Last night Jason brought Duke home to me. It was late, a little past 8 o’clock or so, and I admit: I was fairly anxious. I love my dogs, truly, but they aren’t always the most hospitable to newcomers. I must have lucked out though. They seem to be doing just fine, though my Shepherd girl isn’t too thrilled with me.
(she is a bit of a love hogger)
We went to sleep that night trying to keep all the dogs off the bed in an attempt of not displaying favoritism. It didn’t work. Within a half hour Duke struggled and jumping into the bed and crawled into my arms. I laid there, silently crying and holding this poor dog who has had such an awful few years. I love him already.
——
I like to know what I’m getting myself into…
Upon finding out about Duke, I’ve looked into the breed (Red Tick Coonhound) as well as what owning a Tripod Dog means. I really only had a week to prepare and he is my very first disabled dog.
My family and I have active ties to the dog community- disabled and rescue- and we all own several pups. I’ve been fortunate enough to have such supportive family members, as well as the most amazing man in my life, Jason. I don’t know what I would do without him. Duke was 100% his idea.
I’m so lucky. And now I get to share some of that luck with Duke.
He is asleep right now, on the floor, laying near my lab mix. Mika has been a true champ. He is a very large, very dominant male… but he is a good dog. I know he is just confused about why Duke is in the house cuddling with me, and less about the fact that there is another dog next to him.
Saki will take some time to warm up to him, mostly because she is a the jealous type.
I started this blog hoping to gain some awareness of what Duke can and cannot do- what are his options? He is missing a hind leg- should we consider prosthetics? Would that even work? How active can he be? I worry about my bigger dogs knocking him over. They have probably 50lbs on him. He seems in relatively good spirits, though. So I guess there is a sense of optimism about him that is contagious.
I just want to give him a good life where he can enjoy doing the same doggie things as everyone else.
Thank goodness warm weather is just around the corner.
Awww, what a cutie! You’ll be surprised how well Duke will do, he’ll amaze you every day 🙂
Thank you! He is such a sweet dog!
OMD!! That face just melted my heart!! And your other two sharing the sofa…PRECIOUS!!
Good for you for adopting a tripawd! What a lucky boy Duke is!! And Jason is dfinitely a “good boy”!
How did he come to be a tripawd? How long?
You’ll find Duke can do everything! Sometimes rear leg tripawds have trouble going up stairs, whereas frontleg tripawds sometimesjave trouble going down.
If you have hardwood floors inyour huse, you’llwant scatter frugs to prevent sliiping. Raised food bowls make it easier on them too.
You’ll wanthimn a good oint supplement as thereis more wear and tear ntheir remaiing legs. Tripawds should never jump off anythingnhigh..again to avoid stress on their joints.
Tere are some great links on the site and “Jerry’s Required Reading List” that will help you alot.
Really look forward to following Duke on this journey with his new family. He will now kow what love feels like!
And keep tose pics coming of all you pack! ADORABLE!!
Sending hugs to all!
Sally and Happy Hannah
@benny55
He is about four years old and his leg was amputated about two years ago from what I gather. The shelter we got him from told us he did just fine on three legs- and he really can get along fine. I’m just such a sympathizer! Thank you for the comment! I look forward to following you too! And thanks for the tip- do you think glucosamine is a good idea?
Welcome! Welcome! We are so hoppy to have you here, thank you so much for sharing his journey with the community. By doing so, others will learn from you and Duke.
If you haven’t already, start with the Tripawds ebook, Loving Life on 3 Legs (http://downloads.tripawds.com/store/products/loving-life-on-three-legs/). We wrote it especially for folks who have a Tripawd by adoption and want to know how to keep him/her strong and healthy. We also recommend hopping over to the Tripawds Discussion Forums where you’ll find tons of support from our giant community. There’s so much to tell you I can’t fit it all here, so I hope to see you in the Forums! Start in the “Beyond Cancer” topic (http://tripawds.com/forums/beyond-cancer/) and we can take it from there!