Looking for a spread for my injured dog...

[Trocks]

Today is the first birthday of my Border Collie, Lydia.
Sadly, while she was outside playing with my sister's pony, he landed on one of her back legs.
She did not whine or whimper or anything once she got inside (when she was outside she yelped when it first happened). But when we took her to the vet, we found out that she has Compound Calcaneus Fracture in four places.
Sadly, there are three options as to what we can do for her. Pay $3,000 for a surgery that might not work, amputate her leg, or put her down. Seeing as she is still young and has a lot of life left to her, my sisters, mother and I want to just amputate the leg (as we cannot afford the surgery, nor is it guaranteed), however, my father claims that if we amputate her leg that her "quality of life" would be poor. That being said, I'm sure you can tell that he just wants to put her down.
Anyways. I am looking for a spread that can help with this situation. Answering questions such as if she is okay (she's at the vet right now....), what she wants, what would happen if we just amputated the leg.... Those sorts of questions.
Thank you so, so much. It means a lot to me. Thank you.

ps. Just so you can see her, this is a picture of her. She is so adorable. Look at her eyes.
http://fc47.deviantart.com/fs38/i/2008/346/5/3/Lydie_Poo_by_A_UnLoved_Soul.jpg

 

[firecatpickles]

(((((((Trocks)))))))

I am sorry to hear about your dog. Your options sound dismal, but they are options, at least!

I disagree that your dog's quality of life would be diminished as a three-legged dog. How silly! Amputees, animal and human, are both capable of leading a full and rewarding life.

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=63561

 

[Trocks]

Kilted Kat- Thank you.

I completely agree. Sadly, my father does not. Hopefully, we will be able to get him to see our way.

Thank you so much! I will try your spread before I go to bed tonight.

 

[blackairplane]

(((((((Trocks))))))))

Don't put her down! I have a dog who has survived cancer three times, cataracts, knee surgery, degenerative disc disease, and is now blind in one eye, nearly deaf, and close to blind in her other eye. She is on the floor right now and is happy, wonderful, and takes part in everything she can do with great gusto and joy.
My advice would be to try and come up with the money for the surgery in any way you can. If it does not work you can amputate later. Ask the vet if she would be better off with a badly healed leg than an amputated one, thinking it might help her balance, even if it were useless for walking. Last, I would amputate, as I have known more than one, happy ,healthy, three legged dog.
Don't put her down!

 

[Trocks]

blackairplane- Thank you. We are going to do our best to not put her down. My father will not win this, haha. We all love her too much to lose her now. A year ago we had to put down one of our other dogs. He was 12 years old (tonight would have been 13 for him :'( ) and he had cancer and was deaf. He was having problems walking and getting up, and we think he might have had seizures. We shaved him down for summer, but his hair never grew back. It was so terribly sad. None of us are over it- so losing Lydia would really be horrible for us.

 

[firecatpickles]

Isn't it your dog? What does your father have to say about it? I am sorry to say, but to hell with him! It isn't his choice---it's yours.

 

[Trocks]

Sadly, my sisters and I are all under rule of our parents (my oldest sister is 20, while my twin and I are 17) Because of unstable jobs, none of us can afford to pay for any surgery, so our parents have to pay for it. Because it's "their money" we don't fully get a say in what happens. We can voice it, but whatever they decided (mom is for the amputation, dad is for putting her down) is going to go.

 

[firecatpickles]

Well that sucks. Why don't your parents talk to the vet about it? Maybe he will listen to a professional.

 

[Trocks]

That is a good suggestion. I'm fairly certain we will end up at the vet tomorrow- hopefully he will be able to speak with them. (They went very close to closing today and were too emotional to really talk about it all.)
Thank you.

 

[celticnoodle]

Oh, I am so sorry to hear about your pup! Will pray for her and that the best decision FOR her will be.

But, I will tell you, when I was a kid, we had a 3 legged dog too. A pet that we found. We put a picture of him in the local paper for a month, and no one claimed him- but, after a few months, his owners happen to be in our neighborhood and both went bonkers when they saw each other. there was no reason to believe that they didn't belong together, and our other dog wasn't quite keen on this new addition, so we gave him back.

apparently he had been hit by a car, and they also had to amputate his back leg as a result. however, he had a full life--his amputation had been a few years old by the time we found him. he could run, and everything, and after awhile, you never even thought of him as a 3 legged dog! he was great fun! peed like a girl dog, but hey, that was okay!

just thought you'd like to see that a 3 legged dog CAN live a full life, and do all that a 4 legged dog can do--except pee like a male dog.