Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

I have very good news to report! After learning that Derrick Campana did not think Bonnie was a good candidate for a prosthetic, and getting an amputation estimate of $4,100 from our vet (!!), I contacted the rescue organization that saved Bonnie, and they immediately offered to pay for the surgery at a low-cost vet clinic not too far from us... Spay Now (Laurel, MD)  or Anicira (Manassas, VA). I'm extremely grateful. We will make calls on Monday to schedule the surgery as soon as possible and move on to recovery and full movement/life. 

Jerry, I passed along your recommendation for Helping Hands Vet in Richmond. It could be another resource for the rescue organization.

The partial amputation remains a mystery. A few vets saw Bonnie and questioned the partial amputation. My contact at the rescue org was able to speak with the family who fostered Bonnie in WV where she was found, and was told they believed that her leg was fine up to the part that was dangling/needing to be removed and she was very underweight so they didn't feel comfortable doing a full amputation surgery on her. It was also why they didn't spay her at the time. I have no veterinary knowledge to question whether it makes sense to do a partial versus full amputation  based on a dog's weight... 

I'm just very happy that Bonnie can get the surgery, and we can focus on rehabilitation and love. Win-win! Thank you all for your advice... Benny55, I will try to remember to take things one step at a time! And I'll update when we get a surgery date. 

Staci & Bonnie

(still can't figure out how to insert a photo!)

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Thanks, Jerry! Is it possible to just link to my Flickr account? I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I go to Flickr and click "share" and copy the link (

). I've pasted a link here but last time I clicked on the "photo" button above and tried to paste it there... I've put all her pix in a public folder.

I saw Anicira was AAHA 🙂

Staci