Three-legged Dogs

Have you ever met a three-legged dog?

Before I knew such a dog, I thought they had a handicap. In fact, we put one poor rescue dog through weeks of antibiotics and pain killers because we thought the best thing for her was to try to save her shattered leg.

When the vet finally said that he couldn't find a way to stop the infection so the leg could heal, we made the decision to have that leg amputated. And from then on, she was a happy, healthy dog.

Because she was a rescue, she was in a foster home. And that home happened to be with a dear friend of mine. And since she was a special dog, my friend couldn't let her go, so I get to see Tiki quite often. She can run and play just as fast and as far as the others, and has no problem at all with jumping on or off the deck.

Since then I've helped raise the money for other amputations, and every one of those dogs gets along just as if having 3 legs was the most normal thing in the world.

So, if you meet a three-legged dog, don't feel sorry for them. Feel glad that they had a human who loved them enough to give them the right medical care.

Well-mannered, polite dogs

Sunday I went horseback riding with a friend, and when we got back we settled on her front porch for a bit of refreshment. Her 4 dogs were there to greet us.

Usually, walking onto a porch with a crowd like that would mean 4 dogs, all pushing each other out of the way for attention, but these dogs don't behave that way.

First, Abbey came to greet me. She's the blind one, so she had to sniff a bit and make sure she remembered who I was. Abbey was one of a litter of pups who had been dumped in a ditch and found muddy, cold, and hungry. She was the only blind one of the litter, and as her foster mom, my friend found she couldn't part with her. Abbey does fine with her nose and her ears to guide her.

Next came Louie - the only boy in the household. He got up on the bench next to me and snuggled a bit. Experts say dogs don't like hugs, but they forgot to tell Louie. Louie was a rescue too, but his situation wasn't quite as dramatic as Abbey's or Tika's.

Tika is the girl with 3 legs. She was one tough rescue, forcing us to borrow a live trap to catch her after she'd been seen wandering around for a couple of weeks dragging a broken leg. It took days to trap her, even after the neighbors got around to letting us know about her.

But she's fine now, and you'd never convince her that there's anything wrong with the way she gets around.

Finally, ever the lady, Annie came to get some attention. She's my favorite, maybe because I've known her the longest, or maybe just because she's so darned sweet. My friends got her because one of their neighbors went snow shoeing and found her living by a travel trailer that had been abandoned when the snow got too deep that winter. She was a skinny, hungry pup, but that changed as soon as she got to my friend's house.

Unfortunately, the people had been gone too long - the rabbits and chickens left in their cages were all dead. But, a couple of weeks later another pup showed up, and he found a wonderful home.

I don't know how Sally taught her dogs such perfect manners, but it sure makes it a pleasure to visit with them.