Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
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Katy,
It takes a long time. There are just going to be days that you cry. Shoot it has been 20 months for me and today is one of those days that I have been crying because I found out the vet who treated Sassy and was with us our whole journey is leaving to go teach at K-state vet hospital. The grief, wandering aimlessly, starting crying at a drop of a hat it is just part of it. No one can tell you the right or wrong way to grieve. It is our own journey
It may take awhile for J to come to you in dreams. Sassy has only come in mine 1 time that I remember and I think it was and still is because I grieve hard for her. You will always miss that boy
Thinking of you
Hugs
Michelle & Angel Sassy
Sassy is a proud member of the Winter Warriors. Live long, & strong Winter Warriors.
sassysugarbear.tripawds.com
07/26/2006 - Sassy earned her wings 08/20/2013
05/04/2006 - Bosch, Sassy's pal, earned his wings 03/29/19 fought cancer for 4 months.
"You aren't doing it TO her, you are doing it FOR her. Give her a chance at life."
Everything you are feeling sounds so familiar. We know just how much your heart is hurting right now. We know, but our hearts cannot quite comprehend the absence. I have only had 1 dream in a whole year about Ty. Oh, how I wish for more. I do have a lot of pennies and dimes. Always, when I am missing him extra. I find one, sometimes in a place so odd.... Well, I just know. He will let you know. In his own sweet way that he is really doing ok at the bridge. It is ok to cry as much as you need to.Other people don't need to get it. This part is really hard, we are here, we understand everything you are feeling. As far as bonding to the 2 new dogs this Fall, well I think Jackson will help you with that one. Thinking of you, Lori, Ty & the Gang
TY GUY, Best Black Lab ever! Diagnosed and had amp in January, 2014. Kicked MRSA's butt. Earned his angel wings on April 16, 2014. Run Free my boy and don't forget a shoe. Ty is a proud member of the " April Angels". Ty sent us Daryl, a Tripawd rescue in Sept. of 2016. Daryl is 5 +or -. We are also Pawrents to Chandler, a Border Collie mix who is 15 and 1/2, Lucy, a Corgi who is 7, 2 minis, 2 horses, and a feisty cat named Zoe. Zoe had a non skeletal Osteosarcoma removed in July 2015. No Chemo, she was at least 16. She is going strong although she is now completely blind. She is now close to 20 and her hobbies are eating and sleeping in front of her personal heater.
I was so jealous of everyone else who was getting signs from their angels. I saw nothing, but I saw nothing because I had shut down because of the pain. There were signs everywhere and once I started to love again, they poured in quicker than I could see them.
It's understandable and normal the way you're feeling. I, too, didn't want another fur baby for fear of not being able to love it. But I soon came to the realization that it wasn't the fear of not being able to love that was keeping me from adopting another, but the fear of losing them like we lost Harmony. I wondered if I had enough heart to lose again because Harmony took such a huge piece with her.
Even though I have never touched the muzzle of another fur-baby here at Tripawds, every time one leaves us, the tiniest part of my heart goes with them. At times I'm afraid to get on the forums for the fear of another loss, but I also know that love rebuilds those losses. It truly does mend a broken heart. And there's sooooooooooo much love to read here!
Maybe you feel that you don't have the right to love again. Maybe you feel that you are "cheating" on Jackson by giving love to another. Grief has a way of skewing our emotions, but I knew that Harmony wouldn't want me to stop living and loving on her behalf. It took me a while to realize that grief and joy go hand-in-hand. It was the loss of my father a month ago that branded that message on my heart.
I can pretty much tell you that every time I'm on Tripawds, I will shed a tear of sadness and/or joy. My prayer for you is to open your heart and let the pain be what it is; pain. Give yourself permission to grieve without apologies. By doing so, you'll allow yourself to love without approval.
xoxo - pam
Harmony became a Tripawd on 10/21/14 (MCT). She left us way too soon on 11/1/14.
"We miss you so much; our love, our heart, our Harmony."
- Pam, Ron and Melody, Meesha, Doublestuff and Mariah Carey
Very well said Pam.
Michelle & Angel Sassy
Sassy is a proud member of the Winter Warriors. Live long, & strong Winter Warriors.
sassysugarbear.tripawds.com
07/26/2006 - Sassy earned her wings 08/20/2013
05/04/2006 - Bosch, Sassy's pal, earned his wings 03/29/19 fought cancer for 4 months.
"You aren't doing it TO her, you are doing it FOR her. Give her a chance at life."
It's been a month.. only a month.... you don't think that this pain would pass so quickly do you? Nope, it doesn't.. otherwise it would mean that we really didn't care that much, right?
When you love hard, you grieve hard... it's been almost two years for my sweet boy... and I still tear up ocassionally, but I do smile more.. and laugh.. gosh.. sometimes we just laugh when we remember... and it's a good laugh!!
Did you say.... you have plans for future puppies? wooooot wooooot.. puppy bellies, puppy noses and puppy kisses.... how exciting!!!! How wonderful!!! How loving of you to give a great life to more doggers who will each take a place in your heart..
Don't think they won't. They will. And it is so easy to say, "I am afraid that people will think I am replacing my Jackson".. or "I am afraid I will not bond". You are smarter than that. We all are. We feel these things in the beginning when we have let their leash go for the last time, because we feel that we are being unfaithful to our furbaby we jut lost. It's human nature. After all, when we lose a member of our "two legged" family, we don't go out and find a new mom, dad, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, grandparents... do we? So we feel that way about our furkids.
But... feeling that way will not help me enjoy getting through my remainder of this life, nor will it help me to build my pack up at the Bridge. I've said it before, I am destined to be trampled by muddy pawprints, soaked with slobbery kisses, and knocked on my arse when I arrive at the Bridge!! I looked at a pup (Wilson) 5 days after I lost my Franklin. That was quick . I didn't replace him, and Franklin didn't replace my Brandy that I lost previously either. I am a dog lover, and I opened my heart up to another dog, and will keep opening my heart as long as I am able...
I know that the doggers and kitts that come into my care will have a great life! They will have a great time! They will save me as much as I have saved them. How can you not smile and love that plan!!
But, meanwhile... we will grieve.. we will cry... we will feel the pain because it hurts... we we do feel empty and lonely.... and... your house soon will be filled with some puppy growls, puppy pawprints and you will smile and laugh, and you will love. When you are an animal lover... it's hard not to. It's against our nature... and before you know it.. there will be two new doors in your heart.. right beside Jacksons, ready to be filled with memories...
and don't you think that Jackson won't be whispering in these pups ears!!! lol
Christine.. with Franklin in her heart♥
Franklin, he was the Happiest Dog on Three Legs! Diagnosed 09/26/2012 with Osteosarcoma, amputated 12/4/2012. Had a wonderful 5 1/2 months painfree until he ran for the Bridge on 5/15/2013. Always in my heart, and always a guardian angel of my pack... You can follow his Tripawd Adventures, before and after, in my blog, Frank'n'Farter!
Pam, that was beautifully said. Words spoken straight from your heart, the part of your heart where Harmony resides.
Christine, as always, you nailed it, and with that great witty style of yours. I love what you said about "building your pack at the Bridge". And yes,for me, it's just my nature to love and be loved by my dogs.
And ditto Michelle and Lori. They, like all of us, know all too well the sadness is always with us...it just doesn't consume our every waking moment anymore. The happier memories do push the grief further into the background.
Oh,and before zi forget, please tell us how Jackson "made" your husband marry you!!
No dog ever "replaces" another. You can't replace what never really left you. My Happy Hannah will NEVER be gone from my heart and my soul. She IS in every fiber of my being,as are all my dogs.
For me, and this is just me,I've been very fortunate to not have one second of questioning when or if I should love another dog. For me, it would be like questioning when or if I should take another breath, or eat more chocolate! There are just some things that are such a natural part of who you are, you just do it! No, I coukd never love without dogs! Nor would I want to.
Oh, and before I forget again, how did Jackson present himself to Mike in his dream? I also have not had any real signs from my Happy Hannah yet. And this is from someone who believes VERY strongly that her energy would present herself to me in so many ways, especially dreams. You'd think by now she could stop eating ice cream long enough to send me a message!
Try not to quesion ANYTHING about these puos coming into your lives. Just TRUST that it is meant to be for all the right reasons! There is NO need to question, to compare, etc. Just let "let go and be".
Just a month Katy. I jnow you relive the end of the earthly journey over and over and your emotions are always there as though iit is happening over and over. I jnow it seems like you will stay stuck in despair forever. We all PROMISE you it will lessen in your own timeframe. PROMISE! You know, for me, I can't even say the the happy memories will be stronger and stronger. Well, I do say it, but I don't necessarily feel it. It's hard for me to find them sometimes. They just don't come easily. But pictures help with that. Unfortunately, almost all my pictures are from the amputation forward. I want to remember the times BEFORE the amputation, it's just hard to find them.
Katy, as you can see, Jackson is still here helping others. As we all try and find words to comfort you, subconsciously, we are still trying to do the same for ourselves
Thank you for being so open and raw with your feelings. Once we start this journey, we are all by each other's side and forever connected. It is such a privilege. It is yet another eternal gift from our dogs and kitties.
I hope you'll consider making a ribbon for the Tribute Leash we'll be displaying at the Virginia lawty. Also, if you would like, I would be honored to display a picture of Jackson there and return it to you. If you'd like to send me thr ribbon, or Karen, we'll make sure it makes its way among all the other magnificent heroes!
We all love you and Jackson! Your impact here continues to inspire!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Katy, it's just so true; you go through it, you don't get around it, it's just a process that takes time and that all depends on you, nobody else. There's no right or wrong ways to grieve, we all have different ways of processing. It just happens eventually, you find you can get through the day without falling apart, when you can look at a picture without being sad, when you can tell others about him without crying. Nobody can say when that will happen. Just be easy on yourself, it's OK to feel the way you do. Just keep moving forward, forward, forward, just as Jackson did, it's what he wants for you, to keep on living life in his honor.
Yes, please do send a ribbon for the Tribute Leash! Here is the post with info.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Katy,
There isn't much more I can say that others have not but I feel (literally) your pain. Even though it has almost been 13 months since my sweet Shelby left my side and became my forever angel, the pain still comes on strong. As you know, I have struggled to love Jasper and let down my walls. I can't even change my FB profile photo b/c I feel like that is disrespectful to my one true love ... it will come in time .. the ability to open your heart and love again.
I had Jasper almost 6 - 7 months (yes months!!!!) before I felt real love for her. It took about 9 for me to say ...I cannot imagine my life w/out her here... and now, almost a year together... a peace w/loving her and loving Shelby and remembering my soul mate.
You will get there. I also get you on the gym thing ... It took me several weeks before I could go for a run and not cry ... I remember being 8 miles from my house and having to get back and barely being able to breathe I was crying so hard. I still get that twinge sometimes but it's better.
I still have Shelby's stuff in my car. I still have her special cookies and her toys secured away ...
Sending you love ... you are doing great!
Shelby Lynne; Jack Russell/Shiba Inu mix. Proud member of the April Angels of 2014.
October 15, 2000 to April 8, 2014
Our story: Broke rear leg in June 2013 - non-conclusive results for cancer so leg was plated and pinned. Enlarged spleen in September 2013 and had it removed and was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma and started chemotherapy. Became a Tripawd January 8th, 2014 and definitive Hemangiosarcoma diagnosis. Three major surgeries in 7 months and Shelby took them all like a champ only to lose her battle to cancer in her brain. We had 8 amazing extra months together and no regrets. #shelbystrong #loveofmylife
Katy...just reach out and hold my hand. Together we will get through this.
Kathi and the Turbotail April Angel
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
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