Hey, Everyone!  So glad to have a place just for our sweet 3-legged pups!  I had no idea there were so dogs who became tripawds due to a cancer diagnosis.  My heart goes out to you all - it must be so hard to go through.  I can't imagine having to make the decisions you have or will have to make.

Lucky is a tripawd because he was on the losing end of a fight between him and a vehicle.  He is a Lab mutt mix and is about 5 years old.  My husband and son found him on a Sunday morning on a walking path right off a very busy 4-lane street in our city.  It was July 29 in the South.  Easily 90+ degrees and 100,000,000% humidity.   My first thought when I saw him was, "This dog is going to die very soon."  He was hurt very badly, emaciated, and flea- and ant-infested.  It was so bad it makes cry even now to think about it.  He had multiple cuts and scrapes, but his worst injury was his back left leg and hip.  He couldn't pick his leg up so it had been dragging out straight behind him.  The top of his foot was raw and infected. 

I _really_ thought at the time that the best thing to do would be to make him as comfortable as we could until either he died or we could get him to a vet to be put down.  But there were some remarkable things about him.  The first thing that just floored us was that no matter what we were doing to him while trying to clean him up and give him first aid, he kept licking us.  He never tried to bite us or react like one would think a hurt dog would.  He has these beautiful light brown eyes - it's almost like you can see what he's thinking.  During this time, he would give us the sweetest looks like he knew we were trying to help.  And, even though he couldn't walk without dragging that foot on the ground, he kept trying to follow us around the yard or to the house.  He desperately wanted attention, even in pain.   My husband built a little low fence to try and keep him one spot.  It was so sweet to see both my sons out there talking to him and petting on him.  They don't usually go outside in the summer unless they have to!

I prayed for help in knowing what to do - we all became attached very quickly so putting him down was out of the picture, unless we had to.  The next day I remembered a couple we knew who ran a rescue.  When I called and told them the situation, the only thing they asked was whether or not we were going to keep him.  At this point there was no question, no matter what happened!  They referred us to a wonderful vet and paid for all the visits and surgery for Lucky.  Such a blessing.  Our first visit confirmed what we thought about him being hit by a car and the vet said it had been about a week prior.  None of us could believe Lucky had survived that long.  X-rays told us that Lucky's back was broken and that was why he could not pick up his leg.  We did not immediately decide to amputate, but tried to curtail the infection and see if, with time, he could recover some of the feeling and be able to pick up his leg.  But 2 days later the foot had developed gangrene, so there was no question. 

He came through the surgery without a hitch.  In fact, we had to make him be still and quiet the days right after the surgery bcause he just wanted to run around and play - from the moment we pulled up in the yard from the vet's.  We decided to name him Lucky because he was lucky to be alive.   He does great despite the fact that his back will never heal - it's possible to feel the vertebrae from his tail up about 5 inches along his back - you can feel where it's broken.  Sadly, his tail doesn't work.  He can get it out of the way for, um, certain functions, but it doesn't wag.  I really miss that sometimes.  We thought for a little while we'd have to amputate that too if he couldn't get it out of the way.   He also has several scars from the deeper cuts.  One of them is kinda cute - it's right above his left eyebrow, so it looks like his eyebrow is raised and he's saying, "Huh?"  But, like so many other dogs, he doesn't know he only has 3 legs. 

That was 3 years ago.  We are truly blessed to have him.  He is the perfect dog for our family.  He loves to play and will often start fights with my boys.  He loves to go jogging with my hubby.  And he knows that I'm the boss - so often he acts like he knows just what I'm saying, especially when he's in trouble.  (That's the look he gives me in my avatar.)  He is very smart, but a doofus too.

Sorry this is such a long intro - it was quite an adventure in the beginning.  Our vet has told us that arthritis is inevitable, so I'll be looking for help from this site to help Lucky along and make things the best we can for him.  It wonderful to have a community of people who are facing the same issues.  God Bless you all!