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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He has to be outside because we rent. He is really too big to be in the house too. I about had a heart attack today. I was bringing Buddy inside for awhile and my hand slipped off his collar. Buddy can run on three legs just as fast as he did on four. He took off so fast I couldn't even try to catch him. I jumped in my durango and drove so fast down my driveway , which is two football fields long and I parked my car in the middle of the gravel road. There was no way that dog was going anywhere near my neighbors house. I opened my door and Buddy was running and he came up and jumped in thank God. So he has no problem getting around. I guess he thinks he is superman.. Maybe I should rename him... LOL Jessica
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That's good he is doing well.
Maybe you can speak with the owners of your house and see if they wouldn't mind him being an inside dog? Especially during the circumstances that you have a neighbor that shot him and explain the situation. I bet they don't care since dogs are less destructive than usually children (from a owner's standpoint).
Does he live in a pen or a fenced yard now? I just worry that he can get loose and the neighbor won't hit a leg next time.
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.
Yeay Comet, great advice. I'll bet once the landlord sees Buddy his/her heart will melt and they'll give in!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
He is on a trolley.. He has 60ft of freedom. Well I had to pay a non refundable pet deposit for him to even be here. He was outside yesterday during the day and I guess when he tried to layday on the carport his chest hits first and he scraped his chest since there is no hair there. Yea my child is more destructive even from a parent's standpoint. He loves to be on his trolley. He finally tried to catch the ball. It was only after I left him outside for the day he seemed happier. Instead of catching it in his mouth he batted at it with his paw. It was great to see him try to play again. He still loooks at it when I throw it for him to run but maybe he will come around. I am going to start practicing with him to see. Jessica
Jessica,
I'm sorry but no dog likes to be tethered and that is a proven fact. I doubt you will convince anyone here that Buddy enjoys being tethered.
Our dear leaders here can tell you first hand what tethering a dog will do. Wyatt Ray , our spokespup for Tripawds.com is a tripawd because he was a tethered dog who got his leg caught in a the tether by the previous people who had him.
Dogs are naturally social beings who thrive on interaction with human beings and other animals. A dog kept chained for hours, days, months or even years suffers immense psychological damage. An otherwise friendly and docile dog, when kept continuously chained, becomes neurotic, unhappy, anxious and often aggressive.
They are at the mercy to animal attack or even human attacks (which you've already experienced). They are exposed to the elements of the weather, including insect bites. This is why the law is changing for so many states to make this illegal.
I know you are young and probably haven't been exposed to the wonderful things dogs offer to us human. I can only hope through, perhaps your religious beliefs you will see how wrong it is to tether a dog.
And I can only hope that one day soon you really will treat him like you said - he deserves it and you'll will be a better person for it:
I treat him the same way as I do my child.
And if you can't, please consider giving him to a loving home that will let him live as a part of a family. I'm sure there are Golden Retriever Rescue organizations nearby or in Little Rock or you even have
The Humane Society of Searcy
112 Johnston Road, P.O. Box 8242
Searcy , AR 72145
Phone: (501) 268-3535
I apologize if I sound harsh, but I have to speak up for those that can't.
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.
Hi Jessica!!
Welcome welcome to our community!! I'm sorry I haven't chimed in sooner, but I have been really occupied with the things happening to my own dear tripawd at the moment (including dripping pee right now)!!
Since you already have the ruffwear harness , you have accomplished my usual suggestion (the other one is non skid throw rugs for lino and wood floors)
Buddy really had surgery just recently if I read this right? Like on the 7th or so?? Oh my gosh, I certainly would not have him outside on a line, for a couple of reasons. That awful awful person who shot him could come back to finish the job....what deterrent is there since apparently wherever you live lets you shoot pets and not pay a penalty (can you move away from that horrible place??????)). And like Cometdog pointed out, that is what caused Wyatt Ray 's leg to be ruined and for him to live forever as a tripawd...it is much better to have Buddy where you can keep an eye on him, at least until he is long long past his surgery, and gosh, he is only what two and a half weeks out!!! If he is in the house with you, you can be sure no one can hurt him again and he cannot hurt himself, or be accused of attempting to hurt a person, thereby justifying their horrible actions. Since for the most part at this stage of his recovery (remember this was MAJOR surgery) he probably is not going to be as active, being in the house shouldn't be much of a problem. Just make him a nice bed out of the way and let him be safe while he recovers.
Now Magic is an older dog (11) and he also has cancer in his lungs, so he isn't as playful as a puppy....I have been able to get him to the park and limited play, but didn't do that til probably weeks after the surgery, and his incision was well wrapped by the vet (which made putting the harness on easier at that time). Maybe ask the vet about his activity level? Probably ball playing might be a little much at this stage....
I noticed that you said you were renting and had to pay a pet deposit....I have been on both ends of that, as a renter and a landlord. If you have already paid the deposit, UNLESS you had to put something in writing about him never being allowed in the house, you have already paid for that privilege. If he is not destructive and if he does not ruin floors or rugs and you take him out to potty regularly (I think you did say you were home which is a lucky break for Buddy), that shouldn't be a problem.
If the owners of the home made you sign something that said he HAD to stay outside, considering what has happened to him, I would appeal to their sense of justice since he is now injured and needs special care. If THAT doesn't work and they legally have bound you to putting him out (I am crossing my fingers that this isn't the case), then you may have to consider that Buddy might need care you can't give him at this stage? I see Cometdog has posted a rescue that you might want to look into?
I know that might seem like an extreme solution to you at this point, but if you can't give him the extra care he needs right now or if someone is preventing you from doing that, by not letting you have him inside where he is safe, then maybe the best thing for BUDDY would be to look into an alternative??
We are here to help, so do keep us posted...right after you run out there and bring him in!!
Hi Jessica,
I have been lurking in the shadows. I have to appeal to you to try and work something out with the house owner. Now, more than ever, Buddy needs his pack. The days of dogs on chains in the back yard are coming to a close for good reason. Buddy will thrive as a tripawd, but only if he has the support of his "pack". If he is not welcome inside with the rest of the pack, that tells him that he is not worthy. His psyche will suffer. All dogs like to be outside, when their family is outside. Even wild dogs, dingos, wolves don't stay outside always...they have welcoming warm dens with their pack members out of the wind, rain and heat. Please talk to your landlord. Surely he/she can see that a new canine amputee will not do damage to his/her investment. You will be amazed at the personality that Buddy has, once he is fully accepted as a member of the family.
I lost my golden a few months ago. Bone cancer took his leg and six months later took his life. Buddy will not have to deal with the nasty cancer. He just needs to figure out how to live on three legs and he needs your help to do it. I will be thinking of you and Buddy and hoping you have the strength to smooth the path for your tripawd dog. Opie's Mom
I really am floored. When my husband and I took Buddy on as a stray we knew the responsibilities we would have as pet owners. My husband and I just moved. He works 200 hours every two weeks and I am at home alone. We brought Buddy with us for protection for my child and I. We had no idea that this would happened and I would not wish this on my worst enemy. We made the decision to amputate because it was the best choice to not cause buddy unnecessary pain. Yes I am young and yes I can make bad choices but so do 50 year olds. I consider my dogs my children as well but I do not treat them as humans because they are dogs. The fact that somebody is throwing out that I should give my dog away because he is on a trolley is absolutely ridiculous. I do not leave him unsupervised for long periods of time. I have a small mixed dog and he stays in the yard, but Buddy likes to run so for his protection we do keep him on the trolley. We do not have a fenced yard and we live in the middle of nowhere. I cannot take him on runs because of an injury that was caused by a high impact car crash. We love are animals and feel we are responsible. He does come inside at night because of bobcats and coyotes. The vet has cleared him for all play. He can do what he wants to. I do not encourage his high activity and the vet also said he has never see an amputee dog as big as him get up on his hind legs and stand up to a six foot level. He said he has never seen a dog he as fast as him. I respect peoples opinion and understand most of you have gone through cancer and other terrible things. I cannot imagine having to do that. My dog went to the lake and did great this past weekend he just wanted to play with everyone. I have been around dogs my whole life and my little one helped me deal with pregnancy. I grew up fast. I also have taken care of him the best a human can. His incision is completely healed. The worst thing for him would be putting him through stress of moving to a new home and being around different people. He has his shots and is given frontline for insects. He comes in during the heat waves we get. He was inside his whole recovery and the vet cleared him for outside. I am not putting him anywhere my vet didn't suggest. I called the vets office daily with new questions. I also asked Jerry and other people on this website.. Thanks for the input but we will not be putting him in the pound....
wow, maybe everyone needs to back away from the food bowl...this ain't no dog park!! jessica i hope you get all that you need from the tripawds community. understand that most of us advocate for our dogs, because they don't have a voice in the matter. i'm guessing the kill rate at shelters in arkansas is as high as it is here in tennessee - sometimes winning isn't an option. maybe we all need to work towards improving the odds for all creatures.
just because we pull for buddy's welfare, doesn't mean we don't like you, we just want what's best..
regards, et 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
Jessica, it sounds like you have your hands full. A child, a husband who's away a lot, some mobility compromises that make it impossible for you to properly exercise your very energetic fella and you don't have a fenced yard.
I don't think there's any question that you're not responsible and you don't love your furry companion. The horrible traumatic circumstances surrounding his injury (getting shot by a neighbour is beyond words) and making the decision to have his leg amputated to keep him with you and he with you was a big and generous one.
It is true that dogs are not humans. But I think every guardian on this site considers their dogs fully fledged members of the famiily; our warm-hearted, generous, three-legged children, if you will.
I'm glad to hear Buddy does come inside at night. No one lives in your shoes and I guess the important thing is that you are totally comfortable in your own heart that Buddy is thriving and happy.
Hope he continues to do well, Jessica!
Best wishes,
Carmen, Catie and Riley
Catie -
Birthday – November 4 2003
Amputation – January 13 2010
Crossed the Bridge – June 2 2011
Hi Jessica,
I just skimmed over some of this and it sounds like you love Buddy dearly. Living in the middle of nowhere though is no reason you can't fence in quite a large area for Buddy, we at DDB do this all the time to get dogs off of chains, cables and tethers. Look into some 5 foot welded wire fencing and you will see that for just a few hundred dollars, you can install something very nice for both of your dogs to play in and keep them safe at the same time. I deal with a lot of people here in Indiana who live on farms etc .. and using this type of fencing is not only inexpensive but looks pretty good to.
Let me know if you would like some help on the construction for such a fence.
mailto:ddbrepcoord@dogsdeservebetter.org
Marie Belanger said:
... we at DDB do this all the time to get dogs off of chains, cables and tethers.
Thanks for the feedback and video Marie! please consider registerring if you wish to participate in the forums without your posts requiring moderation, or if you want to subscribe to topic replies. Members can also use the private messageing system to avoid publicizing their email addresses.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I have also heard and have NO IDEA if there is any truth to this or not....that you can contact construction companies and sometimes you can get free or greatly reduced chain link?? The stuff they put around construction sites....
I know years ago we decided our wooden fence was not going to be good enough containment for wolfdogs especially ones with a propensity to dig (if I could have directed Echo's digging, I would have had a swimming pool company...three foot holes in less than 15 minutes..) so we put an internal chainlink around our yard with the double gate system....I am really glad we did. We also have lots of ivy that now hooks the old (38 years old) wooden fence to the chainlink...the ivy isn't popular with the neighbors, but they do have to admit it keeps the fence upright and the chain link is pretty much hidden in much of the yard....Only way to ever replace that 38 year old wooden fence would be to take out 38 year old ivy...not in MY lifetime!! So I apologize to my neighbors for having planted it in the first place.
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Thank you mystery person for all your good work!
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.
I would put a fence up if it was my property, but it is not. I wish I could, but at the moment I am paying off his surgery I do not have a few hundred dollars to spare. Believe me that I want the best for him, but we are like everyone else these days and we make it paycheck to paycheck.
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