Hello world!
17 04 2010
Well we are into our 5th day of recovery after Vampire Bill’s front amputation. It’s been a long emotional journey so far and it’s only been a week since the accident. VB is an Australian Shepherd, only 3 months old. He’s been a part of our family from the moment I set eyes on him. He fit in so perfectly with all of our mismatched animals from the start, even loving our kitten (Pew, who will try anyone’s patience) 🙂 and Maynard, the current cat king of the castle. He even curled up with him, which is just adorable!
One night I was on the phone with my gramma and took him for a walk, I brought him back into the house and let the kids play with him while I was talking. I opened the door for a split second to grab something and Pew raced out the door, before I could close it, VB ran out after her.
In less than a minute our lives were changed. Pew ran across the street and VB of course chased her. We live on a back road so there’s never much traffic, but wouldn’t you know it, a car came along just as he started crossing back over. Luckily the driver slowed down when he saw me, but it wasn’t enough. VB’s front right paw was shattered. After scooping him up I called my husband and we took him to the local vet ER….after calling my father in law to watch the 3 kids and borrow the credit card (thank goodness he’s so very helpful and awesome) Not many people would drop everything for a puppy emergency in the middle of the night. When we got to the vet’s they took him back for surgery…they tried to set it the best they could, but we’d have to call a surgeon the next day. Diagnosis? Probably amputation, they could try to save his leg, but being a puppy he wouldn’t hold still for very long, certainly not for the 3 month recovery they were calling for.
The next day I packed up my baby and we drove to Richmond (an hour away) Looking back, I should’ve called a friend. It wasn’t an easy trip to begin with and I got lost…..2 hours later I finally pulled over (i’m also stubborn) and called the surgeon’s office. the women there were so sweet and kind! they helped me figure out where I was and how to get there. When we finally arrived, they were like family. Vampire Bill was immediately surrounded by them all and loved on 🙂 The vet even sat on the floor with us, since if I moved VB would too and it was painful for him. Dr. Suess was the kindest man, he explained it all to me. Not wanting to tell me he had to amputate, I knew what that look was when he first walked in, so I said it. As a family we had talked about it and knew that we would much rather have a 3 legged alive dog than one that was dead. He’s already been such a blessing to our family, there was no question that we would do whatever we could for him. Thankfully my father in law saved the day again monetarily. He loaned us the huge amount with no timeline for paying it back (I’m a stay at home mom and hubby works for a non-profit organization…we are broker than broke.)
When the surgeon called that evening he said that everything went really well, there was no way he could’ve saved the leg. It didn’t matter at all, the only thing I heard was that VB was doing great. VB had a hard time staying still on his sleepover at the vets, so they just took him out of the crate and held him 🙂 It felt so good to know he was in such wonderful hands.
He came home the next day, our biggest challenge is getting him to stay still. He desperately misses his runs in the am, trips to the bus stop with the kids and trailing after the horses with me. He is recovering really well, but he still has bad times. thankfully they are getting fewer and fewer. I keep telling him, just a little longer and he’ll be back to normal activities 🙂 I sat with him outside today for a few minutes while he was on his allowed potty break, but then we came back inside. I think the sunshine cheered him up some.
So that is the start to our story. I’d been digging online for any and all information I could before and after his surgery and stumbled on your website. It’s such an amazing/wonderful, informative place. Thank you! you will never know how much this has helped us on our journey. -Dani (Vampire Bill’s mom)
Hi VP.
You will find many friends on Tripawds. I did. Being a little whippersnapper you will do incredibly well in life with three legs. I’m sorry that you got hit by the car, but sometimes I think things happen for a reason. Your three-leggedness will open a whole new world and community to you and your family. Get ready to make some friends!
Opie
PS. Your Pappy sounds like a cool dude. I have one just like him!
oh welcome welcome…A month ago I ran across this site looking for some type of harness as I waited to visit my new tripawd. It has truly made this journey so much easier. The people, furkids, advice and stories will uplift and sustain you as you go through this. Come and ask questions and just poke around…..If I might make a suggestion, get a ruff harness (advertised here) because it will make a HUGE HUGE difference in your ability to help your pup…..ask your vet when would be a good time to start using it. Mine let me use it from the minute I got it, about a week after surgery, but some want you to wait til the staples are out. GOOD LUCK!!
Welcome Vampire Bill! We are glad you found this wonderful site! It is full of lots of info! It is a great tool! We are really happy you are just a tripawd and don’t have to deal with the yucky “C” word!
Hang in there and you will be running like a wild man soon! Make sure you listen to your Mom and get healed up so you live a long happy life as a Tripawd!
Grandpa you are a pawsome person for helping pay for VB!!!
XOXO
Dillon and Rhys
Hi Dani and Vampire Bill,
I’m so sorry to hear about VP’s accident, but luckily he survived. You will see that once he heals, he will be just fine living his life as a tripawd! Usually the first two weeks are the most difficult… Since VP is a puppy, he’ll probably want to run around as soon as possible, but you should really try to keep him from overdoing it for the first two weeks. After all, he’s just gone through a major surgery.
You should definitely get on the forums for advice and support, if you haven’t already. We have all gone through similar things and are there for you!
So tell me… how did you come up with a name like Vampire Bill? It is soooo cool!
Keep us posted on VP’s progress and post some more pictures of all your furbabies!!
Angel Jake’s Mom
Thanks so much Opie! He is really awesome, he even gets down on the floor and plays with me, he NEVER does that, even with his own dog 🙂 I think you’re right, things do happen for a reason, I’m so glad to have met you! I hope I see you around -Vampire Bill
Thank you! It has been so helpful already and all of you have been wonderful! Thank you for the advice! I will definitely be looking into the harness. When we were going to do Search and Rescue he would’ve had the same harness, so it all comes around 🙂 I appreciate any suggestions at all 🙂 I’m so glad it worked that well for you 🙂 Take care!
Thank you for the encouraging words! Sometimes mom gets a bit overprotective and says I can’t do things….but it’s sooooo hard! i just want to run and play and then she gives me the “look” (like the one she gives the kids when they’re in trouble!) So I do try to sit and rest, I just get so bored! Mom has even gone as far as sitting on the couch with me all day so I don’t move. (I don’t think she minds 😉 ) I can’t wait till I’m up and running around again, with great friends like you guys I’m sure that’ll happen before we know it 🙂 poppy is super cool, I even accidentallly peed on him when I got a bit too excited (hehe) and he didn’t even freak out! xoxo
Thank you Angel Jake’s Mom 🙂 Trying to keep him settled is a full time job! I think we’re finally getting the hang of it, but definitely need any advice anyone has about how to keep my little monkey from tearing around. I’ll keep checking the forums, I found a ton of info there, thanks!
Thanks for the compliment! 🙂 His name is from a book series the Sookie Stackhouse books (it’s also an HBO show, True Blood now, but the books are better 😉 ) There’s a silly line in there about how the vampire has been around thousands of years and his name should be something exotic, but instead it’s Bill. Just Bill. and the girl ends up calling him Vampire Bill so it’s a little better 😀 Anyway, it always cracks me up and it suited him 🙂 I still giggle when I call him 🙂
we have a TON of fur babies here! It’s so great to see them all play well together, even the cats and horses….right down to the random small critters 🙂 I’ll have to post more pics, thanks! Take care and thank you again 🙂 Dani
Thank you for the kind words, and for joining the Tripawds community … more like family really, as you can already see. We look forward to following your little Vampire’s progress.
Welcome, Vampire Bill! Sookie would be proud 🙂
So sorry about the accident but very happy that Bill is recovering so wonderfully. He’ll be cruisin’ around like his young self in no time. I haven’t met too many Australian Shepherds but the one I do know is a stunningly beautiful with pale blue eyes and the softest fluffiest coat ever.
Look forward to update and, of course, pictures.
Ok OK so did I miss something, because I really want to know how you got your name. I’ve never met a doggie vampire before!
Hey dude, no worries. I was eight months old when I lost my leg. We punk kids do great on three legs. Hah! I don’t even remember when I had that spare leg!
Hurry and get better but don’t hurt yourself trying to do too much OK? Glad you stopped by and joined our pack, we’re glad to know ya!
Hey there VP! You are a cutie!!! My little sis’ is an Aussie too! She’s a black tri though…you are a pretty blue merle…
Hope your recovery goes well! Glad you’re still here with your family to love you to no end!
Maggie
welcome to the family mr. bill!!! nice to hear you have some kitty friends to keep you company while you recover…my three kitty siblings did a great job nursing me back to health when i first got home after the ampawtation…especially mr. murphy our ragdog boy kittie (i think he’s got the hots for me…). keep getting better, and don’t be to hard on the humans for trying to keep you ‘safe’…it’s a good thing. hope to hear more about your recovery and adventures, ET (for east tennessee) gayle.
Thank you all so much for your support and kind words 🙂 You have all been such a blessing on our road to recovery!
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