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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Hi all,
I am new to this site. I have a 2 year old labrador retriever named Molly. I have had her since she was about 11 weeks old. Unfortunately when we got Molly, we noticed that she had a little 'limp' but we thought it was her nails catching in the carpet. Upon furthur inspection we noticed her left leg had a bump on it. We took her to the vet and xrays confirmed that she had a dislocated elbow. On the xray there was visible scar tissue. We figured the injury definitely happened before we got her. I contacted the lady who we got her from and she denied the dog being injured. After some research it was pretty obvious we got her from a broker of a puppy mill. We knew that taking her back was not an option as they would likely kill her. I took her to two vets and they both recommended an amputation. We thought long and hard about this and decided that we knew her best and she was not showing us any signs of being in pain. She has done very well over the past 2 years. She loves walks, although we usually limit it to 30-40minutes every other day as she is starting to get tired. She loves the dog park (we are usually there for about 45 minutes before she gets too tired).. and she LOVES swimming. Over the last month with the nice weather I have noticed that she is getting tired more quickly and laying down during short walks (about 15 minutes into the walk). I am thinking that her bad leg may simply be getting in the way now and slowing her down. I wish there was a way that surgery would fix her leg but the most they said they could do is give her a `fixed elbow`which they didn`t recommend. Thank you for any advice you have!
Ashley
Hi Ashley,
What an awesome pawrent you are for giving Molly a chance at a good life with a loving family.
It does sound like the injury could be catching up with her. Did you have a specialist look at her (ortho doc) or your family vet? In these kinds of situations, it's best to start with another opinion preferably from a specialist. Also, a consult with a certified canine rehab specialist would be worth the money because it's one way you might be able to avoid surgery if that's a possibility.
If amputation is your only option, then rest assured that as long as you keep her lean and fit, and carefully monitor her exercise (our new ebook, Loving Life on Three Legs talks all about that), she should be just fine. Tripawds can do just about anything a four legger can do, including swimming, so her life wouldn't change all that much.
I hope this helps. Poke around here, see what dogs can do on three legs, and ask as many questions as you like, we're here to help.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
The Angels were watching over Molly the day you adopted her!! She's such a beautiful girl too!
Hopefully, you'll have some options other than amputation. If not, Molly really will do fine! She doesn't have cancer as do most of the dogs on this site, and she will adjust and live a joyful life full of love and lots of fun:-)
It must be bothering her and causing some pain. Needless to say, amputation will eliminate that. I'm sure you've had..or will have....blood work-up, etc. just to rule out any other cause.
Many of us on this site were completely aghast at the thought of cutting oof a leg!! Say what.....!?? Almost everyone here who was forced into this choice will tell you it was a good decision and the dogs adjust unbelievably well....and are usually waling within the first twenty four hours.
Please keep us posted and know that we are all here for you should you go that route.
Sending yo good wishes and give sweet Molly a hug forums...and give yourself one to:-) 
Shall and Happy Hannah
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!
Hi Ashley and Molly - As Jerry said, I would definitely get a second opinion before moving forward since the amp wouldn't be due to cancer so it's not life threatening. If that is the best option, thie site has all the info you will need. I know that I have been amazed at how well dogs adapt to tripawd life. Molly is beautiful.
Spirit Shooter was a Miniature Australian Shepherd who was diagnosed with a MCT and had a LF amp 1/28/13 at 13-1/2 years old.
Shooter crossed the Bridge on 8/28/13, his 7 month ampuversary and two weeks from his 14th birthday.
Hello Ashley. Welcome! Shooter's mom is right--you don't have cancer breathing down your neck forcing you into an instant decision. Take a few days to seek out a good ortho doc or a rehab place and see what options you have. Living with pain isn't really an option, and long-term pain meds can be a bad idea, but knowing what the possibilities are will help you help Molly.
I've seen a lot of dogs here with injuries that were pinned or splinted, etc., and I don't recall a single one of them solving the problem. Almost every vet seems to agree that recovery is faster if you amputate, and even though it seems like a radical solution, the recovery is ultimately easier. A dog with a repair has so many restrictions during recovery and sometimes they re-injure themselves because they want to be a dog. Once you take the leg off, you just wait for stitches to come out and some healing to start and then life happens! There are few of those other restrictions, certainly not for weeks. (And purely from a $ perspective, amputation seems to be cheaper in the long run.)
Let us know what you decide. Molly's young and has many years ahead. Whatever you decide, she just wants to have fun.
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
As others have said, I agree that it would definitely be worth your time and money to take Molly to have a full evaluation done by a board certified orthopedic surgeon. The reason I say this is there may be other options available to Molly that have not been presented to you. General practice veterinarians are limited in their surgical abilities, which may be why you have only been given the those two options. Even if you go to the orthopedic specialist and they give you different options, amputation may still be the best/right decision, but at least you will be able to make a fully informed decision. I wish you the best!
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