Pixie is a normal dog who happens to be living her life on three legs and she's looking for a new home.
“She’s the most loving dog and she loves everybody,” says Guelph Humane Society spokesperson Natalie Thomas.
Pixie came to the shelter after she was found as a stray back in March. She appeared to have been hit by a car and was diagnosed with a broken pelvis and a damaged hind leg that had to be amputated.
“She was in really rough shape,” says Thomas, “The person who found her took her right to the clinic and what happens at that point is if there is no owner, the clinic contacts us and we become the bridge.”
When it became clear that the leg would need to be removed, Thomas said they reached out to the community for help.
“There was just this outpouring of financial support and gifts to help Pixie with the surgery and her recovery afterwards, and we were super grateful for that,“ says Thomas.
This isn’t the first time the GHS has taken in animals with a missing limb. Last year a greyhound named Jack and a cat named Bandit both only had three legs.
“It does happen every single year, we have animals that need legs amputated ... it’s usually because of a car accident,” says Thomas.
She adds it’s more likely to happen to cats that aren’t spayed or neutered, as they are often roaming around when looking to breed in the spring.
“So they get hit and if they’re lucky they survive it, but often they need an amputation,” she says.
In Pixie’s case, she managed to quickly recover from surgery and is now at the shelter.
“She is walking now,” says Thomas, “She gets a little tired and so she takes breaks, but she’s a happy girl and she’s doing great.”
Pixie also has become a bit of an online sensation following a video showing her taking her first steps.
“People are loving the video because I think they’re just so inspired by her walk,” says Thomas, “It’s gotten almost 130,000 views on Facebook now from Texas, Alabama and all over the United States.”
When the GHS posted Pixie on their adoption page on Wednesday, Thomas says they received so many applications for her that they had to take the post down after 24 hours.
“We’re looking for the best match for Pixie,” she says, “Who has experience with an animal with special needs, who has put in the time to research what she’s going to need and are they willing to in that extra time to make the regular vet visits, and stuff like that.”
Thomas says people who are interested in taking care of a pet with special needs should do their research beforehand.
“There are many reasons an animal can be considered special needs... it’s always just knowing what the condition is, and what you need to do to make sure that the animal is going to stay healthy and that often involves more vet visits,” says Thomas.
“So making sure you’re staying on top of regular visits so that the veterinary team can make sure the animal is looking healthy and you’re preventing anything further from happening.”
