Martin Kaufmann would like to see a change to this type of practice. Kaufmann, of OrthoPets.com, makes prosthetics and orthotics for both “two-legged and four-legged animals and any variation in the middle.” His goal is “to get the animal world up to speed with what we’re doing with humans.” He began his practice with animals four years ago, after a cousin’s Schnauzer suffered a stroke and lost the function in its right front leg. Kaufmann began studying animal anatomy books and learned that the muscle and bone terminology in dogs is almost exactly what it is in humans. Now, 30 percent of his practice is making artificial limbs and braces for animals, mostly dogs. “When three-legged dogs are brought to me, when they are amputated way up at the joint, there aren’t many options,” he says. Too often he sees animals who had cancer in the “wrist” joint.
“The vets tend to think of it as a useless limb and amputate way up at the top. That makes it almost impossible to build a prosthesis. We need at least one joint in order for the animal to be able to operate” with a prosthetic limb. Kaufmann explains that since this is a new field and he is one of only a few people doing this type of prosthetic work, not many vets know of this option. But he is trying to spread the word. “For limb preservation, it’s important to salvage as much of the limb as possible, or as many joints as possible.” If the limb has already been amputated at the top, he recommends having the dog use a cart to maintain the weight distribution on the leg that’s left. “Compounding forces on the remaining leg can cause arthritis from overuse. If the animal loses the remaining leg, what does it have left?”
Whether a dog loses a leg due to trauma or disease, most often he or she will bounce back and learn to adjust. As Sheila Wells points out, dogs don’t have the same stigma that we would have about losing a limb. “Some don’t ever notice their leg is missing,” she says. “Usually a leg that has been taken off has been painful for a long time and the dog is already used to not using that leg. When they get it removed, their whole demeanor changes because they can run around without being in pain. There’s no reason a three-legged dog has to be disabled.”
A friend of mine recently adopted a two-legged pitty called Fifty. He appears to have no idea that he's missing any limbs and gets around just fine! Read about him at his new blog: http://fitythepitty.blogspot.com/
To anyone who is facing the decision to amputate, who has a three-legged dog and has been unable to get your questions answered, who is considering adopting a tripawd....please come explore our website, join our community, learn all about the magic and joy, and yes, heartbreak, that come with sharing your life with a tripawd dog. Whether your dog has lost, or will lose, a leg to cancer or in an accident, Tripawds.com is full of advice, support, and stories about coping with and living life on three legs. I share my life with Codie Rae, a 4 year old tripawd GSD who lost a leg to human stupidity. Codie Rae's motto is: WooHoo Tripawds Rule! And I couldn't agree more.