My bendyfooted mudpuppy is losing her bendy foot today...
 

Hi all,
my sweet little mudpuppy Jaida is at the vet's right now...they are amputating her lower leg to remove the malformed part. It's always been in her way and impedes her mobility, not to mention it gets bonked and scraped on things all the time. We're only removing the lower part (below the elbow) because we're going to get her a prosthesis after she's healed up.

I am nervous. Sad. Missing her little "boo-boo leg" already, it was part of her. Trying to imagine how she's going to look. :sad:

Hoping and Praying that all goes well with Jaida's surgery today:pray: :goodvibes: . You will have to give lots of hugs and kisses to help her heal when she comes home!

:fingerscrs and :pawprint:s crossed for a good outcome! With all those good wishes and :goodvibes:s headed your way, how can she lose?

Just keep focussed on the goal, bendyfoot! She'll be so happy once she's healed up and gets her prosthesis! :thumbs up

just wanted to pop in and say GOOD LUCK! best wishes for a healthy and happy outcome, and a super speedy recovery! please keep us posted if you can - sending TONS of good vibes you & Jaida's way today!

:grouphug: :fingerscr :goodvibes: from all of us here !!

I saw a doggy at Woofstock with a prosthesis ~ looked healthy & happy, bounced about like all his other buddies ! :pawprint:

Any word, yet, bendyfoot? :fingerscr :goodvibes: :grouphug:

Nothing yet. I'm expecting word any time though. Boy, am I fretting...

I feel so bad for her. Her leg's going to be sore, PLUS she's getting spayed, PLUS the vet decided to remove her hind dewclaws...

I know it's best to do it all at once because her lungs aren't great (she came to us with really nasty pneumonia, which left scars), and this will spare her more rounds of anaesthetic, but still... although I suppose she's not going to be allowed to move much at all for the next week or two because of her amputation...so it'll allow everything to heal up quickly... poor baby...

I just wish I knew how she was doing....AUGH!!!:yell:

Awwww poor sweet jaida!! I hope they give her painkillers for when she is healing at home.:grouphug:

Yes, she'll have a fentanyl patch and they will give us some NSAIDS too. I'm sure she'll be getting some morphine or the like for tonight (we don't get to take her home until tomorrow). I suspect she'll be feeling fine within a few days, though...it's going to be hard to keep her quiet and inactive for two weeks...

Oh I hope she is doing well! :fingerscr

I've seen lots of 3-legged dogs, but I've never seen one with a prosthetic leg, does she have to go through physical therapy to learn how to use it, just like people do?

She's Out!!!
 

Just got the call...she's done, awake, and fine. Everything went well, no complications other than her elbow was a bit tricky to work with because the bones don't fit together the way they're supposed to. She's alert, mor alert than the vet expected her to be at this point.
All is well, including my pounding heart!!! :)

:thumbs up That's great!

That's a relief :grouphug:

Great news, bendyfoot! :grouphug:s for you and Jaida (but hug her carefully! :o)

wonderful news!

WOOO HOOOO Yeahh for Jaida!!!!:lovestruck:

Glad to hear everything went well..:thumbs up

[QUOTE=SableCollie;439437]Oh I hope she is doing well! :fingerscr

I've seen lots of 3-legged dogs, but I've never seen one with a prosthetic leg, does she have to go through physical therapy to learn how to use it, just like people do?[/QUOTE]

We'll have to see. We'll likely do physio prior to getting the prosthesis to keep the range of motion and muscle tone in the shoulder, maybe do some electrotherapy to stimulate muscle development. I imagine that we'll have to gradually work her up to using the prosthesis for longer periods of time, just as we had to develop her strength gradually with her good front leg over the past few months.
Prostheses for dogs aren't common, but more vets are becoming aware of them as an option. Here's some pics:
[IMG]http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u75/mom2jaida/twofeet.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u75/mom2jaida/prosthhindleg.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u75/mom2jaida/prosh.jpg[/IMG]

A few more:

[IMG]http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u75/mom2jaida/foreleg.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u75/mom2jaida/dogwithrunnerspringfoot.jpg[/IMG]

And links to a video from the guy who's going to make Jaida's. This poor puppy suffered an incredible act of cruelty, but is "running like hell" now on his new leg. The video is of his first time trying it on...I think he does pretty well, considering the slippery floor!

[URL="http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-2126095530430641095"]http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-2126095530430641095[/URL]
[URL="http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=7860242603393370321"]http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=7860242603393370321[/URL]

I'm hopeful that Jaida will adapt to using a prosthesis, because she always tried to use her leg, but it was too short unless she was moving slowly or bending over.

I couldn't download the video, but even the stills are [I]amazing![/I] I had no idea there was so much available for dogs! :highfive:

I'm sorry your poor doggy had to go through this. Hope the healing is quick and not too painful. Good luck

Yep, since we've had the luxury of time to plan and prepare for the amputation, we managed to come across a wealth of information about prosthesis, orthotic braces, wheelchairs/carts, all kinds of things. There is definitely life after amputation, injury or paralysis. I wouldn't even flinch at the thought of caring for a pet if they lost the use of their leg(s) anymore. There's just so much available out there if you're lucky enough to stumble across it.
Jeff, who will be making Jaida's leg, is an amputee himself and used to make devices for children before moving on to help animals. He works out of Halifax [URL="http://www.k-9orthotics.com"]http://www.k-9orthotics.com[/URL], and has been awesome through our whole decision-making process. He does the work because it benefits the animals and their people and because he personally knows what a difference a device can mean for mobility. It's great because we can ask him about different models or types of devices, and he's usually tried them himself and can advise us about how they fit, feel and help him get around.

Bendyfoot,this is the first time I see Jaida,what a pretty girl:lovestruck:
I am sure she'll adjust to anything ,just like most animals..
I hope she has a quick recovery and it won't be too painful for her:pray:

I am very much involved with the human disabilty movement (if I dare call it that!) and we have always noted animals do so much better and adapt more quickly than humans! I send you my best thoughts!! i HOPE HER RECOVERY WILL GO WELL!! (Sorry for the caps -iguess I really wanted to emphasize it,lol

Give your doggie a hug for me!

Those pictures of prosthetic legs are very interesting! I guess it would make it easier for the dog to get around? All the 3 legged dogs I know seem to get around just fine, but I guess it would put a lot of stress on the remaining legs, because they have to bear more weight. I suppose a prosthesis would help with that?

That poor puppy in the video! He looked like he was getting the hang of his new "leg" pretty quickly though!

Poor Jaida. :grouphug: Sending lots of good wishes for a great recovery. :fingerscr :fingerscr :goodvibes: :goodvibes: :goodvibes:

How is Jaida today, bendyfoot? :fingerscr

What an amazing event this is, Bendyfoot you are an :angel: to care so much for Jaida the way you do. I am happy she made it through surgery and soon she will be in your loving arms, please give her lots of kisses and :grouphug:

Glad to hear she made it through surgery okay.
Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery:fingerscr :goodvibes:

Oh my, poor Jaida!!! Sending out thoughts and well wishes for a speedy recovery!!! :grouphug:

The pictures are just absolutely amazing. I had no idea such options even existed for dogs! That is WONDERFUL! What an amazing adventure Jaida has ahead of her!

wishing Jaida a speedy recovery and many happy days romping around on 3 legs and/or with a prosthesis (sp?). Gotta love and admire the spirit of these animals! :)

Hi all,
thanks for all the wonderful wishes from everyone! So nice to read!
I've been away all week, taking care of my girl.

First, I'll say she has been AMAZING about this whole thing. We took her home the morning after the surgery, and I swear, it was like she had no idea that she'd had major surgery. Up and ready and rearing to go!!! Such a spirit in this little gal.

It's been very hard to keep her quiet, but we've done our best (outside only to pee/poo, carrying her up and down stairs etc. etc.).

The hard part has been...her incision isn't healing very well. She's been "leaking" fluids almost constantly since the surgery. Thursday night her bandage fell off (we had been getting her rebandaged every other day all week) and we saw that most of the stitches had "popped", and the incision was wide open. The vet put in a bunch of staples to close it up again, and we were feeling really hopeful that they would do the trick, but now, three days later, they're coming out too and the incision is opening again. It's not infected at all, thank goodness, at least there's that. But it's open and oozy and yucky-looking. It doesn't seem to hurt her much (we still give her meds, too), and she's dying for a good run outside, but we have to keep a cone on her and we also put on a t-shirt to keep the arm covered.

So, back to the vets we go today. I'm starting to fear that we may need to put her through another surgery.

Here's how she's looking now (don't worry, it's a pic with her bandage on, so no yucky oozy incisions to look at, just a cute, smiley, tough-as-nails gal):
[IMG]http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u75/mom2jaida/j4.jpg[/IMG]

What a sweet looking dog! Glad to hear the surgery went well and that she's retained her happy mood. Wishing lots of :goodvibes: that the vet can figure out a way to keep the wound stitched up for good so she can heal fast and resume her playful ways quickly.

She certainly looks good, I hope the vet finds a way to keep the incision closed! :fingerscr

Oh my goodness -- such a pretty girl!! I'm glad she came through the surgery okay.... And best of luck to you guys in helping her get everything all healed up. It's gotta be really really hard to keep her from taking off and hurting herself!! Eep!!

That picture looks like she doesn't have a care in the world. What a brave girl she is.

She's even prettier than I imagined her to be :lovestruck: Good luck with the healing! 20 :fingerscrs and 28 crossed :pawprint:s that all turns out super! :thumbs up [SIZE="1"](and that's a [I]lotta[/I] :goodvibes:s!)[/SIZE]

:sorry: never saw that thread before :confused: first of all , thank you so much for taking such good care of her, wish there was more people like you :angel: I hope everything will finally heal properly, sometimes it takes more time ... she's adorable BTW :cloud9: good luck ! :fingerscr :goodvibes:

Jaida is such a brave beautiful girl,I don't understand why staples and stitches are popping out??
Hope the vet finds a solution to keep the inscision closed:pray:
Oozing stuff is usually a sign of infection,isn't it???But then again,I am no vet..or doctor
She is such a lucky girl to be with you,can't say that enough:dog: