OHMIDOG! : Dog who chewed off legs gets prosthetics

Andre, a dog who was forced to chew off two of his legs to escape an illegal trap in Alaska, was equipped with two prosthetic limbs this week in Denver.
Andre was rescued last winter when a woman saw him dragging himself across a country road, leaving a trail of blood behind. Though he’s a large mixed breed, he weighed only 38 pounds. Since then, Alaska Dog and Puppy Rescue has been caring for him.
On Wednesday, the surgery to attach the prosthetics was completed. Now, he begins the process of learning to walk on all fours again, though he had managed to learn to get around on two.
“Andre is just like a bicycle. If he’s moving he has balance and can keep upright. As soon as he slows down, he has to lean against something or sit down,” says Martin Kaufmann of OrthoPets, who fitted Andre with his new legs.
“Right now he has to learn to figure out he can touch the ground with his back leg and front leg. And he actually has to learn there is a leg to use again,” Kaufmann told Fox News in Denver.
Kaufmann created the artificial limbs using plastic, foam and bicycle tires.
“Use your legs,” he told Andre as they tested out the devices in a parking lot.
Andre arrived in Denver last week and was taken to OrthoPets on Monday to begin what was a three- day process, according to the Denver Post.
Denver’s American Humane Association contributed $2,000 to Alaska Dog and Puppy Rescue to put towards Andre’s medical bills. Orthopets and the woman that found Andre are footing the rest of the bill.


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