Can you tell me some happy stories about 3 legged dogs please?

[FiveHoursSleep]

I shouldn't be so upset about this as I know she'll be fine about it but there is a good chance that our 4 year old saluki lurcher is about to lose a hind leg.
She got hit by a car about three weeks ago, broke her kneecap and the repair hasn't gone well. The specialist is prepared to try something else if he can source a particular kind of graft that is used in tendons, but they seem to be as rare as hens teeth.
So if he can't find this particular graft, then she'll be left with a leg she can't use and the kindest thing is to remove it.
I'm a vet, so I've seen a lot of tripods, and I've even taken a few legs off in my time but it's different when it's your own pet.
Her favourite thing is to be the fastest dog in the field and losing a leg will slow her down.
ON the plus side she will recover a lot more quickly than she will if the surgeon finds this graft and does the surgery. If that happens it will be months before she is allowed off lead.
Do you have a three legged dog (or cat)? They don't miss their leg at all, do they?

I have seen a lot of 3 legged dogs having a whale of a time! It is our predjudices that get in the way. It's far easier being a hind leg - less weight bearing. You would advise that. And I'm sure you would say that we miss the leg far more than they do! It's a horrible thing to happen. I am sorry. Your dog will be fine. Think of all the reassurance you've given other dog owners!

There is an Italian Greyhound on an fb page I'm on that recently had a back leg removed due to a car accident.
The owner posted a video of it 10 days later meandering round the garden.
It didn't take many weeks for her to be up and running again.

Yeah, that will be the huge advantage. Sutures come out, dog can head off into the sunset.
The worry is of course, if something happens to the remaining leg. Always a possibility in a lurcher!
Also my 9 yo wants to know if we can bring the leg home and bury it!

Only bury bits if you are sure you won't dig them up again!!!

LOL-EasyTiger! That's got the beginnings of a fairly dark comedy!

depending on your finances I would genuinely seriously consider going to noel fitzpatrick for a second opionion.The leg may be saveble by his hands.

Im a vet to and in ireland.if my dog was facing losing a leg for anything but bone cancer I would consider getting a ferry across and going to noels referral hospital.he can offer options no one on this island can and has access to more materials than most of us can dream of.

Yes dogs do very well om 3 legs...but your girl is 4 and healthy.it could be worth a shot

Also apologies for horrific spelling and grammer.my phone dislikes posting intensely.

Not a dog story... but my cat is three legged. (She had an argument with a car when she was 6 months old).

As a vet you may know if it's true, but her vet said it might put a bit more strain on her heart so to watch her diet and that she might not live to be really old because of that. But she stayed slim, healthy - and is now 20 (and going strong).

Fivehoursleep I once was faced with a cat with brachial paralysis in one front leg who had fractured a hind leg. Initially we pinned the femur, however, the owner ignored all our advice and let the cat outside who re broke the leg and fractured the pin. So we then did ESF kept the cat with us for two weeks all going great sent him home he managed to rip the ESF out at home.
We were faced with no other choice, but to remove the leg. He lived another 10 years with 2.5 legs.
A cat I know, but like your dog light framed.
Who knows what is going to come along in the future, me I would always take great quality of life now and deal with the future when it happens.
Hope they do find the tendon graft for you though.

Arundonto, We are seeing Michael Hamilton who is probably up there with Noel.
But I guess it's worth a thought...
As far as costs go, we've spent 5.5K on her so far ( she had a pnemothorax when first presented, so very poorly- those intensive care costs soon add up!)
This new op, should it go ahead, will cost another £3K , whereas an amputation will cost around £800
And of course we were short on the insurance, so can only hope for £4K back. ( Not that money is the important thing here, but we need to rewire the house too!)

Lonekitten- yikes re your 2.5 legged cat!
I don't do surgery atm, but have a client with a cat with 3 legs, half a tail and only one kidney (spay gone wrong!). Its name is not Lucky.

She will be fine on 3 legs. She may even be faster as carrying less weight!

I work at a referral centre and sometimes I think it is better to amputate than keep putting the patient through lots of surgery. Tendons can be a right pain to fix.

Like you, I'm a vet, so I've seen an awful lot of 3 legged dogs over the years, and haven't had one that has done anything other than brilliantly. I think honestly if she was mine I would do the amputation and let her get on with her life. Hope all goes well, whatever you decide!

I know a couple that had a tripod greyhound. It was a hind leg she lost, she used to stand on one leg and dig in the garden :o

I'm friends with a different tripod greyhound on Facebook, there are sometimes videos of her uploaded, charging around like a mad thing, you wouldn't know she had 3 legs by her speed!

My friend's dog lost a leg to a car when he was seven. After the first couple of weeks (when he kept forgetting he couldn't cock his leg so fell over) he's been fine. He's now 17 and still going strong - only old age has slowed him down!

I should add, after her accident my tripod cat stopped growing so she is tiny. (Lost a front leg). Despite the amputation, she is the boss of all the local cats - they are all terrified of her, even the massive ferals toms from the farm nearby. Strangely, she even manages to catch the odd bird (we thought she was bringing in another cat's kills, then my kids saw her up a tree, killing a sparrow!) She has managed over 19 years on 3 legs and is absolutely fine.

We seem to attract the tripods as I keep angora bunnies and a breeder gave me one that was born with 3 legs (or had a leg nipped off by accident by mum, she was never sure). He managed just fine, too.

I see a lot of tripod sighthounds both through my voluntary work and via our business. Especially with losing a back leg, they manage brilliantly and can still manage impressive speeds when running and turning, and are still up for all sorts of mischief. My favourite was one who decided to run off with a chip pan (when he was supposed to be convalescing! ) and flooded the kitchen with oil.

Awww, thanks everyone. Especially those with stories of tripod sighthounds. I'm going to leave it in the lap of the gods, I think.
If her surgeon can find the spare part she needs, then we'll go for it. If not, then she's going to have to make do with three legs.

When I was a dog walker I used to walk a pair of lurchers, one of them lost a leg to bone cancer. The three legged one frequently Out ran her 4 legged brother! He also fell over more than she did!