Tripawds Community member JEBA7162 is recipient #82 of the Maggie Moo Fund for Tripawd Rehab. Read on for details about the benefits of free canine rehab for three-legged dog Lefty, and learn how you can get a free veterinary rehab evaluation for your dog or cat.
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My fiance and I adopted Lefty (fka Ellie) on June 25th from 2 Blondes All Breeds. Even though it has been a short time she has been in our lives,we couldn’t imagine life without her! Her left front paw had already been amputated on June 2nd by Red Rocks Animal Center due to a broken shoulder that was healing improperly.
We never got any confirmation of what happened except that she was picked up around Houston, Texas by Rescued Pets Movement Inc and brought to Colorado. It sounds like her shoulder was already broken at that point, so no one really knows how it was broken. Lefty is a German Shepherd and Border Collie mix and she is currently 8 months old according to her medical records.
Lefty’s Canine Rehabilitation Consult
We had already planned to take her to a rehabilitation consultation when we stumbled upon the Tripawds Rehab Reimbursement Program and we couldn’t have been more excited and thankful! Before her consultation with Dr. Chase at CRCG we had found and used the Tripawd website as a constant resource for what types of products to buy for her along as a reference for the never-ending list of questions we were having. The Tripawds website was so essential to us in having a place to turn when we didn’t have a lot of guidance elsewhere. During her rehabilitation consultation the doctor was able to test her reflexes and mobility and confirmed what we were hoping, that she has been rehabilitating perfectly!
The doctor gave us an exercise to work on with her that is called sit to stand. This exercise is self explanatory, but it consists of using a treat to coax Lefty from a sitting position to a standing position and we are supposed to work on it with her 10-15 times, 3-5 times per week. Eventually these exercises will help promote symmetrical sitting and standing while building important muscles and promoting good posture.
The CRCG facility in Englewood also has a great above ground pool for hydro-therapy and our next step will be to get Lefty swimming as soon as possible! Dr. Chase recommended this as a great exercise for Lefty in order to keep her a healthy weight and to build essential muscles. We will be able to bring her there per appointment for the foreseeable future once she is cleared by the doctor to go without an assistant.
Unfortunately only one of us was able to join Lefty to her appointment due to COVID-19, but my fiance says his favorite parts were being able to ask a lot of questions and the affirmation that she is doing great with no issues. The doctor let us know that she was actually at a perfect age to be amputated because she is able to recover so quickly and develop better habits. It was such a huge relief to know that we have less to worry about than we had assumed.
~ Jessica and Lefty (aka: JEBA7162)