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Be a Tripawds Advocate in Your Community

jerry — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:45:32 +0000

Interested in spreading the word in your community about the amazing abilities of three legged Tripawd dogs? If so, you’ll find plenty of ways to outreach to others and create an official Tripawds chapter where you live.

Download Tripawds Wall and Counter Displays

Download and print these Tripawds fliers and cards, then put them up at local pet stores. Also, ask your veterinarian or oncologist to give them to all their amputation patients. Feel free to write in your contact information on the materials.

You can even give your vet a handy Tripawds Countertop Display to hold the business cards, and have the staff contact us for more cards or just let them know where they can find the electronic file!

Midwest chapter leader Barb Young has stocked several veterinary offices in her city with Tripawds materials. During her visit to the practice, she drops off some yummy dog treats, her own Mission of Hope business cards with Tripawds information, then leaves a nice letter for the vets informing them about Tripawds.

Contact us for an example of the letter.

While we are hoppy to send you some business cards, these downloadable fliers and cards are a big way we keep the costs of maintaining this community to a minimum. Thanks for helping us reduce our operating expenses.

Create Your Own Tripawds fliers

Do you want your Tripawd to be the star of your own flier about three-legged dogs? If so, create your own Tripawds flier.

Please note: Because the word “Tripawds” and “It’s better to hop on three than limp on four” are registered trademarks, we want to ensure their proper use, so please email your flier design to us for approval before distributing.

You may utilize these high-resolution logos in your poster, press release and other announcements:

Tripawds Logo in Black and White

Tripawds Logo in Color

Organize a Tripawds Pawty

Tripawds member gerrysmom created a Tripawds Party Flier when she wanted to organize a three legged meet-up in the Madison, Wisconsin area. Her Word doc is available for download and customization. Then, take your flier and:

Post fliers at local feed stores and dog-friendly watering holes
Create a Craig’s List posting
Write a press release and call local TV and newspaper reporters

Finally, be sure to announce your three legged gathering with a new topic in the Tripawd Parties discussion forum as well as on our Facebook page. You never know who your nearest Tripawd neighbor will be!

Represent Tripawds at Dog-Friendly Events

Tripawds Members Barb and John Young regularly represent Tripawds at local pet fairs, media shows and events to get the word out about the capabilities amputee dogs, so that more people will consider adopting Tripawds.

Barb and her husband John attend these festivities as part of her Mission of Hope project to carry on her Hope’s legacy, which is represented at the events as an organization working on behalf of Tripawds. Now, Tripawds Member Heather Neal, Cadence’s mom, is also going to start representing Tripawds in the greater Chicago area!

Thanks for Spreading the Word!

We encourage other Tripawds members to conduct the same type of outreach in their cities. If you are interested in attending an event as a Tripawds representative, please contact us today so that we can exchange ideas about how you can help get the word out to as many folks as pawsible at each event!

Best of Tripawds 2011

admin — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:32:11 +0000

Best wishes for a very Hoppy New Year to all our Tripawds members, fans and followers! We hope you all have a healthy and prosperous 2012.

The stat monkeys at WordPress just sent us an interesting run-down of blog activities for Tripawds.com so we thought we’d share what’s been going on around here this year.

London Olympic Stadium holds 80,000 people. Jerry’s Tripawds News blog was viewed about 350,000 times in 2011. If it were competing at London Olympic Stadium, it would take about 4 sold-out events for that many people to see it.

In 2011, we published 84 new posts, growing the total blog archive of 602 posts by Jerry. This does not include the Tripawds Featured Blogs or all the Tripawds member Blogs.

For some reason, the busiest day of the year was January 25th with 1,709 views. As usual, the most popular post that day was the Tripawds Forums page. The Tripawds News blog post for that day was Jerry’s list of Tripawds Grief Support Resources.

How did everyone find us?

The top referring sites in 2011 were:

Some visitors came searching, mostly for tripawds, tripawds forum, bear, three legged dog, and tripawds.com. That “bear” business still perplexes us. We often notice vistors finding Tripawds after searching for “Bear” and we can only assume that Bear the Big Brave Three Legged Dog has lots of friends.

Most visitors came from The United States. Canada & The United Kingdom were not far behind.

Most Popular Tripawds posts of 2011

These are the posts that got the most views in 2011. You can see all of the year’s most-viewed posts in your Site Stats.

*The Ruff Wear dog support harness is now available in the Tripawds Gear Shop.

Many of Jerry’s most popular posts were written before 2011.

Looking Ahead

2012 is sure to be another exciting year here at Tripawds. Our membership continues to grow, as do our vast resources. That Admin guy will be updating the site to the most current WordPress version soon, and we are expecting an important update soon for the Simple:Press plugin that powers our discussion forums which should help improve performance. We are also planning a major server upgrade to meet the demanding needs of our ever-expanding audience and could really use your help. We didn’t hold a fundraising campaign this year and with your assistance we won’t need to have one next year either.

What was your biggest memory from the Tripawds Community this year? And what would you like to see here in the future? Let us know with a comment below or in the forums!

Tripawds Fundraising Appeals Policy

jerry — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 03:33:56 +0000

All Tripawds members know about the emotional toll of high vet bills. Which is why a recent surge of personal fundraising appeals by new members has prompted us to implement this official fundraising request policy here, and on our Facebook page.

“The Tripawds Blogs community along with the Tripawds Facebook Page welcomes questions, advice, photos, videos and progress reports from all three legged dogs and their people. However, personal fundraising requests for purposes or organizations not endorsed by the Tripawds community will be removed without notice. Such pleas for help distract from our mission, which is to inform & educate while providing a platform of emotional support for all members.”

Why are we implementing this policy? Because Tripawds must remain a safe, welcoming, guilt-free haven for all members and guests. Nothing should ever intrude on this space, and we can’t play favorites by allowing some members to solicit financial help when others have refrained from doing so despite their own hardships. Others have indicated they feel these solicitations are inappropriate.

Such pleas for help will be reserved to support causes for the greater good – like keeping Tripawds online, and supporting the efforts of other animal welfare organizations.

Where to Turn to For Help

If members need financial assistance, there are several resources where financially distressed individuals can apply to. Please see: Tips and Resources: Resources to Help Pay for Canine Cancer Care

We hope the following clarifies our position on various types of fundraising appeals:

Tripawds Dog Blogs’ Personal Fundraising Appeals

Tripawds prohibits Chip-In widgets, PayPal buttons and other fundraising devices to be installed directly on Tripawds three legged dog blogs. Should members choose to conduct their own personal fundraising campaigns, we suggest doing so via ChipIn.com, a Facebook page or personal website. Announcements and links to fundraising pages may be included in posts on Tripawds Blogs, as long as funds are not received via the blog interface.

Official Tripawds Causes & Fundraising Appeals

Tripawds often supports organizations we believe in (and receive no financial compensation in return), such as Morris Animal Foundation and 2MillionDogs.org. We will continue to periodically select organizations like these that promote canine health and will occasionally conduct short fundraising campaigns on behalf of these groups.

If a member wants to help another great canine cause and tell the Tripawds community about their fundraising efforts, please contact Admin or Jerry first to ensure that the campaign fits within our mission statement.

Appeals for Fun, Games and Miscellaneous Dog-Related Organizations

If you’re participating in a “Make my Dog a Star!” type of promotional contest and you want to ask Tripawds members to vote for your pup, that’s fine as long as it’s not request for money. If the contest will generate funds for a canine cause (such as 2 Million Dogs’ calendar contest), please be sure to indicate such, providing details about how the funds will be used.

Tripawds.com’s Annual Fundraising Campaign Appeals

To keep this community online, Tripawds conducts an annual fundraising campaign to help defray hosting and maintenance costs. Without these campaigns, Tripawds would not exist as you know it now.

Until such a time when Supporter subscriptions, product sales and affiliate commissions compensate for our endless volunteer hours and out-of-pocket expenses, Tripawds will continue promoting this campaign on an annual basis. We promise, however, to clearly indicate where funding goes, keep solicitations to a minimum, and never spam or harass members for contributions.

If you have any comments or concerns about this policy, please let us know. We thank you for being understanding about this and sincerely appreciate your support!

Tripawds’ 3-Legged Dog Jewelry Store Goes Live on Etsy

jerry — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 22:02:02 +0000

Have you heard the latest news? The Tripawds community now has our own line of handmade Tripawds jewelry for humans!

Created with love by Spirit Jerry’s People, the Tripawds Etsy store is one way they are doing their best to make Tripawds a self-sustaining community.

Shop Today, Shop Often

The Tripawds Etsy store is stocked with an ever-changing selection of unique jewelry items for pawrents with a passion for three legged dogs. Our current offerings include several different glass pendant designs of front and rear-legged tripod dogs.

Now you can wear your Tripawds Pride with style and flair! And remember, every purchase helps to defray the costs of maintaining the Tripawds community. The more three paw tripod dog jewelry that sells, the less frequently we’ll hold Tripawds fundraising campaigns (our ultimate goal is to not have them at all). It’s a win win for everpawdy!

So Many Ideas, Such Little Time

Since we rarely make more than a few designs of each, you’ll see that the selection of artwork is constantly changing. We’re also ramping up our capabilities to create more jewelry items for humans and dogs, which we’ll announce as we create them. As our jewelry-making skills grow, we’ll be sure to include these one-of-a-kind items in the Tripawds Etsy store for everypawdy to enjoy!

Tripawd Gifts Has Something for Everypawdy

If our new Tripawds charm necklaces for humans doesn’t rock your world, check out our recommended dog theme pendants, lockets and jewelry. Remember too, that the Tripawds Gifts Blog contains a huge selection of commercially-produced t-shirts, memorial pendants, keepsake boxes, frames and much more. Check back often for new item announcements or review all Tripawds designs available on a multitude of three legged dog apparel and gifts.

Again, every purchase made here will help cover the costs of maintaining the community. But, if you’re not a shopper, remember you can always support Tripawds directly by clicking here!

Many Ways to Help Support Tripawds Community

jerry — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 18:06:45 +0000

Over the years, members have told us how useful Tripawds.com is for them. Some have generously given to this community, and many more ask what they can do to help out.

To answer this question, we created the “How to Support the Tripawds Community” page. This is where we describe how members can help support our efforts to keep Tripawds online. For example:

Shopping in our Featured Blogs
Subscribe as a Tripawds Blogs Supporter
Naming Your Price for a “Tripawds Rule!” Bandanna
Starting an Automatic Gift Subscription from $5 on Up

From sharing what you know about canine amputation to throwing a bone in the Tripawds Tip Jar, all of these contributions will help the community thrive (like the recent site upgrade to improve performance).

Never in a million years would we have thought that one little blog about my bone cancer journey would create such a supportive community, both online and offline.

Today, it’s a 24/7 labor of love for my pawrents, who don’t get paid to bring you the information, resources and infrastructure you know as Tripawds.com.

They get a lot of personal satisfaction out of doing what they do, but unfortunately that doesn’t cover the costs of keeping us going.

Whatever and however you can chip in is greatly appreciated and may be able to help us avoid future fundraising campaigns.

If you’re already here, you’re well aware that once you go down the Tripawd path, nothing is ever the same. Thank you for being here to hold the hands and paws of old, new and future members. Together, we’ll make sure that nobody has to hop this road alone.

Tripawds New Look Coming Soon

jerry — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 22:20:19 +0000

Get ready. Things are going to look different around here real soon.

The genius behind the Tripawds Community infrastructure, Admin Guy (aka Whipping Boy), is working late into the night to bring a new website “theme” to life.

New, Easier Site Navigation

This new theme will make navigating Tripawds so much easier, and hopefully reduce load times for all of our pages. You’ll be able to more easily find current news, member blogs and the latest Tripawd products.

Out with the old, in with the new. Admin Guy has created a new look and infrastructure that will hopefully create a more user-friendly experience for the Tripawds community.

Of course, with all great new technologies, there may be a bug or two that gets in the way.

During this makeover, some things may appear to be broken, or missing. Please be patient, as we will do our best to complete the transition as quickly as pawsible.

You can also feel free to provide feedback in this Tech Support Forum Discussion.

We can’t wait to bring this new look to you. Thanks for all of your patience as we prepare to flip the switch. Your support helps make these improvements pawsible.

Shopping with Tripawds Helps our Community

jerry — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 21:36:38 +0000

Did you know, every time you shop with Tripawds, you’re helping to support this community?

As we ponder how the holidays arrived so fast this year, we hope you’ll remember to shop with Tripawds for your holiday gift giving needs. Dog-related or not, all products that you purchase through our five blogs or embedded links we add to Forum Discussions will help offset the costs of maintaining this special place.

Deals Galore in the Tripawds Amazon Blog

Our Amazon Store is a gateway to all of your Amazon shopping needs for humans and animals.

Use our special search box when you browse, and whatever you purchase during that session will help this community.

Be sure to take advantage of Amazon’s amazing deals, bargains and more this season!

Goodies in The Tripawds Gift Store

When it comes to Tripawd holiday cards, 2011 calendars and quirky Tripawd wearables, the Tripawds Gift Store is a one-of-a-kind place to help show your Tripawd pride.

Can’t decide what to get? Stay tuned for the upcoming 2010 Tripawds Holiday Shopping Guide!

Get Fit with The Gear Store

Pop into the Tripawds Gear Store for all of your canine gear and assistive device needs for canine friends.

Be sure to check out the new Fit PAWS line of canine fitness products. There’s nothing like giving the gift of good health to our best friends!

Healthy Eats and Treats in Tripawds Nutrition and Downloads

Last but not least, our Tripawds Nutrition and Downloads blogs also have tons of great deals to help you save money this season, from supplements to free plans for a canine balance board.

Although you can often find these items in your neighborhood, chances are we have a coupon code that can give you greater savings online. . .

Save with Tripawds Coupon Codes

Our goal is to help you save as much as possible, by sharing the latest coupon codes for canine products, human goodies and more from Internet retailers.

Subscribe to these Forum Discussion posts for the best savings online:

And while we would love it if you shopped with us this season, above all else we hope this holiday season finds you in a happy, peaceful place, with the Spirit of Dog staying strong in your heart.

Thank you for helping to make this the best Tripawds year ever!

Tripawds Blogs News

jerry — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:55:39 +0000

Did you know that Tripawds has different three legged dog news blogs that share information about living a fun, healthy life with your pup?

Here are some highlights from recent blog posts:

Cool Gifts for Tripawds community

Tripawd Chloe designed the first Tripawds Tribute t-shirt for Team Tripawds to wear at the Morris Animal Foundation K9 Cancer Walk in Los Gatos, CA on 10/10. Walk with Team Tripawds in spirit and order yours today.
Get your official Tripawds Rule! Bandanna for the low price of whatever you can afford!
Goldens, Labs and German Shepherds are now featured in our latest Tripawds propaganda.

Tripawds Nutrition and Health

Strengthen your Tripawd’s bones with Synflex, a premium glucosamine arthritis supplement made in the USA.
Learn how Wysong’s new starch-free, high protein kibble can help your dog fight cancer
Aloha Medicinals has cancer care kits with items to help fight canine cancer care at home.

Gear for Tripawds on the Go

Power Paws dog socks give better traction on slippery surfaces at home
Forget the old school post-surgery satellite dish collars, now there’s better alternatives to the Cone of Shame
Ease your dog’s weary bones and post-surgery swelling with Bella’s Pain Relief Pack, a hot/cold pack made just for dogs.

Download Useful Tripawd Tips and More

Dr. Dressler, author of the Dog Cancer Survival Guide, has a free e-book about diet and nutrition for Tripawds with cancer.
Did you know that chiropractic care can help your Tripawd live a more comfortable life? Watch Fortis get chiropractic care and read how it works for him.
Why is it that some Tripawds come home from surgery with staples, and others come home with stitches? Learn more from our 2010 Tripawds Amputation Survey.

Bargains for Tripawds from Amazon.com

Big dogs can save until 9/30 on Dr. Dressler’s Apocaps cancer fighting immune system supplement with a special coupon code redeemable at Amazon.
Learn exercise and rehab tips with how-to dog massage and physical therapy books.
Set aside some leisure reading time with Last Dog on the Hill, a book about a remarkable dog named Lou who will met your heart with his story of fearlessness and dedication.

These Tripawds blogs are here to help you make the best decisions about living life with your Tripawd. Since Tripawds can receive a small commission through products purchased via these blogs, they also help support this community. Even if you don’t buy the product we specifically mention but do end up buying something from that storefront, your purchase will still benefit Tripwds.

If you have any tips, product recommendations or news that you want to share with us, please do, and we’ll mention it the appropriate blogs. Thanks!

Tripawds Blogs Month in Review

jerry — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 12:27:41 +0000

With so much going on here, we thought a monthly Tripawds Blog Update report would give you a helpful rundown on what you might have missed in May (and whoops, the first week of June…already?).

First off, we would like to honor the memory of Tri-Pug Maggie, who passed away earlier this week after a heroic mast cell cancer battle that lasted over four years. Those of us who were lucky enough to meet her were instantly enamored with her charming, laid-back pawsonality. She will be deeply missed but her Pug Power Spirit will live on.

Also, condolences go out to Magic and his Mom Diane, who lost OJ, a beloved feline family member, and more hugs yet go to Ruthie and her mom, Pat, who lost Dunc, their faithful horse of the last 24 years. The spirit animal kingdom welcomes them with open arms.

Spirit Jerry’s News Blog

We’re hoppy to release the first Tripawds Required Reading List, a compilation of answers to the most commonly asked questions about canine cancer and amputation for dogs. We also talked about:

Some findings from the first Tripawds Amputation and Cancer Care Survey
The June 19th celebration to welcome 2 Dogs 2000 Miles to Boston
Funny comments from kids about Tripawds
Jerry’s Story: How Tripawds Came to Be
The Adorable Tripawd Fashionista Tiny Tim of John Bartlett Designs
The heroic Tripawd tales of Chuy and Dixie

Tripawds Gear Blog

Check out the Greatest Hits From The Gear Blog, vol. 1, which gives the rundown on some popular products that Tripawd pawrents love, from the Ruff Wear Harness to Pawz Boots that work great in slippery situations. You’ll also learn about:

Preventing boredom with the Everlasting Treat Ball
Getting your Tripawd safely in and out of vehicles using the OttoStep pet stair for trucks and SUVs
Cool therapeutic beds for hot summers

Tripawds Amazon Blog

Download our new Tripawds flier that looks great in this inexpensive display and help others find support when faced with amputation.

We also talked about Dr. Demian Dressler’s Apocaps nutrition supplement, and learned from Tripawd Maggie the Agile Cow Dog that this supplement is not recommended for dogs currently taking Non-Steroidial Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs). All of you on the Metronomic Protocol, stay away from it OK?

Tripawds Downloads Blog

Download raw data from the Tripawds 2010 Amputation and Cancer Care Survey responses, then help us draw some conclusions to make it more useful. Also:

Listen to pain mangement expert Dr. Robin Downing give post-surgery pain management tips
Tripawds members can enjoy discounts at eBooks.com
Check out this great Dog Massage Techniques video.

Tripawds Gift Store Blog

Beautiful pet memorial jewelery and paw print memorial frames
Suggestions for inexpensive Tripawd posters you can give to your veterinary health team
Fantastic three legged dog office products you can surround yourself with while toiling away at work!

Tripawds Nutrition Blog

Looking for effective non-toxic flea control for your Tripawd? Check out Wyatt Ray’s review of Southwestern Cedar Oil and receive a free bottle with your first order!

Also, read about Maximutt’s secrets for healthy eating while battling cancer
Enjoy generous discounts on VetIonix all natural pet health supplies.

Tripawds Three Legged Dog Blogs

In the Tripawd Nation, Captain Jack celebrated his ONE YEAR ampuversary since his cancer diagnosis! Ginger’s doing pretty good with her chemo treatments, Spirit Jake and Wolfie’s new pack member Nayla celebrated seven months on the planet, new Tripawd Maggie went swimming, as did Golden Rosie, and Mel is also nearly done with his chemo treatments.

Beautiful Golden Henri went on vacation in Virginia, and Buddy’s munchkins came up with a hilarious conceptualized drawing for a bionic prosthetic. There was hell to pay when Hurricane Rosie dragged the sprinkler into the house, while good dawgs Buddy and Nikki got to play at the Tripawds pawty in Colorado.

Mackenzie swam for the first time since becoming a Tripawd, Yampa celebrated his five month ampuversary, Bam Bam went on vacation where his Mum tried to save some neglected pups, Scrappy made it through surgery, Niki continues to make slow steady recovery progress, and a celebration was held for Nova thge Queen’s 18 month ampuversary!

Meanwhile, Golden Girl Ginger has figured out how to couch surf again, Sampson the Rottie is recovering and tolerated chemo. Zara is also on the mend, Scribble pawtied with us in Colorado then went hiking, while Agile Cowdog Maggie is kickin’ butt at Rally competitions. Sadly, Toto is in his new home but his health is touch-and-go (get well Toto!).

We have a new Tripawd puppy, Chewie who just joined the pack. Jolly Holly is waiting for her final chemo treatment, while Dash went camping in Washington. Mojo is 100 pawcent better, Gayle conquered the stairs, and Catie taught her mom about Doga and 80s music.

Harley showed us that front-leggers can handle chew bones, Bandit returned in full summer glory and Gerry threw the hottest pawty in Madison. There’s a new Dane-a-Houla, Beaner, who joined the Tripawds family, Daisy told us about how she met her Mom and Cemil pawtied with the NorCal Tripawds pack.

Lincoln gives his Mom hope and courage, and two months after surgery Vampire Bill went hiking! Tripawd Chuy learned how to sit pretty, Wyatt Ray made it home to Colorado, and the Petite Princess Shelby shares her heartbreak over the loss of our hero, Tri-pug Maggie.

Meanwhile, Barney the Dinosaur is lost in America but last we heard he had a good time with Catie in Canada.

Whew! That’s it for May. Thanks for checking out all of the fun happenings here, have a great weekend!

First Tripawds Required Reading List

jerry — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:04:35 +0000

We love how whenever a new user joins Tripawds, community members will often point them to various places throughout this site that can help answer their questions!

But over the past few years, tripawds.com has grown to include a wealth of helpful information that often goes overlooked. So in our continuing efforts to provide the best advice and support for those facing amputation for their dogs, we have developed the following Tripawds Required Reading List.

This compilation of links provides answers to many of the most commonly asked questions about canine cancer and amputation for dogs.

Now, whenever a new pawrent is looking for advice, you can just point them here!

Believe it or not, this extensive list is just a small sampling of informative posts from the Tripawds Featured Blogs. Much more advice can be found by searching the discussion forums.

Bookmark this post now for easy reference! And please reply with links to other Tripawds blog posts and forum topics you have found helpful. Thank you for helping us help others.

NOTE: Posts identified with an exclamation mark may be especially helpful to new members and guests seeking answers.

Tripawds Blogs » Tripawds Blogs

Be a Tripawds Advocate in Your Community

Best of Tripawds 2011

How did everyone find us?

Most Popular Tripawds posts of 2011

Looking Ahead

Tripawds Fundraising Appeals Policy

Tripawds’ 3-Legged Dog Jewelry Store Goes Live on Etsy

Many Ways to Help Support Tripawds Community

Tripawds New Look Coming Soon

Shopping with Tripawds Helps our Community

Tripawds Blogs News

Tripawds Blogs Month in Review

First Tripawds Required Reading List

Tripawds News Blog

Tripawds Gear Blog

Tripawds Nutrition Blog

Tripawds Downloads Blog

Tripawds Amazon Selections Blog

The Tripawds Story

Coping With Loss

Fun Stuff