Lucas is a recent amputee learning the ropes!

Today was Day #6 since his surgery & I took Lucas for a real walk.  I’ve got a large yard with a hill in the back, so we’ve just been trotting around that area for the past week.  I was nervous to take him out for too long in case it was too much work for his only front leg.  We went for a 30 minute walk with 2 stops to sit on some grass & catch our breath.  Some of that sitting time was for me since Lucas can move pretty quickly!  He’s now laying on my bed with one of my labradors (I’ve got 3 dogs of my own–2 labs & a beagle mix).  Today there is an area at the top of his incision that appears to be developing a seroma, so I’m going to take a bag of peas to place on his incision & sit with him for awhile before going to bed.  He did really well today, I’m proud of him!

Lucas came suddenly into my life 5 days ago when I got a phone call from a coworker.  She had found a stray german shepherd with what appeared to be a badly broken right front limb.  He had a rabies tag from a Nevada vet clinic, but we live in Washington state.  The research found the owner who was unable to afford the care this dog desperately needed, so he surrendered the dog to us.  My friend knows I plan on adopting another german shepherd, but currently with 3 dogs, 2 pet rats, and a husband that is currently deployed by the military in the Middle East, that is a few years down the road.  We didn’t want to take him to an animal shelter not knowing if the surgery to remove his leg would be taken care of, or if he would be euthanized.  We made a decision to take him to the veterinary clinic where we both work and have the surgery done pronto and I would foster him with plans to begin to find a permanent home for Lucas.  This past week has been stressful, but he is doing wonderfully with the painful leg removed!  Oh yeah…..he also was an intact male but was cryptorchid (one testicle had not dropped & was in his abdomen), so we had the veterinarian neuter him as well.  One more thing….he’s blind in his left eye (appears to be a cataract)  His temperment is gentle and he’s starting to sniff my dogs, but not really interact with them as yet.

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