Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Elly has been gopher hunting for months, she is obsessed with the numerous dirt mounds and holes at the park. She pulls me back and forth across the grass outside fenced dog park and sniffs each mound and sticks her nose in the open holes. Once inside the dog park and off leash she has a route she patrols checking on the colony.
Last week she finally saw a gopher for the first time! It popped its head up once then dove back down when it sensed us. Then it back-filled the hole like gophers do so nothing follows it down the hole. Elly was pretty excited and has been practically manic at the park going from hole to hole looking for a creature. I was already pitying the next gopher Elly ran across!
It happened today.
You would expect carnage from the Wolf in TriPugMutt clothing, right? Well, no. Have you seen those commercials for Lifelock? You know- where they only 'monitor' a problem instead of fixing the problem? I think Elly might need some pointers from Gator and Megastar on what to do after you identify the prey.
You have to look carefully, the gopher actually sits there for several seconds. And this went on for almost 5 minutes. It would pop up, dump some dirt, look around, then go back down. Elly barely moved the whole time!
Hoooowwwllllllll!
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
ELLY! You are THE cutest Gopher Monitor!! Yes, you need to be the next star for the Lifelock commercial!
You are still as a statue!!! The focus is unbelievable!! 🙂
I need to watch it again as I missed seeing the Gopher poke his head out. I know their eyesight is really, really bad, but surely the fella' smelled you!!
Yeah, you need a few tips from Meg and Gator!
You ALWAYS make us smile Elly! Thanks!
Love!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Okay...I got a glimpse of the Gopher! 🙂 Looks like a youngster.
Such a cute video! 🙂
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
It's hard to see but if you watch the hole you can see the movement, I didn't want to move and scare it. It is pretty small...and not too smart! Probably a youngster.
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
That's just adorable. I love her focus and the way her whole body twitches in response to the gopher's movements but her feet stay rooted to the ground. She is definitely the ultimate Gopher Monitor. I love the music too.
Meg is actually very good with gophers. She has never chased one, never even sniffed in a gopher hole. It's the one area in which her behaviour could truly be said to be impeccable. Of course, we don't have gophers in the UK, so that most probably helps.
You won't be surprised though, Elly, to learn that Meg's lack of any relevant knowledge or expertise (we had to look up what a gopher was..) doesn't stop her dispatching advice. Having reviewed your video several times, Meg's opinion on the matter is that you need to get stuck in. You're standing too far back. This, says Meg, is burrow position. You're dabbling, Elly, dabbling...
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, November 2023, adopted January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Elsie Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
Attack, and dig. Giant Gator claws can move a lot of dirt. Oh, and then Mom yells at you to stop diggng and since you have learned the word "no" you have to stop and then the prey escapes and you track muddy dog footprints throughout the house and up onto Mom's bed. And then repeat next time you go outside.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
HA!HA!HA! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 Meg and Gator are very skilled teachers!!! 🙂
I'm having THE best time watching Elly's video over and over 🙂 The focus and frozen still stance (except for the twitching) is soooooo funny! And to not lunge at "baby" gopher is unbelievable restraint! Maybe.....just maybe....they had a little "agreement" and developed a new game that only they know how it's played 🙂
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
I love it. Jazz roots out moles or maybe they are gophers so she follows the burrows all over their yard. I don't know what she would do if she actually saw one. Oh by the way it sure makes fun for cleaning the yard and mowing.
Way to go Elly
xoxoxo
Michelle & Angel Sassy
Sassy is a proud member of the Winter Warriors. Live long, & strong Winter Warriors.
sassysugarbear.tripawds.com
07/26/2006 - Sassy earned her wings 08/20/2013
05/04/2006 - Bosch, Sassy's pal, earned his wings 03/29/19 fought cancer for 4 months.
"You aren't doing it TO her, you are doing it FOR her. Give her a chance at life."
Love this! LOL gopher monitor indeed! Elly is a lover not a killer. Or......maybe she just wasn't hungry lol. Wolfy Elly will stare them to death lol.
But if she just stares at them, she is missing the fun part of tracking mud through the house, and up onto the bed. Now, she might not be able to track as much mud in - in addition to being a quad, Gator has very very big feet - but that it a crucial part of the hunt experience.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
The only time Murphy ever dug in the yard was when he smelled the gopher in the hole. Seeing a big, black rear Tripawd digging to China was quite something! Ollie hasn't had the pleasure of gopher monitoring, yet. He concentrates on squirrels.
For the most part, when we see a gopher mound, we open it with water and then shove a whole bunch of dog poop down, followed by a shovelful of dirt. So far it has worked pretty well. I always knew that dog poop had to be good for something besides sticking to shoes!
Karhi and the Turbotail April Angel...and the Labradork
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
OMD - this is great! Elly, Max can't believe that you just stood there!!! He would have barked, and barked, and barked! Whenever we have something that decides the make it's den under our deck (usually bunnies, but there have also been a groundhog, an opossum & a raccoon), all 3 dogs work together to try to trap whatever it is. You would be surprised how fast a 30lb groundhog can run! And they can climb a fence, too. They dig a hole under 1 side of the deck and have 2 escape holes - 1 in the front of the deck & 1 on the other side of the deck. The only way to block them would be to install fencing 18" deep.
So have fun chasing Elly!
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
Perhaps prayers to Spirit Yoda or a consultation with Tripawd Girldog Extraordinaire Codie Rae are in order...
Beware the Skwirl!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
BWAHAHAHA! Around here we can't even mention the word school. It seems to sound way to much like squirrel and sends Ollie racing for the window.
Kathi
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
Otis also dug for critters. He could hear them moving around beneath the ground (as can Gator). There was one spot where there must have been a large den, and he would dig and dig. And of course, Tess and Otis would hunt together. They were beautifully choreographed, even after Otis became a Tripawd, just not fast enough to catch anything. Gator, however, is much faster. . .
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
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