Tripawd Tuesday Shows Appropriate Exercise for Tripawds Pays Off for Eleanor

Many people don’t think their Tripawd needs rehabilitation therapy. Until an injury occurs. Please don’t wait for that to happen. Take time now to learn about appropriate exercise for Tripawds and avoid heartache later. Today’s Tripawd Tuesday salutes the Connaughton pack in Fort Worth, Texas for doing just that. Now, sweet Eleanor the German Shepherd amputee is living the good life thanks to their proactive approach to rehab therapy. Here’s what they shared about this lovely rescue girl dog.

Eleanor’s Second Chance at a Great Life

My husband and I are very new to the Tripawd world. We live in Fort Worth. Over the Christmas break, we saw a long haired German Shepherd on Petfinder who was down in the Houston area. She had recently been rescued by a wonderful rescue group.

She had been living in El Paso and the people who had her had her chained up in the back yard. The chain somehow cut her foot and the people she lived with wrapped an ace bandage around her foot so tightly that it cut off her circulation. She started biting at her foot and it got badly infected but was still not treated.

She was finally taken to the vet but the people still didn’t want to treat her. The vet would not let the people leave with her. By this time, she was going into septic shock. The vet contacted the rescue group and she had her amputation surgery in El Paso and was then transported to the Houston area.

Two weeks after her amputation surgery, she was spayed. Three weeks after that, we were able to go pick her up. She was badly malnourished while in El Paso and weighed only 37 pounds when picked up by the rescue. So, she still needs to gain some weight and get her strength up. She is standing up on her own more and more frequently.

Eleanor Improves with Proper Exercise

We have had her for a little over three weeks and have noticed a lot of improvement during this time. We renamed her Eleanor and she is just the sweetest dog and we are so sad that she had to suffer for so long but are so happy to have her. The vet estimates that she is almost two years old.

Our consultation was good and the vet gave us some recommendations for some additional therapy that we can do at home. He thought that Eleanor was doing really well and progressing well. We have continued working with her at home and allowing her to run around outside for a bit to exercise. We have started swimming in our pool but she is not as interested in swimming as I thought she might be. She is more interested in chasing the water from the hose than being completely in the water.

She has definitely improved tremendously from when we got her in January as she couldn’t stand up at all then and she stands for several minutes now. She is just so wonderful and being a tripod is definitely not holding her back.

We all need to understand the physical needs and limitations of our dog or cat, which is exactly what a visit to a licensed rehabilitation therapist can do for us. Please consider seeing one for your Tripawd’s sake. The Tripawds Foundation may even help you with a free Tripawd rehab therapy consultation!

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We Want Your Tripawd Tuesday Story!

Each Tuesday, Tripawd dogs and cats from around the world can enter for a chance to be “Tripawd of the Week.” Just share your Tripawd’s story and you’re entered to win! On every Tuesday of the week, tell us about your three-legged hero. Just follow these easy steps:

1. In a short paragraph or two (or longer if you’d like!), describe your three-legged hero’s story.
2. Include photos or links to videos already uploaded to YouTube.
3. Include a link to your Tripawds Forum topic and/or Tripawds blog, social media handles, etc.
   
4. Email your story and photos to us.

All entries must be received by Saturday at 11:59 pm. One Tripawd story will be selected at random to be featured the following Tuesday.

Is your dog or cat a Tripawd hero?