The inspirational story of Tre the three-legged dog follows him from getting adopted to having an operation before finally living a happy life as an emotional support dog.

The clips, filmed over 2019, show the relationship between Tre and his owner Kyle who adopted him for companionship after his marriage broke down.

"Tre was left at an animal shelter as a puppy because he wasn’t developing appropriately and was struggling to get around. He was born with an unknown birth condition affecting his joints. His right hip never properly developed. He was left with a nonfunctional leg, and a result the leg was amputated when he was 3-months-old. He also has hyper-elasticity in his shoulders and wrists," said Kyle. 

"When I met Tre, he was so weak he could barely even stand on his own. I played with him in the grass for about 45 minutes and forgot all about my own problems. I knew I needed this dog. More importantly, I knew he needed me.

"As an occupational therapist, I knew my experience working with people overcoming similar circumstances would give me some background knowledge to assist him. I believed there was no better person more suited to care for this dog than myself. He needed a therapist, and I needed a best friend. We were perfect for each other!" Kyle continued.

Things were going well until Tre hit 9-month's-old. X-rays revealed that Tre's left hip was disintegrating due to avascular necrosis, which is lack of blood flow to the hip. The head of his femur was shrinking rapidly, and the femoral neck had eroded completely. Tre needed surgery, urgently.

The surgeon explained to Kyle that the procedure was rare for tripod dogs so the recovery could be well over a year.

"I remember being told 'this is not a dog that will ever run around the yard chasing squirrels'," said Kyle. 

Being an occupational therapist, Kyle developed a rehabilitation plan for Tre.

"He couldn’t put any weight on his leg for two weeks. I had a specialized harness to assist him. I carried Tre (who at this time weighed 60 pounds) everywhere for those two weeks," said Kyle. 

"14 days after surgery, Tre stood up on his own for the first time and walked about 10 feet towards me. I bawled my eyes out. I was so proud of him. He started wagging his tail more and stopped crying. He was no longer in pain. He gradually got stronger and stronger. I began taking Tre to the ocean and a friend’s swimming pools to do aqua therapy several times per week. I would hold onto Tre with a life jacket so he could doggy paddle to strengthen his leg," he continued.

Two months after the surgery Tre and Kyle took their first walk around the block and now he's chasing geckos and squirrels in the garden again.

"Tre’s resiliency to overcome all of the obstacles in his young life inspired me to recover from my own injuries and personal issues to pursue my dream of competing on American Ninja Warrior!" said Kyle.

Kyle McCreight, 33, is an Occupational Therapist from Annandale, MN, currently living in Sarasota, Florida.  These are a series of videos that he has shot of his three legged dog, Tre, since June 29th, 2019.

"Tre was left at an animal shelter as a puppy because he wasn’t developing appropriately and was struggling to get around. He was born with an unknown birth condition affecting his joints. His right hip never properly developed. He was left with a nonfunctional leg, and a result the leg was amputated when he was three months old. He also has hyper-elasticity in his shoulders and wrists" said Kyle. 

Kyle adoped Tre three weeks after his amputation, after he had recently separated with his wife.

"I was very depressed and lonely. I felt that adopting a puppy would give me a reason to wake up everyday" said Kyle.

Kyle was searching local animal shelter's websites for puppies when he came across a three-legged black Labrador.

"His fur was full of bald patches and he still had stitches from where his leg was amputated. But he had the sweetest face that I instantly fell in love with. When I called to ask if he was available, I was told that he had been in the shelter for over a month and not a single person had come to visit him. When I met Tre, he was so weak he could barely even stand on his own. I played with him in the grass for about 45 minutes and forgot all about my own problems. I knew I needed this dog. More importantly, I knew he needed me. As a newly single man I knew I could give him the love and attention he would require. Also, as an occupational therapist, I knew my experience working with people overcoming similar circumstances would give me some background knowledge to assist him. I believed there was no better person more suited to care for this dog than myself. He needed a therapist, and I needed a best friend. We were perfect for each other!" said Kyle.

Once Kyle brought Tre home he began working on building his strength, learning how to balance on three legs, and learning how to walk. Kyle laid rubber and yoga mats all around his home to make it easier for Tre to get around.

"As he got stronger, he learned a few tricks including handstands and weaving through agility sticks. Tre and I even took a road trip together through Georgia, Tennessee, and Illinois, where Tre learned to go up and down steps at Lookout Mountain" said Kyle.

Things were going well until at nine months of age, Tre's mobility lacked. X-rays revealed that Tre's left hip was disintegrating due to avascular necrosis, which is lack of blood flow to the hip. The head of his femur was shrinking rapidly, and the femoral neck had eroded completely. Tre needed surgery, urgently.

"Tre had surgery to pin his knee and remove the head of the femur and several bone fragments to allow scar tissue to build in its place to form a new hip. The procedure to remove the head of the femur (known as an FHO, femoral head ostectomy) is not uncommon amongst four legged dogs. The surgeon explained to me that, to his knowledge, this procedure had never been performed on a tripod who did not have the opposing leg to compensate during recovery. He cautioned me that it could be up to a year before Tre is walking independently or that he may never be independent. I remember being told 'this is not a dog that will ever run around the yard chasing squirrels'" said Kyle. 

Being an occupational therapist, Kyle developed a rehabilitation plan for Tre.

"He couldn’t put any weight on his leg for two weeks. I had a specialized harness to assist him. I carried Tre (who at this time weighed 60 pounds) everywhere for those two weeks" said Kyle. 

"I held him up so he could use the bathroom" said Kyle.

"14 days after surgery, Tre stood up on his own for the first time and walked about 10 feet towards me. I bawled my eyes out. I was so proud of him. He started wagging his tail more and stopped crying. He was no longer in pain. He gradually got stronger and stronger. I began taking Tre to the ocean and a friend’s swimming pools to do aqua therapy several times per week. I would hold onto Tre with a life jacket so he could doggy paddle to strengthen his leg" said Kyle.

"Two months later, Tre and I walked around the block for the first time since his surgery. He even started to run around in the backyard again, chasing geckos… and squirrels!" said Kyle.

"Tre’s resiliency to overcome all of the obstacles in his young life inspired me to recover from my own injuries and personal issues to pursue my dream of competing on American Ninja Warrior!" said Kyle.

Tre is now certified as an emotional support animal (ESA) for Kyle to help him with his depression and anxiety.  

Carefree by Kevin MacLeod

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owrhKIN3Y90