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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Hello! I was referred to this site by my vet and friends. My 4 month old Retriever/ Pit Bull mix was struck by a truck yesterday in front of my house and her leg was badly fractured and needs to be amputated. Normally they would attempt to pin it first, but her leg was basically a bunch pieces of glass in a paper bag so we made the call to just amputate. She would have had to go through weeks of surgery and missed out on a lot of her puppy-hood and probably still had it amputated anyways.
She goes into surgery tonight, hopefully within the next hour or so. Im a paranoid wreck waiting for the updates.
The vet said joining an online community would help me prepare myself for life with a tripod dog. And im hoping for some advice as well, seeing how im very new to this. She is a very active affectionate pup and I want her to be able to enjoy herself without injuring herself further.
If anyone has any post-surgery advice for me I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you and hopefully i'm welcome to post here!
-Alyssa
and here I figured I would attach some photos of my baby.
Hi Alyssa and Puppy, welcome! Of COURSE you are welcome here, we're so glad you joined. Who is your vet? Send us their contact info and we'll send them some Tripawds Outreach Brochures, we'd love to thank them for the referral (a big compliment!).
I'm soooooo sorry about your pup. What's her name? She is soooo sweet, I just want to give her a big smooch!
It's a tough, heartbreaking situation and we understand how hard that must have been for you to decide on amputation. The good news is that dogs and cats bounce back much better than we ever give them credit for. It's us people who have the issues. So, we'll be here to help you cope and help her be the strongest, fittest Tripawd ever.
Many of your questions are answered in Jerry's Required Reading List and the Tripawds e-books library, but of course the pawesome folks here will chime in too and offer support so stay tuned.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hello and welcome.
Sounds like the surgery was done last night? How is she doing?
I'm so sorry your girl had this terrible accident, it must have been awful! It sounds like you have made a sound decision with your vet's input. Now you do have a couple things going for you- she is losing a rear leg, which tends to be easier for pups, she is young, and you are not dealing with cancer!
When my pug Maggie lost a leg to cancer I'm not sure I had ever seen a three legged dog. All the vets said that dogs do fine but it was really hard for me to believe. Mag was a stubborn little thing and it took her awhile to get used to her new normal, but she did and she hopped happily through life for almost 4 years.
I recently adopted a small pug mix who lost her right rear leg after getting hit by a car- she was about 7 months old when she had her surgery. Elly came to me when she was already healed up at about 10 months old, she is now almost 14 months old. Elly can do anything a 4 legger her size can do, except scratch behind her right ear- that's my job. There is a fine line between letting them be puppies, and thinking down the road. That one back leg has to last Elly her entire life and I'm the one who has to regulate her activity.
Once your pup is healed up you should look into some rehab sessions, and look through the resources here on conditioning. I work with Elly every day on building her core strength, and working on her obedience. Mental exercise really wears a dog out!
I also notice from your profile that you are pretty close to me- I'm in Livermore. And Martha runs the OakTown Pack- a group of three rear leg amp GSDs (and one quad pup).
Hopefully we will get an update from you soon.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Hi Alyssa,
What a beautiful pup! She looks so sweet.
I'm sorry to hear what's happened. It must have been such a shock. Jerry's right-they generally bounce back well and can go on to live long and happy lives after amputation. My dog's amputation was also the result of a traumatic injury when she was a puppy (about 3 months old). She's now 4 years old and about 18 months post amputation and doing so well, not to mention that she's the darling of the neighborhood. Everyone knows her and her story.
The next couple of weeks might be a bit tough for everyone involved, so come back and let us know how it's going and if you have questions. Jerry's reading list will help give you ideas for prepping your house and taking care of her once you're home.
One thing I found stressful was managing pain medications after Jack was home. It might be helpful to talk with your vet in advance about signals that she's in pain or on a larger-than-necessary dose, and what you can do if you suspect this is the case. Sometimes it takes a couple of tries to get the pain medication combinations right and there are different options if she's not responding well to a certain combination.
You're in the right place Alyssa.
If it wasn't for Tripawds I don't know what I would do!
Your baby will do wonderful, stay connected to Tripawds!
XO
Deb, Belle and Angel Zeus
Hi Alyssa and sweet pup, you have definitely found the right place with this wonderful community Tripawds.
From what I can see in her pics, she is a beautiful girl, so sorry about her bad accident. But the silver lining here is, she is young, and will bounce back like nothing happened, and will be running around like she doesn't even know she is missing a leg. We always call that 4th leg a spare around here anyway 😄.
There is a ton of valuable info here, and many in the community that can help out for any questions or problems you may be confronted with...... So much valuable knowledge, experience, and wisdom here, so just let us know whatever you need. Jerry, Karen, and the others have already started you off with great advice, so I will just welcome you to the best online pet support group in the world. 💜🐾
Keep us updated on your sweet girl, and my thoughts are with you as you start your new journey with a Tripawd......
Bonnie, Angel Polly, Pearl, and Zuzu
Hi Alyssa ~
Poor little peanut, that big truck just came out of nowhere! I love the pink cast 
The 1st 2 weeks will definitely be the toughest to get through. Most dogs come home on a couple of pain medications. Murphy came home on Rimadyl, Tramadol & Gabapentin. Since there were 3 of us giving him his medications, I wrote out a sheet with the times of each med & we would cross them off as we gave them so that we could each keep track of what was due when. Sometimes the medications make them sleepy, or just not quite themselves, that's ok, she'll be herself again soon. She may not want to eat her regular food, either. I cooked rice and added chicken broth to it and some chunks of chicken. Other people cooked up hamburger meat, or even just canned food or maybe baby food. Whatever works.
You will want to get a good harness for her. On the Tripawds home page is a link for gear. Murphy had a front leg removed, but we got the webmaster ruffwear harness and it works well. I like that it has a handle on the top that I can hold and guide him when he's jumping out of the car.
Keep in touch with us. No question is too small. And we love updates and pictures!
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
Welcome Alyssa & puppy! What a sweetie! Please keep us posted on how surgery went and her continuing journey. We will be right here to help you in any way we can. Your girl is so young I have a hunch she's going to rock being a Tripawd. Your biggest problem may well be keeping her from doing too much the first couple of weeks. Hugs!
Linda, Ollie, Riley & Spirit Mighty Max
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