It’s been about a month since Petey lost his left front leg to the dog next door. He was abandon and we took him in and made him a member of our family with five cats and two other dogs. He was malnourished and afraid. However after he was here a few days he seemed to be getting along really well. He settled in and became a happy healthy and rambunctious little dog. He was becoming OUR’S. One night while I was at work after three weeks with him , my wife let all the dogs out for a quick run in the back yard and to pee and poop before bed. I got the call around 9 PM that Petey was hurt bad and was on his way to the emergency vets.
When I got there I saw my poor wife crying with her girlfriend in her van . My wife was in the back seat with the puppy in her arms. I took the little guy and carried him in. They took his weak battered little frame from me and told us to sit in a room. That was the first real moment I actually saw my wife. She was covered in blood from head to toe. She was crying and seemed to be as hurt as the dog. The vet came in and gave us the bad news that he might loose his leg. My wife and our friend and I sat there in disbelief. Only about a month and this happens to our little guy. We cried until we got him back from the vet.Three day later we took him home. He was really out of it for a week but seemed to be doing a lot better than we were. His incision began to close and the hair began to grow back. He started to jump and tried to run with the big dogs. It was hell keeping him quiet and down until the Docs gave us the OK for him to play.
I spoke to the owner of the dog that tore off Petey’s leg ( our neighbor ). He told me that his dog did nothing wrong. He said there was no blood on his dogs coat of in his mouth. He said my wife cause all the trauma when she pulled our dog from under the fence.My wife saw the dog chewing on Petey’s leg like a toy trying to pull him under the fence. His dog somehow grabbed Petey’s leg , pulled it under the fence. clamped down on the ulnar and radius crushing the latter and breaking the radius in two places. The blood vessels , muscles and tendons were destroyed. If we opted to attempt to save his leg there would have been more than 15 surgeries and a 5% chance that the leg would heal. Also the risk of infection was extreme. All this and the puppy was only 5 months old. What a way to start a life. And for me it was really not good. I was trying to save this little guy from the pain of not eating and being alone on the streets. Now even My supposed neighbor was against us.( and still is )
After all the trouble and pain that we all suffered finally it’s getting a LOT better. Pete is running and jumping like a dog with all his legs . He is as fast or faster than the other dogs. He is so happy and outgoing and friendly it ‘s a bit scary. He’s becoming a really great little guy. I am so lucky to have him . There is of course a law suit and I buried panels and attacked them to the fence so the dog next door can’t even see mine any more. I sort of feel bad though. It’s not the dog fault , it’s the owner. In the last 6 years since he’s had the two dogs next door I’ve never seen him play with the or take them anywhere or walk them. As long as I had dogs I tto walk them every day and take them out for rides and into the woods with me whenever I go. Thye have been to all the state parks in our area and a few out of state. But such is life.
I am glad I found Tripawds. The site has given me a lot of needed information. It helped me come to grips with the fact the he had three legs now. I know he shouldn’t do some of the things he does and we do try to stop him from jumping and really going like a bat out of hell but it’s hard . He’s so happy when he’s playing and just being a real dog. Maybe the guy next door will take responsibility and even that part of the hell will be over.
Now My puppy is again a happy , healthy and playful dog and I hope we have him around for a really long time.
Thanks for letting me vent and ramble. It’s been a long hard road for all of us here .