By Melissa Bowersock
While taking Lily out hiking on our favorite trail, we have often crossed paths with Lynn and her two dogs, Daisy and Cooper. They’re both mixed breed, most likely heeler, and Cooper is a … tripod. What’s a tripod? It’s a quick and easy way of saying a three-legged dog.
The funny thing about tripods is that years ago, some people might have put such an animal down. After all, a three-legged dog is mournfully handicapped, right? They can’t get around as well as a four-legged dog, can’t run as fast, can’t climb as easily. People might have thought such a dog would be classed as “special needs,” needing time-consuming extra care, kid-glove handling, or a special diet.
Those people would be wrong.
Lynn, like many people in the Kanab area, went to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary when looking for a dog to adopt. She’d lost her previous dog a couple years earlier and was ready to welcome a new fur baby to the family. Cooper looked similar to her earlier dog, but with the one exception—he’d lost a leg. Best Friends wasn’t sure what exactly happened to him, but they suspect his leg was caught in a coyote trap. The wound was 360 degrees mid metacarpal with all bones exposed, painful, infected, and necrotic. The vet determined amputation was necessary.
After the surgery, Best Friends sent Lynn a video of Cooper, and shortly after that, she and her husband went out to the sanctuary to meet him. They promptly took him home for a “sleepover” to see how he’d do. At that time, they had an older cat, Stewart, who wasn’t used to having dogs around. Stewart very quickly demonstrated that he was boss of the house, and Cooper, although shy, listened and learned. Lynn knew she had a keeper.
Finding that Cooper loved playing with other dogs, Lynn later went back to Best Friends when it was hosting an adoption event for the Page Animal and Adoption Agency, and this time brought home Daisy. As soon as Daisy and Cooper met, he play-bowed to her, and they have been best buds since. Cooper, as the older dog, is very confident, and younger Daisy is a little insecure, so Daisy seems to find comfort in her brother’s confidence. They have 3 cats as well, and everyone gets along beautifully.
The only advice Lynn received from Best Friends was to keep Cooper’s weight on the light side, which makes perfect sense. A sausage dog would have considerably more trouble getting around on three legs than a leaner dog. Lynn also helps Cooper in and out of her car and keeps walks to an hour or less. She says he runs fast (although can’t quite keep up with Daisy when she gets the zoomies), plays rough with Daisy, doesn’t tire easily, jumps in the car and on the furniture, and does not seem to have any emotional baggage from the situation. His resilience is inspiring and admirable.
I wondered if compensating for the lost leg might cause some spinal problems down the road, but Lynn has not noticed any issues like that. She also has not seen any need to investigate prosthetics, since Cooper does so well. If you’ve seen the TV show Wizard of Paws, you’re no doubt familiar with the many pets that have needed prosthetics, but Cooper does just fine the way he is. That’s the great thing about “handicapped” dogs: they don’t know they’re handicapped. You’ll never see a dog sitting around feeling sorry for itself. They just get up and do what they want to do, and if they can’t do it quite like a four-legged, they’ll just figure out another way.
Lynn’s advice to prospective adopters of tripod dogs is to acknowledge they may not be as physically capable as a dog with four legs, and to honor their limitations while also allowing them to flourish. There’s no need to be too over-protective or restrictive. Keeping their weight on the lighter side is crucial so they aren’t overburdening the three legs they have. Lynn says every dog, regardless of having three or four legs, is an individual and will therefore have their own specific needs, strengths, and weaknesses. And they are all capable of showing love and being wonderful companions.
For more information about Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, go to bestfriends.org.
