Everyone, thank you so much. We can’t tell you how overwhelmed we are with all of the loving thoughts you’re sending our way.

Your prayers are working. Last night, my pawrents realized that I hadn’t coughed or hacked in hours. My breathing looked much better too, and I even played with some toys!

Maybe the prednisone kicked in, because this morning I woke up and sounded good, and am even moving around a little better. Dr. Mullins says that sometimes things can change that quickly.

She says, “The important part is to keep the big picture in mind:  overall, is he having more good days than bad?  Does he still have that sparkle in his eye?”

The answer today, is “Yes!” I just wanted everyone to know that I’m hanging in there, and still loving life. Today we’re gonna go drive around and see the Grand Tetons!

My pawrents have lined up an appointment here in Jackson, with a vet who specializes in cancer treatment. We’ll go see her tomorrow, just to chat. We’ll be here a few days, and not knowing if my condition will improve or worsen, Mom and Dad think it’s best to be prepared, just in case.

This cancer thing sure is an emotional roller coaster. One day you’re up, the next you might be down again. But thanks to the love and support of our Tripawds community here, you guys are all making that ride much smoother. Thank you so much.

Love

Jerry

It’s funny how a little thing like not being able to breathe, can really slow a dog down. I sure want to run and play, but I just can’t.

The last couple of days have been hard. Although I’m eating like a horse (because of the Prednisone I’m now on), the nasty lung mets have been taking their toll on my breathing, and I’ve been hacking and coughing an awful lot.

Even an increased dosage of Prednisone didn’t really seem to keep me from panting. Robitussin doesn’t help anymore and I’ve stopped getting up to nose around, except to go to the bathroom.

Mom and Dad have been agonizing over what to do next. The “only thing” really wrong with me, is that I can’t breathe. I’m eating, I’m going potty, and I’m just as cuddly as ever.

Last night I had a hard time settling down, and coughed all night. My breathing went from bad to worse in less than 24 hours. This surprised and scared my pawrents enough to bring me to the closest town, Jackson, Wyoming, to hopefully see a vet tomorrow.

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The Power of One
I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
~ Helen Keller

Just had to share that great little poem sent to us recently by our new friend Vicki … It embodies what my people and I are trying to do with this website – the least we can do, which is to share our experiences in hope that it may help others.

Check out all the wonderful comments of love and support in the Tripawd Discussion Forums for more words of wisdom from LuvYourPets.

A couple weeks ago, I gave my people quite a scare when I refused to eat. That made them write about living life to the fullest and  what to expect when it comes to long term canine cancer care. Well, I showed them.

We saw my favorite veterinary oncologist in Denver last week and I now have a new medication routine. More about that later. But for now, suffice it to say, I’m hungry again!

While desperately trying to get me to eat, my people tried everything. I even turned down raw chicken livers. But the day after my visit with Dr. Mullins, they plopped down some chicken legs in front of me, turned their back, and heard me start to crunch away. Then I ate some dry kibble with ground buffalo, and boy were they happy! I just liked the new smorgasborg.

I had some prety runny poop for a few days. But at a follow-up visit this week, the good doctor said this is just from all the crazy different things I’ve been eating lately.  She said I’m as healthy as can be expected, and looked much better than a week ago.

So … we’re on the road again! Stay tuned for more details about my new regimen, and what we’re up to now.

Let’s give a big round of apawlause to Eisen and Calpurnia, who are celebrating their one year ampuversaries this month! Wooo! Hoooo!

Eisen lives in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, and Calpurnia resides in Tiny Town, Colorado.

Both tripawds are living awesome lives on three legs, and not letting anything slow them down. Hmmm….must be something in that high altitude air, dontcha think?

Congratulations! You two are an inspawration for all.

And now, a word from my pawrents:

You and I know; every pawstep your beloved Tripawd takes is a remarkable achievement, and one that deserves to be celebrated. So as you embark on your new journey together, be sure to capture these beautiful moments, by making your own custom Tripawds Memory Book on your computer, with free digital scrapbooking software.

It’s easy to do, even for technically challenged humans. These free tutorials can show you how.

Once your design is complete, you can either print individual pages to drop into photo albums, or order custom hard-bound coffee table books printed from your artwork. Page and book sizes range from 8″ x 8″ to 12″ x 12.” The options are endless. Read on to find out more or see how we can design a custom memory book for you!

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Personally, I expect to be treated like a King! Yeah, like I haven’t been all my life already. But since this site is all about sharing cancer dog experiences to help others prepare and cope, here goes …

During my recent visit with Dr. Mullins, we got the low down on what to expect now that my lung mets have started to really hinder my breathing:

• With one lung only working at about 10% capacity, I can expect to get really tired, really quick. So long walks and playing hard are out of the question.
• With my new medication, hopefully my appetite will return within a few days. But there are no promises at this point.
• There is no stopping the osteosarcoma metastasis anymore. It got smart and found a way to beat the Cytoxan that worked for months as part of my metronomic protocol therapy.
• I will pant heavily and let out a deep wet cough, more frequently as time goes on.
• With a mass as large as I have growing out of control now, there is a small chance that it could fragment and throw a clot into my bloodstream. This could cause a sudden cardiac arrest at anytime.
• At some point in the not too distant future, my people will need to make some serious quality of life decisions.
• All things considered, this is a pretty classic progression of the disease.

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This just in …

I made the cover of PlayPup Magazine’s special Tripawds issue!

Many thanks to Sasha for sending this to us.

Troy must have found it under Lalla’s bed.

First off, thanks everyone for your loving thoughts and words that you’ve been sending my way. We are so blown away by your concern. We love you guys!

Today I went to see Dr. Marie Mullins, my oncologist in Denver, at the Animal Hospital Center. I haven’t seen her since we were in Santa Fe last May. She is such a great doc, and it was so reassuring and calming to be around her again now that she’s in Denver. She says that I look really good overall, and that I don’t have that “I’m tired/done/pooped” look that she’s seen before in other cancer dogs nearing their end days.

But as you know, I haven’t been eating much, if anything lately. I’ve just had the “blahs” and have been turning away from the great foods that my pawrents have put in front of me. The last few days, Mom and Dad let me skip my supplements, just hoping to get me to eat something that wasn’t filled with pills or green things I might be sick of eating.

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Hey everyone, we started a new photo gallery just for giant breed tripawds. We think these big dawgs are extra special and super inspawrational, so we’re going to keep updating this gallery with photos of your furry friends. Send them in, and we’ll add your pictures here!

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