this dog’s owner obviously loves her very much, and wants her to be happy and enjoy her life. i don’t think that if the little one were in any kind of pain that their owner would allow it to suffer, just to have her around.

and if a picture of an animal that was obviously in pain was submitted, i highly doubt that the operators of I Can Has Cheezburger would allow that picture to be posted on the website.

And Casa–love isn’t always free from selfishness, and while I certainly understand your point of view I can’t see how anything else motivated this solution. Whether it is a selfish love or not, it is unquestionably a love.

It’s people like you who are animal activists but couldn’t give a crap about people’s welfare. Get a clue.

i think that i would definatly get my dog one of those wheely things if he lost his front legs.. though i dont think he would need it.. he already spends more than half the time walking upright on his hind legs anyway.. it wouldnt take long for him to learn to walk on his backlegs full time..

anyway i think the dog is cute and that it looks perfectly happy..

The dog is too bloody cute…. i wonder if it can do stairs?
How does it sleep?
If that happened to my little guy, i’d totally get him some of those, and he’d hate me for it… he’s a fairly hateful little dog.

Something like what, exactly? If you mean the image, then I don’t believe that’s been twisted at all (except possibly by the odd troll).

If you mean what you wrote, then that was just harsh and stupid.

On this point, I have to agree entirely. Being a caregiver means putting your own desires aside and doing what’s best for those in your care, regardless of species.

If, however, the animal is comfortable and happy, despite how it might look, then it has a right to live.

All indications in this particular case show that Hope is a happy, healthy little dog who is getting the most out of life. Therefore, the decision for prosthesis was the right one.

I agree that if a dog is suffering, euthanasia is the kindest course. We can’t assume that a dog is suffering just because prosthesis is required, however.

And sometimes, some suffering is necessary in order for recovery to occur. I have a cat with a flea allergy; before it was diagnosed, she was breaking out in horrid red welts that were getting worse and worse, and the bucket I had to keep on her long-term to allow them to heal made her miserable.

http://mine.icanhascheezburger.com/view.aspx?ciid=3778033

It took five months for them to completely heal, and she was moping and miserable the whole time. I considered euthanasia on several occasions, but wanted to give her a chance to heal and see how she was after.

It paid off. The diagnosis was made, and a humble flea collar is sufficient to keep relapses at bay, and she’s now a happy, content cat. From time to time she’ll start to get a few wounds, and that’s when I know it’s time to change the collar, but apart from that, she’s leading a full life.

*produces chocolate, chocolate fixes everything*

Pretty clever, really

Here’s the site…

http://scmradoption.com/hope_special_needs.htm

for things like this you can usually get help from certain vets or organizations, too, if you know where to look.

The woman who owns the sanctuary, one of her goggies isn’t too good on his legs, and is fairly blind. He’s having acupuncture. We’re non-profit and we do *anything* we can to keep the animals going. Sometimes we have little miracles happen.