Applejack’s New Journey With Front Leg Amputation

This is my first post and I couldn’t figure out where to start, so, I decided to start at the beginning.

Two years ago, this sweet, beautiful pit mix (I’m assuming) wandered into our yard. She was an amazing dog, so full of energy but also so gentle and patient with my children. We spoke to all of our neighbors, animal control, and posted her picture on all our local websites and were unable to locate her original family. We waited months for a response or for someone to contact us but no one did.

This is how Applejack became a part of our family.

Fast forward to four days ago. It was Sunday, January 27th. It started as any other Sunday. We got up early, got the kids dressed and out the door for church and everything and everyone was where they were supposed to be. Typically, we would come straight home from church and stay for the rest of the day but this particular Sunday we decided to do some work at our new house so we can start moving in. We got home late and, in our hurry to get the kids settled and ready for bed, we didn’t notice that two of our dogs were not in the backyard.

My husband, doing the typical Sunday night thing, went outside to take the trash can to road when he noticed the dogs on the front porch. Both were acting like the always do which made it extremely shocking when Applejack stood up and was missing half of her front, right leg.

We immediately called the emergency vet as my husband loaded Applejack into our van. When he got to the vet, they were ready for her. After the initial examination, the vet suspected that she had been hit by a car based on other marks and injuries on her body. He recommended amputation of the entire leg.

After doing x-rays and blood work, the vet confirmed that she was stable and that we could wait till the morning to take her to a different vet to do the amputation. Since our regular vet is “first come first serve”, we decided it was best to go ahead with the surgery there. Everything went well and there were no complications during surgery. They kept her the rest of the night for observation. In the morning we took her to another vet for further observation. After two days, we were able to bring our baby home.

It has been a rough couple of days, but we are now getting used to our new routin as she recovers. The hardest part of her recovery at home has been slowing her down. This girl wants to move! So, for now, she is confined to her kennel unless she is going out to go potty.

I know this is going to be a learning process but I’m certain we can give her what she needs to live a long and happy life on three legs :).