Once Maya healed it was like she had a new lease on life. She was always an anxious dog and since her surgery she is now less nervous about things. Our other dog Misty loves the water and loves to swim. Maya on the other hand was more apprehensive towards swimming. Now days though she loves it! We went camping this summer and she was so excited to get into the lake she literally dove off a large boulder into the waters below! I of course got scared and had to help her out of the water. It’s like she doesn’t even know that she’s missing a leg. And sometimes this can get her into trouble. It’s so wonderful seeing her enjoy life though.
She still chases rabbits and squirrels like she always did and she still outruns her sister. Here is a video showing how easy it is for her to play.
A lot of people don’t even notice that she’s missing a leg. I’ve even been told by a neighbor of ours “Oh she’s limping” to which I replied “Well yes she does have three legs!” Watching her run around all the time, he didn’t even realize that she was a tripawd.
Having the strain of one less leg she did get calluses on her back paw. We bought a little thing of Musher’s secret, just a wax coating we put on her paws every now and then to keep them healthy. It has seemed to help. She also has experienced chafing between her inner back thigh and her tummy area as she has to bring the leg inward more for balance. Occasionally I put coconut oil on it so the skin won’t crack. Her skin there is thickening up and she has been doing great.
The first time we took her to a park after her surgery, it poured rain. We sat in the car hoping it would clear up. It finally did and we let the girls run free. Maya was so excited she took off running all over the place. I wasn’t sure she could run around that much. She sure proved me wrong.
We got to a creek that had flooded and the dogs wasted no time jumping in, getting wet and muddy!
Maya was so happy! It was a great moment after everything we’d been through.
We were told she would only have a month to live if we didn’t take her leg. Now it’s been over 4 months and she’s as happy as can be. Taking her leg was the best decision I’ve ever made. I thank Maya for showing me how amazing and special life can be.
