Comments on: Dog Amputation – Siberian Husky Shania

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 08:44:10 +0000

This story has made feel much better about having to get my dog Apollo’s leg amputated. He was hit by a car this past weekend, which shattered his right rear leg, and I was concerned that I’d have to put him down. However the vets at Washington State University got him on the mend. What the surgeon, who was working on his case, told me was that he was going to have an extremely long and difficult healing process if I didn’t amputate his leg and even if he went though this whole ordeal there was no gaurntee that he’d be able to keep the leg. So I think in order to make his pain not last as long and having the possibility of having to have his leg amputated in the future I thought it best to just make his healing time faster and less painful. So thank you for making me even more confident in my decision.

By: shibashake

shibashake — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 19:42:46 +0000

Hello Tina,

Thanks for sharing your story with us. It sounds like a very difficult situation, but I am glad that the puppy’s leg can be fully fixed with surgery. I still wish we could have saved Shania’s leg.

Hopefully, his breeder can proceed with the surgery, or get some help with it. I think breed rescue places will often help out, if they can, so I would also try contacting the local Shiba rescue and perhaps SPCA/Humane Society.

The SPCA at my old place had a vet clinic, and they were really great about helping people defray some of the medical costs. Many vets are also willing to let their clients pay for a surgery through a series of monthly payments.

By: Tina

Tina — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 22:52:28 +0000

Hi, I just want to say … you did such a wonderful thing for Shania. She is a very very lucky dog. I am still heart broken over the lost of my Shiba Inu puppy. I got him last week and I already became attached to him but then I found out that he has a genetic defect. He needs surgery which costs around $3000. I was devastated. He’s only 2 months old and he is such a good boy. I thought about financing the medical bill but I’m just a 19 year old student. I can’t handle that kind of medical bill … so I had no choice but to return him to the guy I bought him from. I’m really heart broken because I don’t know how his future will be. I don’t know if he’ll be able to be as luck as Shania. The vet told me that the surgery will completely heal his leg and he’ll live as a normal dog … but I’m not capable of giving him that kind of normal dog life. After reading your article … I felt like there is hope. I feel really happy for Shania because she has a great loving family and a happy doggy life. I hope the same for my baby Shiba boy.

By: shibashake

shibashake — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 19:25:40 +0000

I just checked Murphy’s blog and am so glad to hear that everything went well. Murphy looks absolutely adorable!

Shania was groggy the first day we got her home, but after that, it was a challenge to get her to stay calm. Frozen Kongs really saved the day for us.

Big hugs to Murphy! Would love to see her in her Halloween shirt.

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 22:31:39 +0000

Thank you so very much for sharing your experiences with your Shania. We just rescued a puppy with a severely broken leg from a family that was unable to afford her care and we were given two options: bone straightening and lengthening surgery or amputation. After considering the severity of her breaks and comparing the complexity & number of surgeries/external fixator use/recovery time against the choice of amputation, we have decided to proceed with the amputation as that seems to be the best option for our sweet Murphy. Because of your site, we are now preparing to start our lives with our 3-legged husky puppy (her surgery is tomorrow) and we are confident that we are making the best decision for our pup. Thank you so very much for the great advice and reassurance that 3 legged dogs can be just as happy (if not more) than “normal” 4 legged dogs!

By: Nicki

Nicki — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 20:26:36 +0000

Super cool dog!

By: shibashake

shibashake — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:54:45 +0000

Thanks Rose.

She’s the most wonderful animal that I’ve ever had the pleasure of being “owned” by.

LOL! Yeah I know what you mean.

Big hugs to Hannah!

By: Rose

Rose — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:38:38 +0000

I loved reading about Shania. We have a wonderful girl named Hannah. She’s the most wonderful animal that I’ve ever had the pleasure of being “owned” by. I didn’t really know much about the breed when we got her. But she has turned out to be a great addition to our family. I can’t imagine not having her around. Again, I loved reading about Shania.

By: shibashake

shibashake — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:48:22 +0000

Hello Missy,

Shania actually handled the amputation very well and recovered very quickly. Your Husky is young and will likely bounce back very fast as well. The most difficult part was keeping Shania quiet during the two weeks before her stitches came out. She got a lot of frozen Kongs during this time.

With Shania, I started with shorter but more frequent walks. I also made sure we had many rest stops and plenty of water. Then I slowly lengthened our walk as she started to get stronger. I also make sure to keep her slim so that there is less stress on her leg joints.

Here are two more articles on some of my experiences with caring for Shania-
http://shibashake.com/dog/three-legged-dog-care-tripod-dog-care
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/Three-Legged-Dog-Tripod-Dog-Care-Tips-How-to

Let us know how things go with the surgery. Big hugs to your Husky boy. Shania and Lara both send him their positive Husky energy and many wet licks.

By: Missy

Missy — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 04:50:49 +0000

Our 16 month old husky dug out of his pen early this morning. We searched for him all day with no results.This afternoon I seen him in a yard across the highway, we were ecstatic..We got his leash& went to get him, noticed his rear leg was what appeared to be broken. We went to vet and he recommended amputation. Our heart is torn, but reading your story gives me some hope. I just feel bad for doing it to him, but if left untreated the bone could sever an artery & he could bleed to death. We are assuming he was hit by a car from what the vet believes. Any advice would be appreciated.Your dog is beautiful.Thanks