Three-legged therapy dog now needs surgery for himself

OKLAHOMA CITY – A three-legged therapy dog who spends his free time helping others is now in need of some help of his own.

Tripod Petey is a 2½-year-old, three-legged therapy dog. Possibly the only three-legged pit therapy dog in the nation.

“He was run over by a car when he was somewhere between 4 and 6 months old,” Dena Newlun, Petey’s guardian, told KFOR.

Petey was left to die on the side of a road in Chandler, Oklahoma. He suffered fractures to his pelvis, ribs, and tail. His left rear leg had to be amputated.

While he had a rough start to life, he now spends many of his days at Mercy Rehab Clinic and other hospitals- spreading love to patients and of course staff members.

But recently Petey took a hard fall, which landed him in a little wagon.

“He fell on the amputation site and it caused that bone to go directly into his hip muscle. And at the time we realized he had other issues too. He’s got a bone spur on his spinal column that’s causing weakness on his remaining back leg,” Newlun said.

Petey is already scheduled for surgery to remove the socket and femur at his amputation site. A necessary procedure to keep the bone from tearing into his muscle.

Even though he’s in pain himself, that doesn’t stop him from getting out to visit his friends.

“There are patients who are nonverbal and the minute they see him, they’ll reach for him and they’ll say, ‘dog,’” Newlun said.

Petey even recently gained national attention as the winner of Pibborafi’s stuffed animal contest. 

“They will make them in the likeness of a rescue dog. He won a contest because of all the votes of his fans,” Newlun said.

He’ll now be made into his very own stuffed animal, which you can later purchase, with proceeds going to Oklahoma Alliance for Animals.

In the meantime, Petey will be resting up for his upcoming procedure, in hopes of getting better, so he can continue to bring smiles to those he visits.

“He’s a hero in my book. He’s just the sweetest, kindest boy and he deserves to not hurt anymore. He deserves to be recognized,” Newlun said.

Petey’s stuffed animal should be available sometime next February.

If you’d like to help out with some of Petey’s vet bills you can donate directly to his veterinarian by dropping off, or sending your donation to Petey's vet at Holistic Pet Care Center of Oklahoma, 3001 Tinker Diagonal OKC, Oklahoma 73115. Or you can call in your donation at (405)605-6675 or (405) 273-5617. The vet will give you an invoice number.