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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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SuperSpanky is 4 days post amp.....
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Member Since:
17 July 2008
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18 July 2008 - 10:51 pm
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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!

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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18 July 2008 - 11:48 pm
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Hey SuperSpanky, what a story! Thanks for writing. You are our first Catahoula dog here at Tripawds, and my Mom is really fascinated by your breed. She had never even heard of it until you wrote, and tonight she found this website that has all kinds of information about your lineage.

Based on what my Mom read, it sounds like you will have no problem whatsoever adjusting to life on three legs. Man, you come from one kick-butt line of dogs! Please post some photos and tell us more about yourself. Are you in Louisiana? We went there last fall, and love that state.

We're sure you won't have any problem adjusting. You're a puppy, so you have youth on your side, and you don't have cancer like most tripawds, which is awesome! Lucky dawg!

I guess if we have any advice is just to remember to take it slow (yeah right!), and try not to hurt yourself by being too active too soon. Watch for slippery surfaces. Use elevated food bowls, it makes eating easier. And seeing as how you Catahoulas have webbed feet, you'll just love how good swimming makes you feel. I really don't think you have anything to worry about. You'll get along just fine, I know it, and you're really going to attract a lot of attention now!

Thanks so much for writing. Remember, show us some more pics!

Best wishes,

 

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Member Since:
19 July 2008
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20 July 2008 - 12:55 pm
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Wow, we had our amps the same day!  I'm in WA state, and a very large, very mean dog attacked me in my own front yard!  They had to remove my right front leg.   I'm doing great, except that Mom keeps sneaking me pills that make me dizzy...she says it's for my own good, but I'm not too sure about that.  I'm going crazy just laying here doing nothing!  No running.  No jumping.  No twirling.  No racing through the house.  They keep telling me it's just until my sutures are removed, but ten more days seems like an eternity.  Maybe we can keep in touch and encourage each other on our journey?  I'm a little confused about some things....like how in the heck am I going to do the "paw" trick NOW?  Tongue out

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21 July 2008 - 1:46 pm
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Thanks for the wonderful replies!  Spanky is doing great so far! We are now 1 week post amp and Spanky is a bundle of energy.  We had to start giving him Benadyl to tire him out a little bit....Bella Donna we understand your pent up energy! Let me know when you get your sutures out! We get ours out this Thursday if everything continues to look good (fingers crossed).  We live in Orlando, Florida and are spending alot of time inside not only due to the heat...but post amp recuperation requires loads of rest. Hopefully the rest of the week flies by so we can start little walks and get some fresh air again.  Bella Donna, if you would like to chat outside of Tripawds I would love to encourage eachother with emails!  There is comfort in numbers! Laughing  Oh, and Jerry...I would love to post some pictures of Spanky but I need a little help figuring out how to do that!

Thanks for all the support and info!

Sherri & Spanky  Kiss 

 

 

 

On The Road


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21 July 2008 - 8:20 pm
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SuperSpanky said:

Jerry…I would love to post some pictures of Spanky but I need a little help figuring out how to do that! 


We'd love to see some pictures! You can find instructions for inserting images into forum posts in our Tech Support forum . If you need additional help, just ask in that thread.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

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19 July 2008
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24 July 2008 - 4:02 pm
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SuperSpanky said:

Spanky is doing great so far! 


Yay! Bella is doing great, also. Today it's been 10 days since surgery. Suture removal is on the 28th. Yesterday, Bella um, let herself outside and decided to stroll over the to the neighbors to chase some chickens. Ahem. Bad dog. Surprised As soon as I called her name she came running home with her tail wagging. Upon entering the house, her head went down, her ears went back and she slowly went to her bed and layed down with a HUGE "this stinks" sigh.

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29 July 2008 - 10:06 am
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LOL!  Spanky decided to go for a swim in the lake when my back was turned this weekend.  I heard this huge splash and then all I saw was Spanky's little head bobbing, trying to bite the waves!  He is sooooo happy to be back to his normal routine again, lots of energy to burn!  He also got to play with his brother and sister in the yard for a while. I think they give him somenthing that we cannot, and I am SURE that having his canine family around for support has been one of the reasons that he has recovered so quickly!  Gotta love having 4 Catahoulas running around harassing eachother!  Laughing

On The Road


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24 September 2009
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29 July 2008 - 4:34 pm
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WOW! Catahoulas rock! My Mom read that "Humans don't own Catahoulas, they own you." They definitely have a mind of their own don't they?

Pretty neat trick Spanky! Be sure to film some of that swimming, we'd love to see it. 

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

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