Three Legged Dog Club
Cassie's Club Members
 
Ian

This is my tri-pod, Ian.
Last April, I went to the AZ Humane Society to look for my cat that had gone missing. After looking thru all the cats and not finding him,
I made a spur of the moment decision to walk thru and look at all the dogs for adoption.

I had absolutely NO intension of adopting an animal, as I already had
3 kids, 3 cats, and a cocker spaniel at home.

As I walked down "dog alley," I was overwhelmed by the noise from all the dogs barking and leaping at the cage doors at me.

And then I walked past a kennel where no dog barked.

I paused and looked in and saw a small white and red body laying on a cot. The poor thing had a cone around his neck, so I couldn't see his head.

The dog didn't even bother to look up at me as I stood in front of his kennel door.

He was so depressed that he didn't even care.

He was all curled up in a ball laying on his legs with his back to the world.

I don't know why, but I wanted to pet this dog, to hug him.

I went to the nearest AZHS employee and asked her to take him out.

She got a leash and went into the cage and looped it around his neck. She said "OOOhhh you will love this guy! He's special."

When she pulled him off of his cot and walked him out the cage door, I realized why he had the cone on.

The dog was shaved smooth and had very fresh stitches on his hip. He was missing his back leg!

The next few moments were a blur of tears as I called my husband and begged and cried to him to let me bring the dog home.

In 2002 I was in a rollover car accident that crippled me.

In the years since, I have had many "disabled" animals including a crippled cat, a blind cat and a blind Australian shepherd.

I'm not sure why, but I guess I feel a sense of likeness for that kind of animal. So it was only evident that this dog was meant to be with me.

And in the end, my husband sighed and said "yes, bring him home."
So I named him Ian.

The AZHS said he was found as a stray with multiple fractures in his back right leg and wounds all over.

They were unable to save his leg, so they amputated it.
They said he was probably hit by a car.

Ian looks like a pure-bred Brittany.
He is the sweetest dog I have ever owned.

They way he looks at me, I would swear he knows that I saved him from the humane society.

And he is wicked smart!
He does several tricks like shake and high-5 and spin left and spin right.

When I take him to the dog park, he sprints like lightning and is faster than many of the other dogs there.

He is so handsome and truly the light of my life!

Emily Collins
Phoenix, AZ
Wednesday January 7, 2009

 
Zeena

Hello....My name is Zeena!

I've had a great home now for about 7 1/2 years with my new owners. When I was first adopted from the Humane Society, my vet said I was about 5-7 years old, so now I'm either 12 or 14.

About two years ago, I got a growth on my left leg....in the knee area.
It was taken off then, but then about 6 weeks ago, my Mom & Dad noticed it had come back, and was getting larger. It grew much larger (about the size of an elongated soft ball), and at a rapid pace.

When I was taken to the vet, he told us that we could amputate
(or the other option, which I don't want to discuss).
I'm in very good health, so my vet said to go home and wait until the growth got so large that I couldn't walk or run or it began to split and bleed.

About 6 weeks later, I had to go back to the vet and I had my leg amputated. My surgery was 3 days ago and I'm doing pretty well. Better than my owners thought I'd do. I'm really looking forward to chasing birds and cats again, but I know it will take time.

The best part, is that I'm a larger shepherd and I usually stay outdoors or in the barn, so now I'm in the HOUSE....and I LOVE it.
I get spoiled a lot and I get special treatment.

From the owner:

I want to thank you for your web site. I was very undecided on what to do. We have a large family and I was getting 'opinions' from many different areas. My vet was all for the amputation since Zeena is very healthy and even though she's older, she loves life and is a happy dog.
I read many of the stories in your web pages and that's what made me decide to give Zeena a chance. I'm fortunate that I can stay home and care for her, and spoil her for a few weeks, and that helps.

I know we have a few weeks of special care and for Zeena, it will be a big change in her life, but the key word here is "LIFE"....!

So thanks for your help in answering the many questions we all have when we're faced with this decision.

Every day, she seems to get stronger and I'm thankful for that.

Right now, she's staying indoors with me and loves it....but she does love being outside. We live in Oregon, so it's quite wet outside at times, but she had the barn to go in to, or our garage. And our dirt is very soft and pliable.

I just don't know what to expect in the next few weeks and how fast she will be able to be on her own.

I'm attaching a photo of her....she's a sweet girl.
This was taken about 3 hours after her surgery!

Thanks for the reply.

Sherma
Friday January 9, 2009

UPDATE:

Hello again.....
Thanks so much for the great advice about her front paw, etc.
It's great to get advice from someone who has gone through this themselves.

Today is the 5th day after surgery and she's doing remarkably well.
She's way spoiled though and is getting used to all the extra attention.
But that's fine with us. My main concern now, is when to stop the pain meds. The vet prescribed 6 a day and I'm now down to 4, but not sure she really needs them. I don't want her to be in any pain, so I'll call the vet today and see what they say about it.

Since the dogs can't tell you in words, you just have no idea.

Again, I do appreciate your letters and concern.
You have a great website that I'm sure is much help to many who face this situation with their pets.

Thanks again.

Sherma
Monday January 12, 2009

 
< < Previous Page   Next Page > >