniffer mode.  Basically, I think sometimes he's tired, and sometimes he's a little sore … I think Liberty will be back to her normal self soon, I wouldn't worry too much about it.  People on this site said there would be "ups and downs" and that has been true (our "downs" have been minor – more like "dips" – but I definitely notice what they were talking about)

Welcome, Liberty!  It's nice to see another Shiba around!  I have Max, a three legged Shiba mix, and Edward, a Shiba Inu with a short leg.  Don't think the missing leg is going to slow your little escape artist (if she's anything like mine) down!  Do you guys live in Hawaii or were you just visiting?  Anyway, best luck to you and your pups!