we are certainly sorry to hear of Dakotas accident. But you have picked a good place to come for encouragement and advice. Whatever you decide for Dakota will be the right choice, many of us here have already learned that amputation isnt as bad a word as it sounds at first. The dogs most all seem to do very well and adapt to it and I think most of us pawrents here have had a much stronger bond form with our furkids after the amputation. please keep us posted on how things are going for Dakota.

Coopsdad

I wouldn't hesitate for a second.  My tripawd had a rare form of cancer in her hind leg.  She suffered in pain for 2 years, she's so happy now that she's pain free and you'd never know the leg was gone.  There are some considerations such as back issues and increased wear and tear on the remaining leg, but you would have similar problems with a leg that severely damaged and a MUCH longer recovery time.  Here's Kess just 17 days post-op  

Kess had her right rear leg removed.  Before the amputation she was a champion flyball dog, frisbee dog, and trained in herding and agility.  We still compete in frisbee and have just started back up with agility.  We have to be a little more careful in cautious in some regards, but Kess is still the crazy dog she was before.

I wont lie the first 2 weeks are rough.  As a mother I can say it's very similar to having a newborn baby.  I slept downstairs next to an x-pen with the dog in it, and occasionally slept in the pen with Kess.  I had to wake up multiple times per night to give Kess scheduled doses of medication, and to make her comfortable etc.  I didn't leave the house for more than 30min or so for the first 10 days.  I didn't start the blog until a bit after Kess's amputation so there's not much info on the first couple of weeks, but you can get an idea of how quickly she recovered http://kesstheb.....pawds.com/

I'm so sorry to hear about Dakota's accident but you have found the perfect place for support, information, encouragement, honestly and love.

I was petrified when faced with the decision to amputate. Zeus had cancer, so time was of the essence to decide treatment. After days of information gathering and soul searching and yes...conversations with Zeus, we amputated 6 days after diagnosis. I took pictures of him the day before surgery and 2 days after surgery and I truly had no idea how much pain he was in until I went back and looked at those pictures. It was so evident on his face and in his behavior. I found tripawds.com after amputation...so my decision was based on doctor's advice and my heart and a leap of faith. I wasn't sure if he would live a "full life" and had it in back of my mind that if he didn't adjust to 3 legs, I could always let him go, but I wanted to try.

He amazed me in life and still does in my memory. The way he ran around and chased the ball on 3 legs...jumping in and out of the car, chewed sticks and did pretty much everything he used to do. I never expected him to be such a HAPPY dog on 3 legs. You wouldn't think it eh? Dogs are so resilient and live life so much in the moment, they just don't care about any obstacles...they just overcome. I would do it all over again - those 18 months were the most meaningful ones of my life so far - walking (or hopping in this case) that journey with him. I learned so much and loved so much. Gifts without a price.

You will be amazed at what Dakota can do on 3 legs and you don't have the cancer diagnosis to deal with. Listen to your heart and listen to Dakota. They will tell you what to do.We are here to support you every step of the way. Keep us posted.

Much love and many hugs,

Heather and Spirit Zeus