Elmo is our beloved tripod dog that we sure think is the very best dog around. He is 2 years old now and like all puppies he was born with all four legs. My husband and I really wanted a dog and we believe in adoption so we went down to our local animal shelter and saw our Elmo. (He was 6 weeks at the time.) It was love at first sight. One day about 6 months ago, while getting ready to take Hannah (my daughter) and Elmo for a walk, Elmo decided for the first time ever, to run across the street after a cat. Being the blonde I am, I called him back to me and wouldn't you know it, there was a van. Luckily for us, only his leg was hurt. Unfortunately, it was shattered and beyond repair. We were very unsure if we should amputate his leg or not. Thanks to your wonderful website we were able to make a heart-wrenching decision. After seeing pictures of other dogs that had gone through the same thing we knew what we needed to do. After the surgery was over and he was able to come back home to us, I knew I had made the right choice. The accident didn't change him one bit or slow him down at all. He is still the most wonderful dog and continues to be my daughter's best friend. After the surgery however, he did have to invent some new tricks. For example, in order to scratch certain areas properly he does some pretty good acrobatics. And now when he gets ready to lie down he circles 3 times to find just the right spot before he plops down. We wanted to express our appreciation for such a wonderful website. You helped us make an extremely important decision and we are very grateful. Our tripod Elmo is by far the best dog anyone could ask for and we are so grateful that we saved his life. I guess you could say that we have saved his life twice now. Once from the shelter and once from a shattered leg. Maybe he is more like a cat with nine lives. Hopefully that is the case. We don't want to lose him unless it is from OLD age!!

Gina Fackrell
Lyman, WY
Thursday May 5, 2005

Hello,

I have a three-legged dog named Princess Grace. I have had her for 7 years. About 7 years ago Grace had some terrible owners who didn't take her to the vet after she was run over by a car. Luckily the local animal control officer stepped in and removed her from the home. Instead of taking her to the shelter, where he knew she would be euthanized, he took her to a small, no-kill shelter outside of St. Louis. That's where I found her. I heard her story over the phone and said: "I'll take her." She has completed my life. Surprisingly, she's not afraid of cars at all. But she's terrified of thunder and fireworks. I think her former owners were abusive because she's still very timid, although much better after 7 years of being spoiled! I now live with Grace and "Blue" (a one-eared cat). We make a unique family!

I really enjoy your site. Thanks!
Maree Beyer
Saturday May 7, 2005