My 3 legged Baby, Casey Parsons . Review on Having Pets at Home

I am a foster parent as well as my mother for the Humane Society. They have a program called Second Chance, and it is basically along the lines of nursing an animal back to health and giving them a 2nd chance at life. Well that was how I met my Casey.

He was born with a little nub instead of a full leg. In fact if you look at him when he stands up you can also see that his other front leg, the one he still has, is much shorter in length compared to the back two. But back to the day we met.

His surgery was completed and he was awake enough in order to come home. My mother brought him through her front door(I was staying with her at the time to save up a little cash), and she immediately laid him down on the spare doggie bed. He was small, maybe thirty pounds at the most. He fell asleep pretty quickly on that bed though. I think from all the morphine he was on.

I was sleeping on the couch next to him that night when around eleven o’clock I heard a small whimper. I immediately ran to the refrigerator to grab his morphine to medicate his pain. It didn’t help, he was in pain and the purple bandages all over his body were probably scratching him as well. So I curled myself up in the fetal position on that doggie bed and nuzzled him all through the night. This same recital went on for the next three nights, the same routine. He would mostly sleep in the day and then I would take care of his pain at night when it grew worse for him to handle.

It took about a week or so before he tried to take any steps on his own. Even though his nubbin was too short for him to use earlier in his life, he was probably off balance with the weight and the drug combination. So instead of watching him suffer, I would carry him around everywhere he needed to go whether it be for water, food, or even a potty break. I wanted to make sure he would receive as much love as he could to help for a speedier recovery.

Eventually he was healthy enough to be brought back to the Humane Society for adoption. I think a week and a half went by and no one was interested in him and they were thinking of putting him down. I begged my mother to let me have him and she agreed that he needed to be saved. So we went to get him.

When he first saw me, he must have remembered all that pampering because from down the hall, he was running at me. I knew right then and there I had made the right decision.

So I went home that night to try to pick out a name for my baby. I went on line and looked for handicapped people that were in the sports industry.(I am a huge sports fan!).   I found a name I liked from a famous golfer who was missing the same leg that my baby was(left front/left side), and his name was Casey. So that is how I named my dog, Casey.

Casey was about six months, maybe even a year when I had adopted him. He has been with me going on six years now. He not only has triumphed over his handicap. I admire his strength and when I have had my weaknesses in my life he was there to lick away my tears. I have never seen an animal so in touch with human emotion as he is.

During the first three years that I had him, he couldn’t be without me when I was home. If I had to go to the bathroom, he would whine at the door for me. If I was in the shower, he would lay on the rug until I got out. We became two peas in a pod.

Oh and my Casey, he is a Labrador, Chow(black tongue) and possibly pit bull mix. He is a very sweet animal that adores attention but also knows his independence. I can honestly say though that he is just as good looking as the rest of his family so we all fit in well together, just kidding.

However, wherever we go he is always a hit. Oh and please do me a favor, the next time you see a 3 legged dog out in public whether it be at Petsmart or the Doggie Park, remember not to say the words tripod and oooooh. If the dog is smiling, which yes he smiles, then why feel bad for an animal that doesn’t know life any different? And the tripod thing, well to quote my fiancé, it is so played out and isn’t funny at all. Just bear that in mind when you see a handicapped animal in the future.

As for Casey, he is prospering in his environment. We finally got a cat to appease the other half and once in a while I will see him either chasing him around the house in jest or licking his coat clean. They try to play off the cat and dog thing but quite a few times we have come home to the two of them cuddling it up on our bed. See cats and dogs can find some understanding and love for one another as long as your provide that environment!

All I have left to say is this:

If you ever get the chance to adopt an animal know that no matter what size, shape, color, or handicap he/she has, all he/she needs is lots of love and the rest will just fall into place on its own.

Until next time,

K Parsons

© 2003