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Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

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emotional wellbeing of recent tripawd adoptive dog
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Member Since:
23 August 2022
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22 October 2022 - 7:13 pm
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Hello!  I have been browsing all of the information on the forums and have a few questions for you all.  I recently adopted a tripawd who is a street dog from outside of Houston, Texas.  He had been with the rescue for a few years and finally had to have his rear leg amputated in February of 2022.  He is just the most lovely dog but I feel like he is learning to adapt to his missing leg with a bit of emotional baggage.  He is very sensitive and stubborn and actually started to shut down after his amputation.  They were able to get him in with a foster who was absolutely wonderful with him.  He loves other dogs and going on walks but he is super stubborn about when he doesn't want to do something and will just dig in his front legs and lock them up.  He is a "Houston brown dog super mutt" probably pittie/boxer/basset hound/lab/etc.  I have been taking the first 2 months that he has been in his forever home to build trust with him but I know that we need to establish boundaries soon.  

I am very comfortable dealing with a mobility challenged dog.  I actually have a ramp that my neighbor built for my previous dog who was a German Shepherd with spinal fusion.  Dudley ( the new tripawd) is able to use it and I have rugs, comfy dog bed etc for him.  My question for the group is how to deal with the emotional part of losing a leg.  Has anyone had issues with mental barriers?  He was a street dog in a really bad area and managed to survive with the help of a buddy who is also at the same rescue I got Dudley from.  Dudley isn't much for toys and he absolutely loves people and other dogs.  We do dog walks with my neighbor and a few dogs once a week into the woods across from my house.  Any advice into supporting the mental wellbeing of a tripawd is appreciated.  He was starting to shut down before the amputation because he wasn't being adopted and it seemed to have just gotten worse afterwards.  He is still happy but I sense that things are a little off.

Thank you for any insight <3

The Rainbow Bridge



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23 October 2022 - 1:34 pm
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Hi and welcome to you and Dudley! He’s so lucky to find his way to an experienced pet parent like you!

Be sure to check out our  adopting a Tripawd articles when you get a chance. Our e-book, Loving Life On Three Legs , is also a good resource about caring for a Tripawd.

My question for the group is how to deal with the emotional part of losing a leg.  Has anyone had issues with mental barriers? 

I’m so glad you brought this up. Many times what we believe is psychological is actually unaddressed pain. A new Tripawd who maybe didn’t have an ideal recovery, or has not been given strengthening exercises, will often suffer from pain issues that cause his behavior to be seen as stubbornness. Or, if they’re so gung ho to keep up with the pack that they do too much too soon. What it often turns out to be is the dog self-limiting their activity, giving us non-verbal pain signals like sitting down, walking with a hunched back end, tail tuck, that sort of thing.

When he is showing stubborn behavior, when does that happen? Is it during the walks with the other dogs? 

Sensing that things are off could be your gut instinct that he’s in pain. What is his daily activity like? How long and how far are his walks? 

Did he have any rehab therapy after surgery? If not, please take advantage of the Tripawds Foundation rehab reimbursement program which pays for your first rehab visit . It’s the best way to find out if this issue is physical or not, and for you to learn what his strengths and weaknesses are, and how to keep him strong and fit for life. 

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23 October 2022 - 2:23 pm
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Thank you for the insight!  Dudley has been with my family for 5 weeks now.  He was at the rescue facility in Texas for 900 days and had his rear leg amputated in February of this year.  I joined the Tripawd community to read up on what to expect before he arrived in Oregon.  We do short walks into the woods and he does have a tendency to push himself when he's with the other dogs.  My neighbor makes sure to keep the dogs within eyesight of us and also will make sure that they aren't running too hard.  It's more of a stroll with short spurts of running on a mostly flat road.  He forgets that we have to turn around and walk back sometimes.  That's when we take it slowly.

I don't think the rescue had the money to do the rehab as thoroughly as they would have liked to.  He went into a foster home with a few other rescue dogs.  His foster mom would take them to the dog park every other day, weather permitting.  I notice that he is turning his spine to the left side where his leg is missing and suspect that maybe his hip is bothering him?  He's really good about letting me massage his back as well as his rear leg and hips.  I have a dog heating pad that I just started using for him.  He can move to the other side of his dog bed when he doesn't want the heat.  

He is about 60 lbs and I am working on getting his weight down to more on the lean side.  He was notorious for being stubborn before the amputation and is very opinionated about when/where he wants to walk.  I do have an acupuncture vet that I used for my late GSD and also for my 17 year old cat.  As soon as I am able to do a car ride with Dudley, I will be bringing him in for acupuncture sessions as my wallet permits 🙂  His bed is a futon style filled with 10 lbs of wool.  I had bought the bed for my old GSD as he had really bad arthritis.  It is actually really comfortable and I wish I had my own wool filled futon!  Being a street dog for the first 2 years of his life in a really horrible stretch of train yards, wrecking yards, etc. really took a toll on him.  He was rescued from the streets by Corridor Rescue.  They pull dogs from the Corridor of Cruelty that are in bad shape and rehabilitate them and adopt them out.  Dudley had a really bad case of mange and a leg that had been fractured and healed badly.  That was the leg that they finally had to amputate.  

During the work week, he goes for a walk with my mother along the road (2 telephone poles, as my mom calls it) so probably about a little over half a mile total.  We do a couple of walks up the road into the woods when I get home from work...probably about 1/2 a mile each time.  I am able to let him off leash as he doesn't try and go over the bank or up into the woods, he is content sniffing all the smells and tossing leaves around.  He is prone to holding his urine if he doesn't want to walk and doesn't do a lot of marking like most male dogs.  He is neutered and really is just the happiest friendliest dog ever.  He doesn't deal with aggressive dogs and will turn away from them or bolt, as I found out a few days ago.  Fortunately the dog he bolted from is not always off leash on the property (our neighbors above us have a malinois who comes off super challenging but doesn't follow through, short of posturing and barking.)  She isn't Dudley's favorite dog after getting in his face a few times.  We know when she is outside and I make sure to keep him on leash and respect when he wants to turn around and go home.  

His foster mom said that he is prone to lounging around.  We weren't sure if his activity level would change coming from Texas to the Oregon Coast.  He is a bit more active here but once the rain started to show up, he started resisting going outside.  I've been working on him with going out when there are little windows of just drizzle to show him that it is ok and that he won't melt 🙂  Usually when he is refusing to go forward, he will head straight back to the front door of my trailer.  So it's basically wanting to go back home.  I've been working on building the trust but also pushing his boundaries a little bit at a time.  The rescue said that he's basically got the personality of a cat.  If he doesn't want to do it, his mind is made up.  

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The Rainbow Bridge



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23 October 2022 - 9:57 pm
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Aww what a very, very lucky doggo to make his way up to you. Such a beautiful part of the country and not hot either! We just spent a few months near Eugene, wish we would have been able to meet up then.

So it's still very early in his life with you, and relatively early for a dog who just lost a leg. That c-shape you are seeing is how a rear-legger will try to modify their gait so it's easier to move. It will get more pronounced over time, especially if bad habits set in as far as walking, sitting, etc. So yeah, definitely get him to that acupuncturist of yours. As long as they are a CCRT or CCRP credentialed practitioner they will be able to give him a balanced set of modalities, like acupuncture, massage, gentle stretching, balance work, etc.

He is a very lucky dog to get such interaction with different people. Honestly I would cut those walks way, way back though. Rehab therapists tell us that even fit Tripawds should only walk 10-15 minutes at a time, two or three times daily (it's better than one or two long walks). Dogs will definitely keep going until they drop, it's us to the human to put limits on them or they won't. 

You've done your homework and that's awesome! Learning to balance Dudley's needs with keeping him active and engaged will take time but you've got good instinct and will get there! 

I think the therapist can let you know if what you are seeing is Dudley giving pain signals or maybe something else. I'm guessing it's just too much activity right now. Once he loses weight he will be able to walk longer and keep up with the pack a bit more. Our Nellie lost 15 pounds after we adopted her and its unbelievable how much she can do now! Dudley will get there too.

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26 October 2022 - 9:18 am
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He's a lucky boy now that he has you!

One observation I have from my many street rescues (cats and dogs) is that they do eventually love the absolute novel experience of becoming family "couch potatoes". It can take a while for the individual dog or cat to become really bonded with me and adapt to living as a wanted pet in a happy home. I've slowly learned that it is better to limit their outside interactions during that process. It seems important for them to grasp they are in their permanent home base and that it is theirs and very safe. Roaming around on walks was too stressful for a few of my street rescue dogs - so we made our own little adventures at home.

It is very, very hard for a street dog or cat with a disability. Their natural level of physical insecurity and fear is significant. They know they can no longer defend or protect themselves. This increases their stress levels which is not good for their immune systems nor their ability to emotionally bond with their new family.

I've learned to pull back on their outside stimulation and instead focus more on giving them the 'boring normality' of home life -something they are starving for! Watching a movie with "couch potato" sitting beside or nearby is awesome for them. They learn to understand the regular rhythm of sounds, smells and movements of the home and become calm and normalised to them - and eventually feel secure and comforted by them. To me this is the absolute ideal for a street cat or dog to finally experience, especially one with physical limitations.

The Rainbow Bridge



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26 October 2022 - 11:08 am
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Carolina, you are so in tune with rescue animals needs. Thank you for this insight. It makes total sense as we are discovering many of these things with our Nellie, who came to us with a malformed leg and was found wandering on the street.

She is totally loving being a couch potato these days! But when we do move our RV to a new location, which we have done several times since she joined us, is that she tends to behave as if she wants to run away when we take her on leashed walks to explore her new surroundings.

We just landed in a new spot for six months, and I am hoping that she will feel more at ease in her new winter neighborhood and with the rhythm of our daily life here. Thanks again for sharing.

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26 October 2022 - 12:47 pm
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jerry said
Carolina, you are so in tune with rescue animals needs. Thank you for this insight. It makes total sense as we are discovering many of these things with our Nellie, who came to us with a malformed leg and was found wandering on the street.

She is totally loving being a couch potato these days! But when we do move our RV to a new location, which we have done several times since she joined us, is that she tends to behave as if she wants to run away when we take her on leashed walks to explore her new surroundings.

We just landed in a new spot for six months, and I am hoping that she will feel more at ease in her new winter neighborhood and with the rhythm of our daily life here. Thanks again for sharing.

  

You're welcome.

I'm slowly figuring out that there can be a 4-6 month adaptive phase on a deep level. For example, Trixie was my biggest fan within 24 hours but we're still adapting! That's her and me and family and the other pets all adapting and merging. It's quite a lot when one thinks about it!

During this phase the dog or cat will go through various stages depending on age, condition, trauma, etc. I now think of it as the second puppy or kitten phase.... they need baby security, baby routine, to learn who's their papa/mama and how to operate confidently in new environs that are their forever home and how to play with us safely. My cats and dogs like to have their little play/jokes with us, each is fun-silly in their own way sometimes only for a minute or two each day.

Trixie for example wants to play-tug-of-war with me now, she did not at first (due to fear) and has never really had a chance to learn how to. Since she has severe mobility restrictions we pretend to play tug of war when she's on my lap on the sofa. However (possibly??? because she was maimed so young) she doesn't have great social skills and so can nip quite hard when "playing". This is OK for me but not so nice for my smallest rescue dog.... it is trial and error. In my case loads of errorsicon_lol but cats and dogs are surprisingly forgiving.

The Rainbow Bridge



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27 October 2022 - 11:12 am
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You can write a book on this Carolina! Your insight is reassuring to me as we learn to cope with how our Nellie is testing her boundaries and limits we've set around here.

I don't want to hijack this topic anymore. But honestly if you'd like to to do a guest blog post about your experience caring for Trixie and other special needs pets, I'm more than happy to publish it. PM me if you're interested 🙂

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27 October 2022 - 6:31 pm
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Carolina!!!  Thank you for those much needed observations!  Dudley is happy just hanging out and getting some dog time with friends and human time.  I wanted to make sure that we built a bond slowly over time and also get a routine.  When I first got him home, he slept for 3 days straight.  He traveled on a transport from Texas with multiple barking puppies.  It was actually pretty funny when we were waiting in the parking lot of the Target in Portland, Oregon at 6:30 am and a van pulled up full of barking dogs.  There were about 8 other people who were waiting for their adopted dogs and they all got cute little puppies.  I stepped and said "I'm here for Dudley"  He was the dog who stress panted for the entire drive.  The transport driver knew him very well as his wife is the president of the rescue we got him from.  He took the time to hang out with us after everyone else had left and gave us all of the insight into Dudley's personality.  We had to drive another 3 hours back to the Oregon coast and as soon as we arrived at the house, he ran up the ramp into my trailer and laid down.  A few hours later, I was finally able to get him outside to do bathroom business but he was done with people.  The next day, he discovered the fun part of my parents house and met them with his tail wagging like crazy...and then he started farting.  

I've waited for 6 weeks to take him for a car ride.  He is not a fan of riding in cars and we live outside of the city in the woods so he has enough activity to keep him entertained.  He's slowly been owning his territory and becoming more comfortable.  I've learned that I can push him a little bit out of his comfort zone but I don't force him to do things he doesn't want to.  I do worry that he's going to become too complacent in just hanging out on his dog bed but we do go for a few walks daily and meet up with mellow dogs that our neighbors have.  A few weekends ago we walked over to my neighbor's house so he could hang out with his buddies and meet their dog friendly horse.  He loves inspecting people's properties 😉  The hard thing for me is making sure I'm not exercising him too much.  I have noticed that when he's on the dog bed, he points his remaining back leg forward.  My old GSD started to do that when his arthritis and spinal fusion issues got bad.  I do a lot of massaging him in the evenings and we do a little play time in the morning when I get up.  He really likes it when I cover him up with his blanket and he also does the boxer front feet smacking around.  

His foster mom told me that his bed is his sacred space...and that is obvious!  If my 18 year old visually impaired cat comes down to move past his bed, he growls.  He's never tried to lunge at her or do any aggressive behavior, just warning her that the bed is off limits.  She is a street cat that I brought back with me from Virginia to Oregon and can tell that he isn't going to try and hurt her.  I still keep her sectioned off from him when I'm not home, just in case!  She doesn't care, she spends most of the day snoring away in my bed.  

I did see a moment last week where Dudley showed he had enough of my other neighbor's Malinois.  She is a good dog but very protective of the driveway where we walk down to go into the woods.  She does the full tilt Malinois run and full barking up into Dudley's face but that is where it ends.  She is totally fine with him if we are up on their property but that one time, Dudley was done with her.  He turned around and started running home.  Fortunately I was able to get him to stop and wait before he reached the road that is somewhat busy.  I will not be letting him off leash around her until she is able to be chill when she sees us.  I can tell that he felt vulnerable and the best solution was to head home to his safe place.  She is used to my old GSD who recently passed away before I got Dudley.  Kota would just bark in her ear and whack her with his paw.  Dudley does weekend walks with my other neighbor's dogs, a German Short hair and a Border Collie...both older boys who are really mellow.  They are more interested in sniffing around the woods and running ahead just a little bit.  Their dad doesn't let them get all crazy and run around Dudley.  I figured it would take about 4 or 5 months to get that sense of finally being home.  Thank you for reassuring me of that!  It's hard to gauge the amount of time rescues truly need to feel like they are home.  

Here is a picture of Dudley (The Dude) on my neighbor's deck with his buddy Phynn after meeting the horse and doing property inspection.  He was a little sore afterwards and next time I will drive over with him, since he ran around with the boys so much.  They don't live far but it is a long walk for a tripawd after hanging out in the yard and inspecting the barn 🙂

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Virginia







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27 October 2022 - 9:04 pm
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Love the picture of Dudley chilling out with his neighbor.  

Uoi are definitely  giving  that sweet boy the vest life any pupper could want!

And the same applies to Trixie.

Having the privilege  of having many shelter /rescue dogs dogs int home and inyheart, I thought I was pretty savvy about how to best help them acclimate to their "new everything". 

I appreciate  very mich the tios you tonjave shared that I can add to my tool box as needed.

Thoroughly  enjoyed reading  about Dudley and Trixie too!

Hugs

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!

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28 October 2022 - 6:44 am
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jerry said
You can write a book on this Carolina! Your insight is reassuring to me as we learn to cope with how our Nellie is testing her boundaries and limits we've set around here.

I don't want to hijack this topic anymore. But honestly if you'd like to to do a guest blog post about your experience caring for Trixie and other special needs pets, I'm more than happy to publish it. PM me if you're interested 🙂

  

Jerry you're very kind as always and it's one of the reasons I've thoroughly enjoyed joining Tripawds.

I'd love to start working on a blog post -warts and all- smiley3 and will think about it seriously. I'm in the process of trying to bring one of my recent rescue dogs 'inside' while trying to get my new one eyed rescue cat to let me put a harness on her so I can integrates her.... and that is proving to be very interesting and quite challenging.

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28 October 2022 - 7:28 am
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tapatio

You and Dudley are a match made in heaven. smiley_clap

You're doing a lot of observing to monitor and understand him and that's something I've been learning to do!

I'm also slowly figuring out how not to push my limits too much - that's as bad as pushing theirs too much! So I understand the need for the leash to give you peace of mind. If we humans are feeling like calm and in-control "parents" then I'm pretty sure it helps our pets to be more chill.

One thing I am trying to do is not feel guilty for not "over-compensating" for their history and experiences on a daily basis. I sometimes really stress myself out trying to make-up for their sad past instead of simply enjoying the fact they now have a safe forever home with me and that's a HUGE change to their little lives.

Another thing I am trying to do is let Trixie have her "high energy" morning and then rest the remainder of the day. I figure that after a good nights sleep she can deal with more activity in the morning - which is also when most animals are in high spirits. Then I'm trying to keep her relatively calm and quiet the remainder of the day to save stress on her remaining front leg. This is when I move her from her outside bed to her inside couch. An evening toilet break before I go to bed is sometimes necessary.

It's lovely that Dudley is getting to know other dogs who accept him, he's really getting to experience the joy of being a family dog made part of your active daily lives. Wanting to being master of his bed is really interesting, I would suggest not giving him food treats on his bed. My indoor rescue dog growls when the cats jump on the couch and try to groom her (their sand paper tongues hurt her sensitive skin) but she's harmless. The only time she gets a little snappy is when I was giving her chewy treats on the couch. Though she was not attacking the cats I wanted them to be comfortable jumping up for a snuggle with me so I stopped. All my rescues are more or less food oriented so I try to be cautious about it and also use it in a positive way to control/train them and 'diet' them. If Dudley is nervous of being taken in the car (because he has a bad association with it) then giving him a treat when he gets near the car and another to entice him into the car might help him see it more positively. I use bits of left over chicken as a special bribery treat that's also low fatsmiley2but I then cut down the evening meal.

Good lucksp_hearticon2

The Rainbow Bridge



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28 October 2022 - 11:14 am
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Dudley and Phynn are saying so much in that photo. Mainly "Why do you humans work so hard? This is what life is all about!"

I love being surrounded by such intuitive pet parents here. Like Sally, I'm grateful for everything I learn from folks like y'all when it comes to helping dogs be the best they can be, to give them the space and time they need to shine. As mom to Nellie, a dog we recently adopted when she was 8 years old (or around there), getting to know an older rescue dog is all new to us so I can't thank you enough for reinforcing the fact that it takes time, observation, and patience to help them blossom. Thank you for sharing! 

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28 October 2022 - 7:24 pm
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you all have given me so much insight and assurance that I am going in the right direction with Dudley.  My previous dog was a "rescue" as well.  He was on Craigslist and my husband wanted a German Shepherd so bad...I didn't want to spend $800 at a breeder for a puppy and we settled on $400 for Kota.  We got him at the age of 6 and he had a lot of issues to work through.  He had been repeatedly sold to people for 2 years straight after coming up from California to Oregon.  He hadn't stayed in a home for more than a year without being re-homed for money.  He came to us and he was with us until the end of his life.  When I was browsing dogs on Petfinder, Dudley popped up as a match.  I never wanted to adopt out of state but he was just the perfect match for our family.  I actually considered the fact that he was a tripawd as a reason for adopting him.  I was already ready to deal with mobility challenged dogs and he would be lower energy for my parents who walk him when I'm at work.  

I've learned a lot about a tripawd...like don't lift up their only remaining leg and not be prepared for them to topple over!  And shaking off the water after it's being raining turns into a huge thrashing about event, or maybe that is just Dudley's thing.  He hates getting wet and I tell him every day, "sorry but you're living on the Oregon coast now...this is drizzle, you haven't seen rain yet!"  My plan is for him to walk with the mellow boys on the weekend rain or shine, so that he can see that he doesn't have to be so dramatic.  His foster mom said that he would mirror a lot of her dogs fears.  Our first thunder storm was pretty scary for him but I stayed on the bed with him and wrapped him up in a blanket...all the while saying "this is not Texas thunderstorms...it's fine!"   And also make sure to give them a really good scratch behind the ears etc on the side that is missing a limb!!!

Virginia







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28 October 2022 - 7:41 pm
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Love reading everything  avout Dudley.....especially  about how much love and care you give hin♥️♥️♥️

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!

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