It's Tripawd Awareness Day on Friday. Let's kick off the festivities! Today, Tripawd Tuesday celebrates a three-legged hero who also just underwent and is recovering from a tough remaining leg surgery.

Tripawd Tuesday Celebrates Raleigh Roo the Tripod!

My name is Katie Wojdyla and I am a 2x tripawd dog mom! With Triday coming up, I wanted to share his story. We are so proud to be a part of your Tripawds Community & appreciate everything you do for all the special puppers and their humans.

To give you the back story, one of my last rescue mutts was my soul dog.

We rescued her at 6 months old and lost her when she was 15 1/2. In that span, she had a mast cell tumor on the tip of her tail that led to the amputation of her tail at age 5.

There were no other signs of cancer spread on the scans, but when she was 15, she tripped on her own leash and broke her femur. She made a full recovery and amazing transition into the Tripawd life, but she unfortunately crossed the rainbow bridge a few months after we lost her sister.

Words do not describe the devastation of her loss…and few months after her passing, I visited the shelter simply to spend time with the pups looking for homes. The last kennel had a puppy, sitting in silence, listening to every word I said to him.

Jessie had drawn our attention when we found her at the shelter, because she was the only dog not barking. This was also the case for Raleigh (named Sprite at the time). A shelter worker explained how he just arrived from foster that day and is everyone's favorite due to his sweet, snuggly, & shy nature.

When he got up to walk to his cot, she said, "oh yea, he only has 3 legs."

My sobbing response: "MY dog only had 3 legs!" And you can assume the ending of that story.

Roo had apparently been transferred to SPCA Tampa Bay from another rescue where he had broken his leg at 4 months old. It was not taken care of appropriately and had healed in place, causing more pain and issues.

In his best interest, SPCA amputated his hind leg, at 8 months old. After spending 2 weeks in foster for recovery, he found his furever home with my husband and I (and his brother tortoise) the day he came back to the shelter!

He recently celebrated his "3 Legs for 3 Years" birthday party at Dog Bar St. Pete where all of his best friends get together to romp around, including several of his tripod posse members.

Currently, he is in training for scent detection as a service dog and is also in the running for America's Favorite Pet!

Unfortunately, the week before his 3rd birthday, Roo slipped on the pavement too quickly and, what we thought, injured his knee.

He bounced back within the week, but it was a blessing in disguise, because we learned his remaining hind limb was chronically injured.

His surgeon explained he likely injured it as a puppy when he injured what is now his amputated leg. The neglect for caring for it affected proper progression in his growth plates, and in turn his leg has been growing incorrectly for the last 2 1/2 years.

Because of this, not only will he likely need a total hip replacement in the future, but right now his only back leg required a complicated surgery performed by a veterinary surgical specialist called a modified cranial closing wedge osteotomy (CCWO).

This is a surgical procedure that involves adjusting the tibial plateau (the surface at the top of the shin bone) by cutting out a wedge of bone from the front of the shin. The bone above and below the removed wedge is closed and secured with a purpose-made plate and screws resulting in a flatter surface. Recovery is painful and challenging, much more so for a pup that will not be able to use his only back leg.

On the bright side, Raleigh underwent a flawless and successful CCWO surgery and is in recovery!

He has been and unbelievable strong, active, & stoic dog from the beginning so the road to recovery is off to a good start and he should be back to wrestling & racing with his friends and chasing the squirrels in no time.

In the meantime, he is getting spoiled with extra snuggles, treatos, and naps! We still plan to celebrate National Triday, as I am going to be a part of a local Triday fundraiser that day in honor of Raleigh Roo.

Raleigh Roo is a true tripod hero living every day filled with adventures of walks at the park, traveling, exploring the beach, attending events & fundraisers, & going to Dog Bar!

He makes furiends both furry and human wherever we go and is well recognized in the community. Raleigh is also in training as a scent detection service dog & after his recovery, plans to work as a therapy dog.

Our Roo is the happiest ambassador for rescued pups, mixed breeds, & (not so) disabled fur friends, each day reminding us humans about perseverance & inspiring to truly living every day to the fullest!

Follow his story on Instagram: @raleighroothetripod and Facebook: Raleigh Roo the Tripod Terrier

Thank you reading & for all that you do for the Tripawds!!!

-Katie Wojdyla & Raleigh Roo the Tripod

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