Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
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I found a badly injured pup on the side of the road on Sunday. She was emaciated and Vet thinks she is about 7 mos. old after X-rays and blood work she was found to have a shattered right rear leg and knee. Vet thought the break was a week or so old because the tendons etc had already pulled back and since she was running a temp and bloodwork showed an infection they sedated her, started antibiotics and then amputated her leg yesterday afternoon. Vet says she is doing remarkably well and is figuring out how to get around on 3 legs, no fever and she is eating well. I will bring her "home" tomorrow. She is a sweet, gentle girl but I don't know her and she doesn't know me. I also have two forever terriers here at home so will have to keep them apart until "Jane Doe Doggie" is well and can go to her forever home. I already have a wait list.
I am a little freaked out about the aftercare. I have all her things (crate, dishes toys leash) in the downstairs guest room. I am planning on moving in there at night in case she needs something.
Any suggestions would be so helpful.
how wonderful for this little 'jane doe' that you are giving her a chance to have a wonderful tripawd life. sounds like you are an experienced dog mom, and have the necessities at hand. the first two weeks can be 'hell weeks, but once the meds are out of her system and the sutures are out, she will be fine. being a pup, you will probably have to keep her pretty confined, to keep her from doing 'too much, too soon'. hoping for some pictures!!
charon & spirit gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
Welcome to Tripawds.
What a wonderful thing to rescue an injured pup!
You should read through Jerry's Required Reading List, and/or download the ebook Three Legs and a Spare. Both have info from this site on what to expect with amputation and recovery.
Often the first couple weeks after surgery are full of ups and downs as our pups deal with lots of meds and learn their new normal. But we have often seen here that young pups not dealing with cancer bounce back quicker. Hopefully Jane Doe is one of those lucky pups.
How big is she? You might consider raising her food dishes to help her balance. If she needs help getting around you can cut a re-usable shopping bag down the seams to use as a sling, the handles are built in. And traction is a must- if you have wood or tile or other slippery floor surfaces you need to be sure and put down rugs or other non-skid material. New tripawds need good traction to build confidence.
Good luck when you get her home. We would love to see pictures!
Karen and the pugapalooza
Oh, what a saint you are to have helped her. I don't even want to think how many people drove by without stopping to help. And ditto on a picture and hopefully she will find her forever home with someone who will love and care for her for many years to come.
Kathy & Harley
Harley is an 8 year old Golden Retriever. Amp surgery for an infiltrative lipoma canceled due to two masses in chest. A rescue, he found his forever home on 3/18/07 and left for his eternal home on 1/09/13. His story and medical history are at http://myharley.....pawds.com/
Don't know how to post a picture.
My husband laughed and said, "you are spending how much money? For a three legged dog we aren't going to keep?" He is such a tender hearted man he cried at the thought of someone abandoning her like that. She is so sweet and doesn't seem to be afraid of anyone (that's a good thing). I'm pretty sure that she'll become a member of my daughter's family. She says she needs to meet janedoe but she already has a list of names. I just need to keep my terrorist terriers away from her. They know Mom's up to something.
What a great person you are for helping this pup! What kind of dog is she? Big? Small? Keep us posted.
Spirit Samson was Spirit Tripawd Daisys four legged "brother" and ruled as the self proclaimed head of the Monkeybutt Federations East Coast Division. Lady Chunky Monkey stayed from Oct 2011 and left for the bridge in Apr 2012. Miss Perdy is left and has some big pawprints to fill.
Do you have what it takes to be a Monkeybutt? Find out more at the Monkeybutt Federation
The Vet thinks she's part Airedale and maybe part Lab. She certainly has the conformation and wiry hair of the Airedale but she is black with just a bit of white on her nose and a blaze under her chin. The Vet thinks that because of her trauma and shock to the system that her growth plates will be affected but that she'll probably be about 40 lbs when grown. She was skin and bone and weighed 22 lbs when I took her in on Sunday.
she sounds beautiful (but then all of our tripawds are beautiful!!) if you have pictures online somewhere (like shutterfly, facebook, etc) just copy the url of the picture, then click on the little tree you see when you are typing a forum post. in the box that drops down, paste the url, and the picture will be added to your post. if you don't have an online source, maybe consider starting a tripawds blog (you can do it at no charge) and then store your pictures there as media. hope this all makes sense. give miss janedoe a hug from us!!
charon & spirit gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
What scares me is that I have no clue what her likes or dislikes are because I only gave her small amounts of dry food and water before I took her to the Vet. I don't know anything other than she has a really sweet disposition. This is going to be a real learning curve for us both. Wish us luck!
I know what you mean! I fostered Gerry just prior to and following his amputation without really knowing what his "normal" was. I had been through an amputation with my previous dog that same year, due to osteosarcoma. (Wow, that did not feel like it was all the same year at all! Time sure does slow down when you're counting your last days with your pup, but that's an unnecessarily depressing digression). Part of the reason I didn't feel that much helped by having been through it before, I think, was because of never being sure what was unusual for him. (Another part was that I wasn't kept very much in the loop with the medical decisions, because I was just the foster - at least you won't have that problem!). But hey, Jane Doe is going to be so much better off than if you didn't muddle through this, guessing the best you can. 
You're awesome!!!
Gerry has been a tripawd since 12/16/2009.
He was a shelter dog with a mysterious past and an irrepairable knee injury.
Videos and pics of Gerry's pawesomeness can be found at: http://gerry.tripawds.com
That is VERY sweet of you. Sounds like you are her angel. Also sounds like she'll be grateful for whatever love and care you give her.
Keep us posted on how things are going. We're here to help if you have any specific questions during her recovery!
Jackie, Angel Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
OH MY DOG!
You and your husband are saints and heros in one!!! You guys deserve an award for this!!!
She sounds like a sensational dog! Hmmmm. I wonder if your little terriers would like her? I know how picky they can be because I got one too!
We'll help you get through the aftercare. So try not to worry.
Here's a little step-by-step tutorial that may help you add pics. It is made for adding them from your Facebook acct but the pics can come from anywhere as long as they have been uploaded to the internet. The premise is the same.
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Wow! Consider me gobsmacked. Jane Doe came walking out followed by Vet beaming with pride. He said she is just an awesome girl and is going to be a phenomenal pet. She is resting comfortably with her head (in cone) on a stuffed zebra. I took the rat terrorist back to meet her and she growled at him. I thought it would be the other way around. He is highly offended. Haven't exposed her to westie yet.
So far my concerns haven't panned out where Jane Doe is concerned.
great to hear janedoe is doing well. some pups are full of excitement upon leaving the vet, and then crash at home a few days in...resting more and such. hope jane keeps doing well, and has an uneventful recovery. funny that she is taking the alpha roll with your pack...definitely a tripawd warrior princess!!
charon & spirit gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
Glad to hear Jane is feeling spunky - that's definitely Tripawd Warrior Princess material.
Seriously, I wonder if she felt "weak" from the surgery so had to show that she was still not one to be messed with. Dogs are interesting...
Hope her recovery goes well; we're here if you have questions.
Jackie
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
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