Tucker, the sweetest, most kind, yellow lab who is now 9 years old, joined the 3 legged (tripod) club today...just got out of surgery a few hours ago.

We found Tucker in a pet store, in a glass cage, which broke our hearts when he was a puppy. We could not walk past him without thinking, what is that big dog doing in that tiny cage so we kind of did a rescue and purchased him on the spot just to free him from what we thought was abuse.

Well, Tucker, being a beautiful Americanized Yellow Lab, had a "guarantee" against hip displasia and all of his pure breed papers in order - he is BEAUTIFUL!! When he was 10 months old he could not even walk up a set of stairs due to bad hip displasia. We quickly learned what a pet store guarantee against hip displasia...you give the dog back and then they get a new one, kind of like a simple material item... definitely not even a fleeting consideration for Tucker whom we fell totally 100% in love with his kind eyes the first moment we laid eyes on him.

To make a long story short, we spent the next 8 years trying to give Tucker mobility and get him out of the severe pain he had from the displasia. We did a total hip replacement, he rejected the hardware, we took out the hardware, he got a bone infection, etc. etc. Tucker has had seven major surgeries on his leg over the past 8 or so years - his surgeon who does three or so hip replacements a week for the past 34 years says that Tucker has been his hardest case. We have spent over $30,000 trying to help Tucker out over the past eight years...this has been so hard on him all these surgeries.

Well, today Tucker became a tripod dog...we have NO idea what to expect when he gets out of ICU and we see him for the first time after the surgery...we sure appreciate your site because we are looking for any information to help us through this very sad time, we have hope that he might be a pain-free tripod dog but right now we are just sad for his loss and more sad for all of the pain he has had to endure during his short life...

Sherry Comes
Monday August 1, 2005

Update:

Thank you - I can't wait to send updated pictures of Tucker cruisin - he already hopped outside and went pee - FANTASTIC!!

Tuesday August 2, 2005

Update:

Tucker is already trying to run now, we are working VERY hard to keep him calm so he can recover. With his bad leg he had a lot of three legged practice before the amputation - he acts 99.9% normal now and it has only been 48 hours after the amputation. We are trying to figure out a way around our hardwood floors - they are so slippery - we have runners down everywhere but we may have to carpet for him. Also, we have two steps out front that he tries to JUMP over (I had a heart attack when he jumped them yesterday)...we tried a ramp before and he was afraid of it...sigh...maybe we can try putting tread on the steps to make them safer and he will use them - or try the ramp again...hmmmm.... work in progress just trying to help make his mobility a bit easier.

Thursday August 4, 2005

Update:

Tucker is sleeping a lot, he acts 100% normal, wants to go outside, lay where he always does, his eyes look VERY bright and he is totally surprising me. If you would have told me that by Friday this week he would be so happy and in such great shape I would have NEVER have believed you - totally unbelievable. I love that dog and want nothing but the best for him - I am hopeful we are over the hard part now and that he will no longer have pain!! We will see.

Again, thank you for helping us through this!! You are an incredibly giving person to give your time like you do!!

Friday August 5, 2005

Update:

Tucker is fantastic! He ran down about 20 stairs today before I could catch him, I wanted to clock him because I am *trying* to keep him calm while he is healing. He ran down the stairs and outside as if he had four legs...absolutely super. He is not having any problems with balance. THEN he dug a 3 foot by 3 foot by 2 foot deep NEST under my favorite pine tree out front because he wanted to lay in it and cool off :-) I don't understand how a 3 legged dog digs such a huge hole in a matter of five minutes or less but he did, only one week after his surgery. I would say he is recovering incredibly well! He is doing all the mischievous things one would expect a 100% healthy dog to do which makes me so happy, even though I still like complaining about them :-)

Thanks again for helping us through this.
Tuesday August 9, 2005

UPDATE:

Dear Cassie's Three Legged Dog Club
We just lost Tucker...
sad day...

All of you know Tucker
so we wanted to be sure to let you know
of the passing of this very kind soul
who taught us to be thankful everyday for our blessings.

Tucker died peacefully at home this evening
(around 8:30pm 12/19/07) literally in our arms
surrounded by people who love him dearly
knowing he was so deeply loved and appreciated.

He had a stroke and just passed peacefully and very quickly,
the way he lived his life, after having a GREAT day laying in the sun
all day on his "lily pad," barking, then coming in and hanging out
with the family on his puppy pillow, like he so enjoyed doing.
He went out like the champ, exactly the way he lived his life.
What a great dog and a good boy he was.

Tucker was born February 21st, 1996 and lived a very happy life,
against all odds with his hip displasia and eventual loss of his leg in 2005.

I thank him for letting us know and love him,
I feel like I learned so much
about just being grateful for the things we have from him,
which makes the sadness we feel with his passing so extreme...
what an incredible soul he was.

This old man was almost 12 years old,
we feel so lucky to have known him so long,
especially since we were told when he was 10 months old that with his hip displasia he would not make it, everyday I tell you everday was a blessing.

He was always a trooper going through six major surgeries
by the time he was nine years old and the eventual loss of his leg in 2005. I am convinced that acupuncture in 2005 gave us two more years with him which we are SO fortunate for and thought about again everyday, especially these past few years.

....we will miss him so much but we will never forget him,
what a truly inspiring soul Tucker was!!

Love to all.

Sherry, Amy, Henry, Sebastian and Daisy too!
Thursday December 20, 2007

Meet the Animals Keisha the old, three-legged dog Sweet old Keisha was found wandering by Missoula Animal Control, along with two buddies of hers. They were taken to the shelter, and their family notified. The dogs had a habit of wandering off and being picked up by Animal Control.

All three dogs were pretty well along in years, but Keisha was the oldest at 16 years of age. She had lost a rear leg a few years before. We were told Keisha was left tied up outside, and somehow fell off a ledge, and the tie-out chain had wrapped itself around her leg, cutting off the blood flow. By the time her family came back, the leg was too far gone and had to be amputated. When the family came to collect the dogs, they told Animal Control that Keisha was the "ringleader" of the trio and they'd decided to leave her there to be euthanized. They went out the door with the other two dogs.

A few minutes later they had second thoughts and came back. No, they didn't want to take Keisha. They just wanted her collar back. Apparently the collar was worth keeping but the dog wasn't. So they drove off with two dogs and one extra collar, leaving this 16-year old sweetheart behind to die at the shelter.

That's when the folks at Missoula Animal Control called us. We drove in to town to get Keisha.

The first thing we told her was, "Young lady, we'll take you to PetsMart and you can have any collar you want!"

Back at the ranch, she surprised us with a playful energy remarkable for a dog of her advanced years. Keisha loves to play what we call the "hand game:" We reach out with a hand and try to grab one front paw, then the other, in rapid succession while Keisha moves her paws around to keep us from getting them. At the same time, she reaches out and tries to grab our hand in her mouth. It's a flurry of hands, paws and dog mouth, darting back and forth.

At bedtime, when we put the dogs up in their crates for the night, she loves to sneak into another dog's crate and see if we notice. She usually does this to one of the blind dogs, as if she wants to pull a surprise on them as well as us.

She suffers from hip displaysia in her remaining leg, and sometimes walks low to the ground on that leg, but even so, she'll scamper around like a youngster. We watch her scoot around and marvel at how fast she can go on three very old legs. We don't know how long she'll be with us, but for the moment, Keisha is thoroughly enjoying her golden years here.