Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello! We just adopted a 40 lb rescue dog who is missing her left front paw. She has her wrist joint and a little nub below it. We are looking into prosthetics to keep her gait more balanced and supported. Does anyone have experience with this type of disability? She's 1 1/2 years old and we are hoping to stabilize her so her joints and spine stay as healthy as possible as she ages. Our vet is consulting with an ortho vet to see if we should go see one to consider partial or full amputation to help her body as she ages. It's a tough call because her front leg is healthy. Thank you.
Hi Natalie, welcome! What's your dog's name? Thank you for adopting her!
As far as her leg, she's in a really good position to wear true prosthetics . Most folks' dogs aren't so fortunate, the entire leg has to come off because of cancer, or they have a vet who doesn't know about the benefits of prosthetics . See the link for all our articles about how they work, who's a good candidate, etc.
Generally speaking, the more residual limb, the better! Being able to wear a prosthetic throughout her life will absolutely help her have better mobility and less osteoarthritis as she ages. It's a time and money commitment for sure, but if you're willing, it can make all the difference for her quality of life. I wish all Tripawds had that opportunity!
I love that your vet is consulting with an ortho vet. That's a sign you have a great team on your side. There are many prosthetic makers out there but our all-time favorite is OrthoPets . They've been doing it longer than anyone else and have the biggest team of experts making the devices. Their founder is also interviewed in our articles.
We would love to follow along with her journey and hope you will keep us updated. Oh, be sure to check out our Adoption articles so you can get a good idea of the road ahead. It'll be a fun one for sure!
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