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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I'm just stunned to read this and wish I could just give you a hug! My heart is happy though that sweet Darby was able to send you the sign in the clouds so you knew he made it "home to Heavens bridge". Know his spirit will watch over you and you will feel him as a whisper in the wind. Fly free new Angel! Sending you healing thoughts and prayers.
Linda & Spirit Mighty Max
https://m.youtu.....p8OPc6N-G0
A small part of our life together. My teenage daughter helped me. The last picture is in the exam room before I last saw him.
I will forever miss him.
Wow. Amazing tribute to Darby. Very well done. You can sense the love in those photos. I love it.
David and Rocky (and Baxter now too!)
Rocky had his right front leg amputated on Valentine's Day 2017 after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma.
He joined the September Saints on September 3, 2017.
He is the toughest, bravest, sweetest and best friend I'll ever know.
What a beauuuuuuutiful tribute for a positively angelic, stunning doggie. You and your daughter did a wonderful job with this tribute, thank you for sharing it. I can tell you couldn't get enough photos of her. They were all great pics.
She had such pretty, soft fur and the color...wow. I see so many expressions on her face, she had a million adorable looks! And the photos of her outfits....unforgettable. Such a special dog and a treasured part of your family. Darby's physical presence is gone but when you create a bond like that, it never, ever goes away. She will be watching over you and your other pup always, I don't doubt that for a second.
{{{hugs}}}
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I'm so, so sorry that this happened. I'm sitting here watching the video with tears streaming...he had such a sweet, kind face. I know nothing can take the knife out of your heart right now, but I would like to add to the sentiment that others have shared, which is Darby knew you were doing your best for him. I know he had a life full of so much love and fun. I know that doesn't help you right now. But please know that we are thinking of you and hoping you have peace in your heart and can feel Darby's love coming through to you from where he is now.
Tracy & Zatoichi
Tracy & Warrior Angel Zatoichi 💓
Zato was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in October 2016. He triumphed through radiation and amputation with dignity and grace. After living a life of love and happiness, Zato earned his angel wings on February 19, 2018. Read his story here.
Darby is a boy, I know he looks feminine 🙂 People used to alway say "what a pretty girl". He always looked like he was in Zoolander too, modeling. The dates are wrong, I don't know why my computer decided to pick different dates. It is August 28,2008 to Nov 1, 2017. He just turned 9. In the last pic in the exam office before they took him back for the amputation, I kissed him on his head. I felt bad that I left a lipstick kiss on head but now I am so glad that he will have that forever.
I just saw your video, he was breathtaking and so graceful. I once fostered an Afghan Hound that looked a lot like him, what is his breed? Please give your daughter a bear hug for a job well done, yo5y both did him justice. By the looks of your lovely family you will all need to support each other and by doing that you will get through this. Your other baby will need extra TLC too, it's amazing how perceptive they are. My thoughts are with you in this awful time. Please take care of each other and check in when you are able.
Big hugs,
Jackie, David, and Huckleberry ❤❤
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
I know how hard it is to part with your heart dog, but it's hard to imagine losing one so abruptly. I'm so sorry.
It must be that Darby's job here with you was done and it was time for him to move on and it is a blessing that he has already shown you that he is OK.
Hang on to the fact that you made decisions for Darby out of love and what was the very best thing to give him a chance. Cancer is a sneaky bastard that never plays fair, all we can do is our best.
Darby was clearly loved and I'm sure he gave all his love in return. Our heart dogs never really leave us- they live on in our hearts and so are always by our sides.
Karen and Spirit Maggie
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Oh my goodness I am so so sorry to hear about Darby. 🙁 I am so shocked. Run free Darby.
xoxoxo
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."
I would like to say I'm doing well and handling this gracefully but I think I am about as ungraceful at this as you can get. I know it has been four days and I have experienced a huge range of emotions. Last night I was so angry. I kept thinking, why did this happen! We're they negligent at the hospital Darby was at. I think about them finding him struggling to breath and him being scared and all by himself. I think about how they performed CPR on his newly amputated body and my heart reels in pain. I think about how the surgeon said "the students closed him up" and later "the students found him struggling to breath". I had no idea this was a teaching experience! I didn't know there were students involved.
I look for Darby everywhere. I lay out on the deck at his time of death every evening and look for him, a sign, something. His bed sits next to me empty. My husband has been very supportive but slowly I feel like there is a limit to that support, that soon he may say "move on". For me, I am still at the beginning of this grief process.
Oh sweet friend 🌹
I am so, so, so sorry for your loss ...
Your Darby was such a sweetheart, your video is absolutely lovely, a wonderful tribute to your marvellous boy 💗
This must have been so shocking for you, I cannot even begin to imagine how you feel and how incredibly unfair it was for Darby too ...
But he did take your kiss with him, the lipstick is there in his little head to show how much Mommy loved his boy 💗
He is forever free now with his wonderful silver wings just like my Angel Eurydice 🕊
He may take a little while to come back to you (as he is too busy playing with all of our Angels) but you can rest assured he will.
He might come back to talk to you in your dreams, he might show you a beautiful rainbow out of the blue, he might whisper how much he loves you in the breeze, he might throw you a coin ... or all of the above.
Open your heart and he will show you he is with you.
He will 💗
Sending you much, much love 😘😘😘🐮💫✨🌟🌹
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Thank you! I just came back to post that I feel like I got a sign from God and Darby this morning! I stayed home and did "pajama church", means I didn't get out of bed and watched my church service online. Todays service was "The Greatest Reward", the afterlife. It was beautiful and amazing that it was todays service topic!
(((Christina))) I showed your tribute to my husband last night and cried showing it to him. I do not know the circumstances that lead to his passing. Until this last post you made I thought he passed while the surgery was being performed. My heart is crying for you. If you have questions that you need answered then you need to speak with the hospital. That might be painful for you, it may make you relive this once again, but if this is going to nag at you and not go away then you need answers.
If it helps at all my experiences working at the animal hospital that I was at were nothing less than wonderful. My hospital was a teaching hospital. My education came from doctors and techs that had 20+ years experience. I watched, assisted, and learned over and over again until I was allowed to move forward, and even THEN I was watched another 20 times before I was allowed to intubate independently, anesthetize and monitor, place IV's, give fluids, injections, etc. I was not a student veterinarian, I was a student that became a surgical technician... that is also a big difference.
Please do not torture yourself by putting these hideous thoughts in your head. You are going to make yourself sick sweetie, don't do it. Odds are that he was not alone, odds are that he may not have even been awake when this all happened. Odds are good that he made it over the bridge and never felt pain. Sometimes things happen for a reason that we know nothing of. I will tell you that before surgery he probably had an amazing amount of pre-op medication that would make him barely aware of anything other than a deep need to sleep and be relaxed. They use pain meds along with other medications before a procedure that knock them out pretty good, I used to carry those little ones to the surgical table to prep and they were feeling no pain, trust me.
What you are going through is horrible. You are going to need time to heal regardless of what anybody feels is an adequate amount of time. You will heal in your own time. In the meantime, if you can try to make small steps to help the rest of your family and your other little fur baby get through this, that might help you too. It might take a conscious effort day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute to try and do even one small thing in a day that you feel is productive. Take care of yourself and don't blame yourself. You were doing the right thing by taking care of your baby. He will show himself, and he will watch over you. Sounds like you just got one of those signs. More will come, you watch and see. Your baby is an angel now, and he will be your guardian angel forever. He is just getting used to his angel wings, and meeting all of the other angels over the bridge. ((((Hug)))) and you will have all of the support here that you need for however long you need it.
Jackie
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
I can't say thank you enough! Best support team and cheer leaders for Darby and myself, it means the world to me, thank you! I guess I wasn't clear on what happened to Darby and my experience. I emailed my family what happened and I will cut and paste it below, it has most of the details:
https://m.youtu.....p8OPc6N-G0
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