Small Breed Rescue of East Tennessee

My name is Tiegan and I am a 2 year old female spaniel mix. My life has not been that great - my owners dropped me at a shelter because I kept having puppies. It was not my responsibility to fix this problem... my owners should have cared enough to have me spayed, but they did not. They actually put me in the trunk of their car to take me to the shelter, just like a bag of garbage. But I am not garbage, I am the sweetest little girl you will ever meet. I live to please and will do anything you ask of me, all I want in return is a loving home.

At the shelter, the staff noticed that my front leg did not look right at all. As soon as I got to SBRET, they took me to see a nice vet who said I have what is called Radial Nerve Paralysis. That means my foot "curls" under and I have to either hold that leg up or walk on my "wrist" which is hard to do when you want to run and play. There also is no muscle tone in that leg. It was decided that the best option is to remove the leg since it will never be functional. We are not sure what caused this but it was probably some kind of old injury that my owners never had checked out.

So I will be SBRET's first amputee. They are saddened by this but know that I will be so much happier and that dogs do fine on just 3 legs. I go in on Thursday Oct. 18th for my surgery, and my SBRET buddies could really use some donations to help cover this surgery. The cost is estimated to be anywhere from $350 to $450. SBRET already had big vet bills but agreed to take me in because I looked so sweet. They knew I would probably add to the ever growing vet bill but just could not resist me!

I won't be ready for adoption until I have time to heal from my surgery, but please check this page again soon for updates on my surgery.

11/2/07 update: Special thanks go out to Debra Gorchess and Nancy Bell for their donations to pay for my surgery!

11/9/07 update: I just wanted to let you know I've healed from my surgery and getting around great. Now that I don't have to drag that useless leg around, I'm actually running up and down stairs. I recently attended an adoption event and I feel great - I'm ready to be adopted! My adoption fee is $175. Contact SBRET today if you're interested in adopting me.

4/2/08 update: My foster mom says I am the best little girl, I love to cuddle with anyone that is sitting on the couch. I also get along great with all of my foster brothers and sisters big or small. The one thing I do not like is a cat! I want to chase them and my foster mom is afraid that I would hurt a kitty if I ever caught one. So NO CATS for me please. I love people and if someone is walking by I will grab them with my paw and make them pet me. I also like to play outside and love to take walks and ride in the car, I am always up for a trip! Sometimes I will just sit at the door and whine until my foster mom takes me somewhere. My SBRET buddies can not believe that I have not been snatched up yet! Check out my totally adorable pictures from a recent adoption event and you won't believe it either!