Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello everyone!
My year old lab/husky mix, Bentley, was hit by a car on 1/7/10, and the nerves in his brachial plexus were severed, rendering him no usage of his front left leg. My vet is anticipating an amputation in the near future, and I want to make this transition as easy as possible for Bentley.
Does anyone happen to have a Large AST Get A Grip or Ruff Wear Harness for Bentley? He and I would so greatly appreciate it! We can be reached here or at scottishlass78@ymail.com.
Licks and Wags,
Charla and Bentley
Hi Charla,
I'm so sorry to hear about Bentley's accident. How is Bentley recovering since his accident? I know it's only been 6 days... How soon before your vet thinks about doing an amputation? Is he waiting to see if he regains the use of his injured leg first? How old is Bentley?
Love the picture of Bentley's eye in your avatar. Are both his eyes that color? Post some pictures of your sweetie! We'd love to see!
Angel Jake's Mom
Jake, 10yr old golden retriever (fractured his front right leg on 9/1, bone biopsy revealed osteosarcoma on 9/10, amputation on 9/17) and his family Marguerite, Jacques and Wolfie, 5yr old german shepherd and the newest addition to the family, Nala, a 7mth old Bengal mix kittie. Jake lost his battle on 11/9/2009, almost 8 weeks after his surgery. We will never forget our sweet golden angel… http://jakesjou.....ipawds.com ….. CANCER SUCKS!
Charla and Bentley,
Thank you for joining us here, we are so very sorry about your accident, but very glad that you survived. Do tell us more about yourself in our "Share Your Story" if you have time, we'd love to hear more about your life.
Try not to be scared, as you can see, being a Tripawd ain't so bad. We hope someone can help with a harness they aren't using.
Many wags & woofs to you!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Jerry and Jake's Mom,
Thank you both for the warm welcome! Bentley and his brother Benson are 1 year old lab/husky mixes. I adopted both at 8 weeks old, so they've never been apart. Bentley has 1 blue and 1 brown eye, and looks the part of a lab. Benson has both brown eyes, but took mostly the husky side. I had originally planned on only Benson, but when I went to pick him up, the family had one pup left, and I chose to take him too, I couldn't just leave him behind. (The very same reason why I have 14 cats...lol)
We had our first Christmas this past year, and the boys LOVED opening up their presents! Both very active dogs, they love to run and play, and as I've found out, love the snow 🙂
As you already know, Bentley was hit a week ago today. He is recovering well, except of course his leg. I took him Tuesday to the vet because he hadn't even tried to use his leg and I was very concerned, considering his x-rays showed no fractures anywhere. It was then he tried the reflex tests, and the pain test, and confirmed his suspicion that the nerves in his brachial plexus were severed. He said in all the years he's seen this type of injury, only one dog regained some use of his leg, but never 100% He's 99% positive that Bentley will not be that fortunate, but is giving it 8 weeks, and at that point, will more than likely take his leg. He offered the suggestion to try low level laser therapy, but the chances of that working are less than 10%.
At any rate, he's doing OK, he isn't his same self yet, I'm sure there's still bruising, etc that's keeping him almost sedentary. But, on the up an up, time heals and he'll be just fine!
How lucky to have those two boys! I'm going to be that if Bentley loses his leg, his brother will take very good care of him too.
Hang in there and remain hopeful that he'll beat the odds. We recently met a physical therapy team here in Los Angeles and they said they have proven that with good therapy, dogs in Bentley's situation can recover more often that not (they did say that they would wait 6 months before deciding on amputation in a case like that). We'll have a story about this rehab center in the near future.
But if Bentley does turn into a Tripawd, you sure have a great attitude…he'll do pawesome!
Paws are crossed over here for your boy.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Welcome to tripawds. Thanks for sharing. We have a Bentley, too, he is a choc lab. If your Bentley needs to have an amputation this is a wonderful site to come to for information and support. Please keep us informed. Do you have a picture you can post?
Debra & Angel Emily
Debra & Emily, a five year old doberman mix, who was diagnosed with an osteosaecoma. She had a right rear leg amputation on May 19, 2009. On November 10, 2009 she earned her wings and regained her fourth leg.
Just an update to my Tripawds friends-
Bentley's leg has broken down more quickly than we thought, so he is scheduled for his amputation tomorrow morning. Wish us luck!
(BTW, for some reason I am not able to create a blog to post pics, any ideas?)
Best of luck tomorrow. I hope all goes well. We'll be thinking of you!
-Gwen and Harley
Amputation on 11/10/09, due to Histiocytic Sarcoma in left elbow. Angel Harley earned his wings on 06/24/10.
Good luck!!! And though it can be difficult, try to get a LOT of rest for yourself while Bentley is with the vet, because the first two weeks of his recovery will be pretty draining. But after that, expect to be amazed at how unstressful and normal life is again!
Gerry has been a tripawd since 12/16/2009.
He was a shelter dog with a mysterious past and an irrepairable knee injury.
Videos and pics of Gerry's pawesomeness can be found at: http://gerry.tripawds.com
Best of luck to you and Bentley, but please start a new topic for updates. You can use this topic to communicate with anyone who may have a used harness to offer.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Good luck tomorrow. I will pray for your guy. Remember that the first two weeks are the most difficult but after that most dogs recover very nicely. My two peices of advice I always give are to raise the food dish on a stool or something so that Bentley won't have to balance on three legs with his head lowered so much and start a good joint supplement if you haven't already. Good luck. Keep us updataed.
Debra & Angel Emily
Debra & Emily, a five year old doberman mix, who was diagnosed with an osteosaecoma. She had a right rear leg amputation on May 19, 2009. On November 10, 2009 she earned her wings and regained her fourth leg.
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