We had just adopted Stella to her '1st' home on a Thursday in November 2010. On Sunday, we were having a lazy day of watching football when I received a text from the foster coordinator. There was a puppy in foster that was not being accepted by the large resident dog. She had an injured hind leg. I picked her up within 2 hours of the text. She was a TINY 6 week old, black pit puppy that was brought into Chicago Animal Care & Control with a very swollen rear leg. The shelter is overwhelmed with owner give ups & strays on a daily basis. Extremely sick dogs are humanely euthanized. Injured ones are given the basics & sit with their injury & pain until a rescue takes them into foster & provides medical treatment. This puppy fit in the palm of my hand & a third of her size was taken up by a bandage that wrapped her leg from hip socket to her toes. She hadn't been given a name yet. When we got home, she just wanted to snooze in my arms & her head would perk up during certain parts of the football game. The Indianapolis Colts were playing & Petyon Manning happens to be my favorite player... & so Princess Peyton got her name.
I have always said I wanted a 'special needs' dog... deaf, blind, heart condition, wheelchair, etc. A dog that needed extra special love. Little did I know this was going to be my first opportunity that I was not at all prepared for.
Since it was Sunday, the vets were closed, so I got the first available appointment on Monday. We were supposed to keep her calm so she wouldn't hurt her leg further, but try telling a 6 week old puppy that! She wanted to run & roll in the grass & play with the beagles. She loved to run & just dragged her little injured leg behind her as if it got in the way. She slept in bed with us for the first of many sleepless nights. The vet x-rayed her leg & the report was not good. He referred us to see an orthopaedic vet & said she would probably need surgery.
In rescue, there are certain vets that extend their services at a deep discount. The orthopaedic vet was in Fox Lake, about an hour away. I made the first available appointment for the next day. One of my favorite things with Peyton was when we'd go somewhere, I didn't have the heart to crate her & banish her to the back of the car. She was so tiny & well behaved, that she was always transported in a blanket covered laundry basket!!! Filled with a plush bed & plenty of toys. She fell asleep within minutes everytime.
The orthopaedic vet plainly stated, he could not save the leg. If the injury was within 3 days, he could have. The break caused the bones to float into a parallel position & fuse together. Trying to take them apart would cause further trauma & her tiny body would not survive the surgery altogether. I contacted the foster coordinator & found the decision was mine to make. My stomach rolled with nausea at the thought of amputation. Just thinking about leaving her there overnight caused me to cry openly. This poor baby had been injured, dumped & was in a shelter in her short, first 5 weeks & I was going to break her heart by leaving her at the vet's office which would result in her having only 3 legs. I cried the entire way home... part from physical exhaustion & part from emotional exhaustion.
My husband picked her up very early the next morning. To our surprise, she didn't have to stay at the vet's any longer than the anesthesia wearing off! All I could think was 'are you kidding me'??? The vet staff fell in love with her & she was held & snuggled for most of the time she was there. When I came home from work, I expected to find a pitiful, depressed little girl. I was completely wrong. Peyton was just fine. She was ready to play & live her life, glad that the lifeless limb that was holding her back was now gone. She learned to go up our 6 steep basement stairs within a week or two. And on her first leashed walk, that little 3-legged stinker was FAST! She didn't want to walk, she wanted to run! For all the time I had felt sorry for Peyton, she remained unchanged. Her fortitude & happy-go-lucky personality left a paw print on my heart forever.
Peyton was quickly adopted by an amazing family. She went to a home with a human mom & dad, a human brother, sister & 2 canine siblings, as well. She was renamed Roxy & learned that she absolutely loved to play in the snow. She is such a smart little girl & would go straight to the floor heat vent & lay on it to warm up. She loves to snuggle with her brother, Maddix the boxer & to play with her other brother, Sancho the chihuahua. I look forward to updates about Roxy as she grows up & has a fulfilling, loving & happy life.
'Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.'
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