LITTLE LINUS AND HIS NEW SHOE!

A while ago, I told you about a sweet little foster dog that came to Dogwood from the Waverly Animal Shelter named Tippy. Better Half changed his name to LINUS soon after his arrival.

Linus had suffered a gunshot wound that left him with nerve damage in his right hind leg. He could not feel or operate his paw, and walked on his “knuckles” or dragged it along.  This caused it to become quite a bloody mess.

Little Linus stole my heart in a photo posted on the Waverly Shelter Facebook page, and I felt that we could help this little man learn how to walk on his paw again.

For the past month, Better Half and I have nursed his little foot back to health.  Every morning and every evening, we would slather his little toes with antibiotic ointment, wrap the foot tenderly with gauze, and then slip a baby sock over the whole project. We would then place a couple of pieces of tape around his foot to hold it all in place.

Slowly, Linus began to heal. But he still wanted to drag the little foot behind him.

Everyone was ready to simply chop his little leg off. But in my soul, I really felt that this dog was not ready for amputation.  We consulted with Dr. Holly Ramey, who tested Linus’s limb to show that the leg was completely “alive” with feeling from the hip to the “ankle”. She also showed us neurological reports that show where animals with severed nerves have had regeneration where the nerve reconnects.

The nerve grows about an inch per month. It might take a few years, but there is hope!
Why cut off a healthy leg just because of a bum foot? Why not keep the leg and help the foot along?
With God’s help, a little patience, and really good catalog, we ordered a “boot” thru our beloved Dr. Ramey. It’s a simple little tennis shoe with a Velcro strip to secure it to his ankle.

Linus has made great progress.   With the form and weigh of the little shoe, he has learned to pick the foot up, place it correctly (pads down) on the floor, and step. 

We have had only one small set back. Linus had the little “floppy-flappy” dew claws on his back legs. The bandaging and the process of introducing the shoe to his little paw had cause it to rub itself raw.  But thanks to the loving folks at the Waverly Animal Shelter and the Humphreys County Humane Society, the dew claw has been removed so that it will no longer impair his stride.

So for a few more days, poor Linus is back in mummy form with a big bandage on his foot. On Saturday we have the stitches taken out, and with God’s love on his side, my little guy will have a clean slate, a new shoe, and a whole new outlook.  

I’m so proud of this little man, and so grateful that God has given him the intelligence to catch on so fast.
 I ask that all of the friends of Dogwood continue to remember little Linus in your prayers. He still has a bit of work to do, and he still needs a forever home with someone who will love him, and have the patience to put the shoe on when he is headed outside, and take it off when he comes back in.

It’s a tall order, I admit. But the Lord moves in mysterious ways, and I have faith that the outcome will be right for Linus, and that this sweet, adorable little dog will have his happily ever after.