Hi,

Milo is front left amputation on July 28.  He's doing great and hopped all over Petco yesterday and up and down stairs at Grammies, and ran like a crazy dog to go see a neighbor last night. 

We bought a ruffwear harness . We found one used on Amazon and saved about  $15-20 over buying new, but the price new would have been worth it. Because of his incision, we only used it rarely the first 2 weeks, but needed it to get him down the stairs, and in and out of the car and truck. He did upstairs on his own on day 4, unsupervised.  Darn dog!  I suspect we will always use it for outings, and getting in and out of cars.  We don't want him to injure his remaining front leg with an awkward jump. 

We already had a raised food dish. Watching him drink or eat from a dish on the grounday recently... that's a must for our guy.  

We bought big 2' x 12' strips of carpet off the big rolls at Home Depot.  It cost <$15 a piece for decent looking berber that hides dog mess. We also bought a 4' strip to make area rugs by his favorite doors.

We bought him a new bed.  His was a big soft bed with a bolster 2/3 of the way around. It was a tripping hazard. We chose a memory foam bed from dogbeds4less.  I appreciated it when I found myself fretting and curling up next to him at night sometimes.  The first 5 days we actually put mattresses from our guest room on the living room floor so we could be nearby. 

We tried booties.  He slips alot on linoleum tile floors, e.g., groomers, vets, stores.  He's fine at our house and outside. The boots were hilarious!  He lifted his feet high like a Clydesdale, including his one front hopping leg.  We laughed so hard!  We settled for socks with anti-skid pattern on the bottom.  They'll be useless outside, but should work for limited inside use. 

And food and supplements!  We aren't doing chemo for a few reasons, but are focusing on diet, nutrition, and supplements.  There are a zillion believers out there.  We chose a few to hopefully keep his world and our world sane. 

Sorry you have to travel, but that's part of life. There is never a perfect time for something like this. I had a major design review at the office on Day 4.  I had a college kid watch him a few times the first week while I went to work. All was fine.  With the internet, texts, photos, phones -- all will be fine. My husband had to travel overseas on week 3.  Milo was slumping and struggling when he left town, but was awesome, amazing, and jumping all over when he returned. 

My best advice to you.... keep using this forum. These people helped us so much when we had set backs or questions. I am certain they will,be here for you and Mr. Gibbs, too.

Peace,

Jenifer & Milo 

We will all be thinking about you and Mr. Gibbs.  It will be okay.....