Meeting & Adopting
After a day of Kayaking and pizza with friends , we spontaneously decided to stop by the Humane Society for a tour. While touring the facility we stopped by the unofficial “puppy room” . Right up front was the cutest 7 week old terrier puppy, but right behind this young pup was a bigger puppy who appeared to have no front legs. Upon checking with a shelter counselor we discovered this pup’s name was Olivia and she was recovering from having her front right leg and shoulder amputated. We waited and hour and half to be able to meet this little girl. She was the sweetest pup, without a doubt we wanted to take her home. However we had to wait until the ext morning to do a dog to dog meet with our current dog. Everything went well and we proceeded with the adoption.
Bringing Zoe Home
Upon bringing “Olivia” home we realized that she was going to need much more than you run of the mill bowls, water leash & collar. She spent her first day home just lounging around, not interested in food or water. After receiving her detailed medical records it was brought to our attention that her surgery was done 8/31 and here we were bringing her home 9/4. Before leaving with her , we were told her surgery was a little over a week old and that she no longer needed pain medication. Man, was this upsetting to find out her surgery was so recent and she was denied pain medication. Moving forward we not only changed her name from Olivia to ZOE, but we scheduled her for her first Vet Exam and are hoping to get her pain meds and a referral for physical therapy. Wish us luck! I’ll be back with an update soon.
Mama & Zoe
Oh my goodness! First of all, bless you for adopting this sweet girl! Secondly, bless you for realizing that she probably needs pain medication! ugh! Yes, you are right….poor Zoe! You can try an ice pack tonight, with a towel to protect her skin…leave it on for about or minutes at a time. But most dogs are kept on medications for about weeks (Tramadol, Gabapentin, Rimadyl) sometimes a little longer. You will want to get a good harness – check out the gear on the home page. Many of us use the Webmaster Ruffwear harness. Bowls, and rugs or yoga mats on the floor for traction. But at least you found us!
Donna
Hi Donna, thank you so much for the ice pack suggestion. I didn’t even think of trying that until we get her examined tomorrow. I have looked at the gear page. I am just a little confused on confused about which harness will work best for Zoe being that she is a front amputee.
I have bought both the EzyDog and the Webmaster for my front amp and far prefer the Webmaster. Though she may not need a harness right away – we didn’t use one until quite a bit later.
We were on pain medication for around 3 weeks- and had a lot of trouble finding the right mix of meds. Don’t be afraid to call and ask if you have questions- they can help you adjust levels and find the right combination to help her.
Congratulations on your new family member!
Hi good on you for givin her your home. How is she doing now?
Zoe is adjusting to our home, she is eating and drinking and showing an interest in our two small breeds. However she is still in her bed about 90% of the day.
Welcome home Zoe! We are also fans of the Ruffwear Webmaster Plus harness – you can see pictures in the Gear blog. It won’t work until the incision is a bit more healed/her staples come out (about day 10 or so). But it is a great harness. And right now, for the first two weeks or so, resting is what she should be doing. Her activity level will pick up as she heals.
Awwww she’s a super cutie!!! 😍 Leo doesn’t let anything stop him even if I wish he would slow down!
Your welcome to find him on Facebook under leo the trio and his Tripawd pals!
Congratulations on giving this gorgeous girl a home, the reward is AMAZING!!!! 😘
You are so awesome for taking a chance with a tripaw! Thank you. My sweet Ted is a front amputee since 8 August and I have the Ruffwear Harness with the brush guard. It has worked out really great so far. Get that girl some pain meds!
Zoe is officially on pain meds! Which is great, however now a new problem has risen, she is showing signs of aggression towards our two smaller dogs. I know this may be a result of her being in pain. There is a lot of adjusting in our home right now. I just hope she will become friendly with our other fur babies. We did a dog to dog meet at the shelter and things were great, I’m not sure what went wrong today.