Howdy! This is my first post on Tripawds...and I love this site!

Spanky is a 5 month old Catahoula Cur born to us from Gumbo, my husband's Catahoula. As luck would have it, Spanky was my husband's pick of the litter from day 1...and then 3 months later I accidentally bumped Spanks with my car in our driveway. He was rushed to the ER with a limp leg (which I thought was just broken) and promptly diagnosed with Radial Nerve Paralysis of his front left leg. We left the ER at 4:00am with a bag full of medications and a very scared puppy. We immediately started doing research to learn about RNP...and quickly discovered that it would have been a blessing to have had a broken leg instead. The result of the injury was an entirely numb leg and a droopy eyelid that apparently has a nerve attached to the leg that was damaged.

I decided to be proactive and we started hydrotherapy that week. Spanky's therapist suggested acupuncture and they started taking donations to send him, which we ultimately decided not to pursue due to the high cost of each session. We worked day and night with little Spank to avoid tightening on the muscles and nerves but nothing helped. He ended up with a bum leg that curled inward and began to use it as a crutch.

We ordered a splint for his leg....and if you have ever TRIED to splint a 3 month old puppy you know how impossible it is. Spanky developed huge sores all over his leg where he was basically eating away his leg (much like a rat caught in a trap eats it's leg to get away). It's basic animal instinct, but still very disturbing to watch. At our whits end, we visited the vet. He had a huge open sore where he had been using it as his "foot" and a horrible infection. We sadly made the decision to amputate his leg, knowing that we had tried everything we could to save it. The cost was $900.00, which the vet had graciously discounted for us. We started taking donations and raised $1,100.00 in just 3 days!!!!

Spanky had his surgery this past Monday, July 14th. We are currently 4 days post amp and he couldnt be happier! So far we have had no complications, the staples (29 of them) are looking good as is the Y shaped incision. Spanky has been walking on his own since day 2, probably because he wasnt using the bum leg before and is relieved to have it gone. His droopy eye is back to normal and you wouldn't know there was ever anything wrong with it. We are getting used to seeing him with 3 legs, it's a little weird at first. Our other dogs couldnt care less about his lack of leg and have carried on the same with him. His spirit is something I admire.

The hardest part has been trying to keep up with him since he is so much faster on 3 good legs. I have done my best to slow him down and rest, but he is 5 months old and a bundle of energy. I notice that he tires easily and I have been limiting his outside/playtime. As far as pain goes....there doesn't seem to be any! His incision is obviously tender, but his meds seem to be doing the trick.

We visited the vet today for our 1st post op visit and so far so good. Staples come out next week and then hopefully things will start to become somewhat normal. If anyone has any nuggets of wisdom for us, we would love to hear them! Thanks for the support and giving us a place to learn about being a new tripawd!