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 everybody! Thanks for the great website. My name is Lynn. I have a 12 year old son named Patrick. I rescued a collie/retriever mix puppy at the end of December. He was dumped along a stretch of road with very little traffic. The poor guy was scared but came to me when I called to him. He was dehdryated and starving. I took him home and we fell in love with him. In January he was running around and injured his ankle. We took him to the vet and theory was splinted. After a week the splint was removed and Munchkin seemed to be doing ok. But as time went on he began limping again. So back to the vet we went. After doing X-ray of ankle Doc discovered that radius kept growing but wrist bone stopped. He gave him some Meds and said call me Monday. We contacted our vet back because Munchkin would no longer put any weight on the leg so we had to sedate Munchkin to get X-ray of entire leg. It seems the bones in his elbow are disintegrating. Doc is amputating the leg this Thursday. I am trying to make sure that I have all the things I will be needing when he comes home. Your website is very helpful. I am glad he is just 6 months old and only weighs 28 pounds. I am hoping it will make things a bit easier on him as to adjusting to the three legs. Do you guys think that will be a plus in his favor?
Welcome and thanks for joining! We have moved your topic here to the Share Your Story forum where more members are likely to see it. Your future posts will not require moderation.
Has your vet suggested why the bone was disintegrating? Regardless, best wishes for Munchkin's speedy complete recovery! You'll find lots of recovery and care tips in Jerry's Required Reading List, and for immediate answers to the most common dog amputation questions download the new Tripawds e-book Three Legs and A Spare.
Please keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Welcome Lynn, Patrick and Munchkin!
Great site here with lots of infomation and a great community. As Jerry said, the most frequently asked questions are in the required reading list but dont be afraid to post a question either, we are all here for you! Cant wait to see some pictures.Â
Daisy earned her wings on Oct 22, 2011 at 14 years old
She is now the official greeter at the rainbow bridge
Everyone is guaranteed a welcome sniff and Dalmatian smile
Hi there Munchkin, Lynn & Patrick!
Hoping all goes well thursday and Munchkin will soon be on his way to feeling better! Glad he found his way to the right family that will help him to get better. Love is the best medicine! Just knowing that he is loved and cared for will help him through his recovery. Hope to see a picture of him soon! 
noisii said:
I am glad he is just 6 months old and only weighs 28 pounds. I am hoping it will make things a bit easier on him as to adjusting to the three legs. Do you guys think that will be a plus in his favor?
Absolutely! While we have seen many 100+ pound Tripawds do just fine after surgery, the laws of physics are simple; it's easier for smaller dogs to get around, there's just less mass there to throw around.
Sounds like he'll be a front leg Tripawd? If that's the case, then I will say that front leggers do have a few more challenges than rear leggers, just because dogs put 60 pawcent of their weight on the front legs. But again, being a smaller dog there's just less weight to deal with, so he should be just fine.
Remember to keep him svelte and thinner than most dogs his size, and he'll be a hoppy, well-adjusted Tripawd.
Good luck this week, let us know how things go!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Welcome Munchkin and family!
Bless you for taking in Munchkin and keeping him. It's these posts that keep my heart filled with joy!
3 legs - a breeze for a little young guy! Your little munchkin will do great! My Comet was born with a deformed front leg and I found her at about 6 months old - her weight peaked at 38lbs. Munchkin may grow a tad bit but he'll do fantastic!
I had her 12 years until she passed in January. My biggest fears all of those years was losing her to mobility issues and surprisingly, it never happened. She had an internal bleed from probably a blood cancer.
She was a normal, sassy, demanding, overly spoiled darling of a dog. She never thought she had a disability! And for the most part, neither did I. In all the years I had her, I never wished for her to have 4 normal legs because 3 legs was who she was!Â
So your little guy will be the same! You won't even notice he's missing a leg!
Keep us posted on how he is doing after his big surgery. There may be some roller coaster rides in the recovery - but it'll be great afterwards!
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.
Welcome! Munchkin will do just fine, especially since he has such a loving family to take care of him. Keep us posted on the surgery. Make sure you get lots of rest. Post some pictures when you can!
Sending you many golden hugs!
Cathy
Thanks for all the well wishes. I will try to get some pics up. I called Doc yesterday, thanks to your page I found a lot of things that I was not sure of.
Doc told me that he thinks muckin's mom probably injured him when he was about 5 weeks old. The injury stopped the development of his elbow. He has no ball at the end of the elbow joint. He thinks Munchkin will be fine as he has not really had the use of that leg.
Doc let me know that he will be taking part of the shoulder so that it will not leave any bumps. He eve told me that after the hair grows back it will look like he was born with 3 legs.
But he said surgery will last at least 1 1/2 hours and munchkin will be staying overnight.
Patrick finally came to me Sunday with questions and wanted to see a dog with 3 legs.. Thanks to the website I was able to see one. I even showed him pics of the after surgery incision he took it ok. He is afraid munchkin will not make it back from the vet. I told him he is young and in great health. Those are definitely points in his favor.
Lynn
Thnaks for the update, staying overnight at the vet is a good thing! Just make sure they have 24 hour supervision. Watch some movies of three legged dogs loving life with Patrick and he may start to like the idea of having a tripawd. When is the surgery scheduled?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Good luck! We'll be thinking of you.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Praying all is going well with Munchkin! Give us an update when you can.
And THANK YOU for taking that sweet baby in and giving him a great home with lots of love 🙂
Maddie Mae's left rear leg: amutated 3-17-2011 ( Injury not cancer)
Follow her adventures......http://kellyr20.....pawds.com/
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