Hi,
my name is Elaine and I have just had to amputate my dog Colt's front left leg. He is an American Bully. He is a sweetheart, but has a big bark.

The first foggy night we had a month ago, he must have caught a smell, dashed off and was hit by a car. He didn't break any bones and hardly had any scratches, but he couldn't move his leg.

I took him to the vet and they said it could be torn nerves or just shock. So they said give him awhile and see if he gains any movement back. Well he could move his shoulder, but nothing else.

By him dragging his paw, he kept scraping it and he started to chew on it, so we wrapped it, and during play, he and my other dog Buck kept ripping off the bandages.

One day, it looked like a bear paw, so I took him in and the vet said he had gangrene, so then I had it removed. He is a really loving dog, but gets anxious really easy and then would be naughty, so we got him Buck in the hope it would calm him down, and that did the trick.

This is my first time seeing and being around a three-legged dog.

Elaine Thein
Sunday January 5, 2014

Never Stop Believing.
Back in 2000, my seizures were pretty bad and other bad things were going on in my life. I was reading a newspaper and saw a "puppies for sale" ad. Well, something made me go look at them. They were Terrier and miniature Collie. Well, that inner voice told me to get this one, and she has been a blessing. Her name is Lady.

Lady wasn't very old and she knew when I was going to have a seizure before I did. She would get on my lap and not move.
If I was standing she would rub my legs not wanting me to move.
Lady taught me what to look for, before a seizure.

About a year and a half ago, she hurt her leg.
I took her to the vet and he said she'd sprained it; she was better real fast. Last Saturday, she started getting a big lump on her leg. Monday I took her to the vet. They thought it was a broken blood vessel. A lot of blood was drained, then she came back home. Lady just wasn't herself. New Years' day, she couldn't walk well.

Thursday morning, back to the vet. Well, the vet called and told me she had a tumor in her bone. So I could have let the vet take off as much of the tumor as possible and let her live on pain pills because she wouldn't have muscle and the tumor would've come back, we could've put her down, or remove her leg.

Well, Lady had cared for me and my family for so many years, I couldn't do anything but have her leg removed. The vet wanted to keep her overnight, but I wanted to be there for her when she came to, so I brought her home.

She was a Zombie. At midnight, my Lady was back and she wanted food and water and to go outside. She was already making small steps; less than 24 hours after surgery, she was up walking and hopping.

My point in writing this is please never give up. Hold on to faith and listen to that inner voice and all will be fine.

This is the story of my dog, and I wanted to share it on this website.

Jodi Brinkman
Tuesday January 14, 2014