Farm Dog Thrives After Losing Two Legs

Farm dog thrives after losing two legs AG WORLD Ag World 14-1-17 After Rusty the dog got his legs cut off by a sickle mower, neither his owner Bill Davis nor the veterinarian who provided treatment thought the dog could possibly ,sur vive. But Rusty surprised everyone, not only surviving but learning to run, jump and swim on two legs almost as well as he did before the accident. Davis ran into the dog with his mower last July, leaving stubs on the dog's left side. The stubs swing back and forth when Rudy moves but don't touch the ground. He now appears to make, use of his big Jail for balance and to help get up and lie down. Davis says the dog can even stand in one place, carefully balancing himself. The 3-year-old red heeler had lost a lot of blood when Davis, who farms near Stuart, Iowa, brought him to the vet. They decided to try to pull Rusty through and if it didn't work out, they figured they could put him to sleep later. At first when Rusty was recuperating, he'd get up and hobble along fora few steps before falling over again. But he kept improving and in about a month he was up and running. After six weeks he was able to jump up into the pickup bed again. Davis says he might be a step or two slower than he was before, but not much. He still helps move cattle, doing-just as good a job as he did before the accident. The only thing he can't do now that he did before is jump a fence.

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