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A User-Supported Three Legged Dog Blog Community
PLEASE NOTE: Jerry cannot reply directly to all comments posted below. If you have questions about canine cancer or concerns about your three-legged dog, please add a topic in the Tripawds Discussion Forums where Jerry and everyone else can share advice and input. Thank you!
If you’d just like to say woof, or throw me a bone, please sign my guestbook and see what others have to say below.
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posted in forum Tripawds Featured Blog Updates and Community Announcements by AngelAbbysMom on 3 February 2012
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posted in forum Tripawd Parties by jerry on 3 February 2012
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Find the most helpful items for three-legged dogs by checking out Tripawds Gear product reviews and demonstration videos. Here you will find the popular Ruff Wear harness, and Bark'n Boots, or FitPAWS training equipment and much more!
Latest Gear Blog Posts
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Thank you soooo much for starting this. This site is getting me through the dark times and into the light. It’s one day at a time sometimes one hour.
You are a life saver!! I wouldn’t have been able to make it through this without this site.
Thank you!!!!
Awww daisydogger, you are too kind. It’s the great stories, caring and humor of everypawdy here who makes it such a great place to be. We’re sorry you had to join us but we’re glad you’re here. Give your pup a smooch from us.
Jerry -
Liz
I’m the vet who amputated Dyre’s leg (see post from Kim Hove above). I never got a chance to thank you for the lovely and complimentary card you sent. Thank you. This site helps a lot of my clients, and I appreciate it so much. Keep doin’ what you’re doin’.
Happy new year to all of you who frequent this wonderful site- a quick update on Zena & her progress. It’s been 3 months & 4 chemo treatments since amputation of her front left leg,osteosarcoma. She is doing so well- x-rays today looked good, and she is a tripawd dog superstar! Her career as an avalanche dog is over, but she will embark [!] on a new path, as spokesdog for our ski area, Snowbasin, Utah! Thank you all for your stories, and thanks for letting me share ours. Everyday is a gift with our brave little friends. Thanks to you too Jerry, for being there for all of us!
That’s so great to hear, Dan! We would love to know more about Zena’s spokesdawg duties! Come visit us in the Forums OK? And if you ever make it to Colorado, come see us in the summertime.
Hi There,
I came across this site and wanted to let you know about our dog Zeus. He is a twelve year old German Shepherd. Last January he had a slight limp and we took him to the vet. What we thought was possible arthritis turned into osteosarcoma bone cancer =(. It was a hard decision to amputate…but after doing the research I found that was the best option. It took a couple of weeks for him to get back to himself, but now one year later he is happy and healthy and we are so glad to have him for another year. Anyway, there is good quality of life for you and your dog after amputation just wanted you to know. Going on two shorter walks a day is still his absolute favourite thing to do.
xx
kaRIN
Thanks for the comment and best wishes for Zeus! Please feel free to share his story in the forums or by starting a blog. New members always enjoy hearing inspirational success stories like yours.
Thanks a lot for sharing your experience! I have a boxer who got the same diagnosis and was desperate because I thought a 12 year old dog would not be able to recover properly from such an operation. Now I know Scrappy has the possibility to live his remaining years as a healthy dog
Andrea you’ll be so surprised at what dogs of all ages can do. Senior dogs, as long as they are healthy and strong otherwise, typically do great after amputation. Keep Scrappy lean and don’t let him overdo it too much, and he’ll do just great. Keep us posted OK?
Thanks for this site, it is most helpful! My baby boy Fifty is running around on his two legs, and his girlfriend is a beautiful tripawd girl. It’s great knowing there’s a whole community of them out there! Fifty the two legged pitbull loves you.
Thanks for the comment Kelly! Please consider sharing Fifty’s amazing story in the discussion forums!
Just dropped my 9 year old golden retriever off at the vet to have her leg amputated. Discovered the bone cancer 2 weeks ago after my great dane injured her. Feeling like i’m headed into some uncharted water! Thanks for the web site. It will be a good resource as we head forward on this new journey.
Thanks for the comment and best wishes for your Golden’s speedy recovery. Please drop by the discussion forums for lots of advice from this community or consider downloading the new Tripawds e-book, Three Legs and a Spare for immediate answers to the most common amputation recovery questions.
Hope your golden is doing well. My 7 1/2 year old golden Buddy was recently diagnosed with osteosarcoma after limping for a few weeks (at first I thought he injured himself from stepping into one of the many holes my younger golden digs!). His back right leg was amputated the day after Thanksgiving. I cried the entire first week after the diagnosis until the surgery ( Buddy thought I was sick!). I was amazed to see Buddy WALK out of the hospital after his surgery. He had many challenges such as learning to back himself out of a corner and learning to navigate the house with the huge “lampshade” on his head. I am happy to say that 6 weeks later Buddy is doing amazingly well, taking walks on the snowy shores of Lake Superior with me. He has had 2 sessions of chemo so far (carboplatin) with the only side effect being slight loss of appetite. I give him 1/2 can of N/D prescription canned food mixed with dry Canidae every morning and night and he scarfs it down! I’m so glad this web site exists. Buddy and I still have a lot to learn.
Hi! Been reading around your site for a few days. We just adopted a Norweigen Elkhound from the local Humane Society who had his amputation a few months ago. This site has been a great resource already, as our new little friend has gotten quite accustomed to life at the shelter the last few months and prefers to lay down with his belly up for a scratch then actually get up and moving. He conquered our stairs yesterday (with great reserve mind you) and has mastered chewing a bone with his bag legs- it is pretty impressive. We will continue looking to your site for info as we hope to get our boy up to speed. They say he should have had his leg amputated after he was born but the original owners didn’t follow through, so it was only after a few trips to the HS it was finally done. He may have missed his initial rehabilitation period I suppose, but we have faith!
Elkhound? Little Friend?
Drop by the forums or consider starting a blog to share his story. Thanks for the comment!
well it’s 5 weeks tommorow since zena’s surgery, amputation of her front left leg. yup, osteosarcoma! the first week was tough, the second week a little better, and since then, it’s been really smooth & steady! zena is 10, and has been a certified avalanche dog with me here @ snowbasin ski resort in utah her whole life! we are part of the wasatch backcountry rescue organization, which includes 10 ski areas, sheriff’s depts., helicopter services and approx. 35 operational dog teams. this will obviously be a new and different season for zena, but we are hopeful she will still be able to come to the mt. and be a wonderful spokesdog, as well as an inspiration to other tripod dog owners! thank you for your website; the info provided is helpful, inspiring and comforting! take care zena & dan
Zena, something tells me that a certified avalanche dog will do just great on three legs, and you’re going to kick that osteosarcoma’s butt off to the moon! Your life sounds really exciting, we can’t wait to hear more. Thank you and your pops for joining us here, and if you need anything whatsoever, you’ve got a great group of folks here who can help OK? Keep us posted!
thanks for your kind words jerry! we had our 2nd round of chemo today, 2 more to go. every day is a gift. zena has had so much love and support through this ordeal, and we are so pleased to have found your website and your support! we will keep in touch- thank you again!
Hello,
I adopted a 3 legged dog. What is the best exercise for her? I’ve been taking her on runs around the block.
Sandy
Thanks for asking Sarah! Please review our CARE animal rehab videos for some great stretching and exercise advice for Tripawds. Running is high impact and walks only develop endurance, not strength. Unstable surface work is most important for developing core muscle strength. Consider building a Buja board or check out the FitPAWS canine conditioning equipment in the Tripawds Gear blog.
Be sure to search the discussion forums or start a new topic for more advice. You’ll find lots of recovery tips in Jerry’s Required Reading List, and even more tips and fast answers to the most common amputation questions in the new Tripawds e-book, Three Legs and a Spare.
I have intestinal cancer which has spread to my lymph nodes and I have had chemo for 2 months. I have gotten worse and now I’m not hungry and won’t eat anything – lamb – beef – chicken – veggies – anything. My Mom tried everything – but the other night she brought home a “real” (not fillers etc.) hamburger from a restaurant. It smelled so good that I ate (half at a time) it. I got more today. I know that I am not going to be cured and don’t have much time left but those hamburgers sure are good. At leat there is something that I enjoy for the time being. Hope to all those who are getting better and keep the faith.
Katie – scottish terrier – 7 years old.
Hang in there Katie, it sounds like you have wonderful people caring for you. Prednisone is often the drug of last resort, but it helped Jerry get his appetite back so he could enjoy another couple months of loving life! He liked ground buffalo too! Thanks for dropping by and best wishes, you’ll find much more help and advice in the discussion forums.
As with some of the other comments, we’ve found this site to be very useful and comforting. We found out this past Monday that our 15-mo-old pup, Abby, has osteosarcoma. A chest xray on Wed. showed her lungs were clear, so after a consult with the oncologist we went ahead and had her leg amputated (rt front) on Friday and will begin chemo shortly. Everything is happening very quickly and it’s been great to have the Tripawds site to come to for words of advice and comfort. I started a blog about Abby’s ordeal on Thur. (http://poochsmooches.blogspot.com) before realizing you had a blogging option on here. I’ve been looking at some of the blogs on here and the info in the discussions is also very helpful. Thanks! Abby’s Mom
Thanks for the kind comment, and best wishes to Abby for a speedy recovery. Should you decide to start a Tripawds Blog, the Blogger Importer plugin will automatically transfer all your existing posts.
Me and my family are considering adopting a tripawd dog named Copper. His leg got caught in a trap. A dog warden and a volunteer went out to get him, and when the warden saw the state the dogs leg was in, he thought he should be euthanized. But the volunteer said no, and so Copper’s leg got amputated. My mom, little brother and I fell in love with him, since he is a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, like our current dog, Kuna(Kuna has cancer). But my dad thinks that I’m not resposible enough for a tripawd yet. I take care of Kuna really well though! Can you please say something about how rewarding it is to have a tripawd to convince my dad? Thank you! And I love your dedication to this cause!
Hi Hanako, that’s so cool that you want to give Cooper a good home! Whoever the volunteer was that saved him is a saint. As you can see here, most dogs get along just fine on three legs!
As long as the dog’s weight is kept down (they should be a little thinner than most dogs), and you don’t overexercise them, Tripawds are super easy to have as part of the family. They are not by any means handicapped. We started this community to show the world that just because they’re missing that “spare leg”, that doesn’t stop them from living life to the fullest. The only tricky thing about having a Tripawd is understanding that although they are spunky as any dog, most are not going to go on 5 mile hikes or play for hours on end. The biggest responsibility you would have to them is to make sure you try some rehabilitation therapy games (super easy!) to keep them strong, don’t expect too much, and look after them so they don’t overdo it. They can wrestle and play with other dogs as much as any, just use care so that they don’t play for too long and tire out too much.
I hope this helps. It sounds like your family would be a great one for Cooper and he sure deserves a loving home. If your parents have any questions please have them write to us OK? Good luck!
I agree completely! They can do anything they feel up to. They need lots of rest when done and tons of LOVE!!!!! A harness is very helpful when walking and playing. Write a letter to your dad. Letter writing is very powerful. I think he would see your commitment and love for the animal.
YOU ROCK!!!!
Just been reading so many posts, examples, thoughts and support. Although there are many reasons why a pup would have amputation, I am noticing (THINK I notice) that the majority of cancer for amputation is osteosarcoma.
Rocky has/has had fibrosarcoma…and his cancer chemo regimen looks a little different from some on this site. (btw: rear right amputation)
Just an FYI..his chemo has included doxorubicin…a little hair loss (he’s a retriever, lots of hair to donate) and no real sickness.
His last round will be Nov 18.
I also switched his food to all natural raw, dehydrated. Smells like a Thanksgiving meal, he loves it, has bowel movements that are beyond normal and have…no smell..no kidding.
Maybe the sickness associated with chemo is reduced with this meal that is easier, better aligned with his digestive track? Who knows…
Rocky’s caregiver
I would say that the majority of amputees that join us here are because of bone cancer but of all different types, including fibro. You can read more about this here in our ongoing Tripawds Amputation and Cancer Care Survey analysis. If you’d care to fill it out, please do, so we can add Rocky’s story to the data.
You’re absolutely right, feeding dogs real, whole foods is pawesome for their health. Dogs are living beings who should eat living foods! We firmly believe in real foods for dogs too, whether its raw, home cooked or a combination of both.
Kudos to you for doing such a great job taking care of your boy. We send our congrats for a long, long life ahead! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for creating this site. It has been an inspiration and comfort to us all. Today our dog fell off the porch and broke his hind leg and he is scheduled for having his leg amputated next week. Your site has comforted us in coming to terms with the surgery and what can be expected.
Thank you so much!
~ Drake
Thank you for the kind comment and best wishes for your pup’s speedy recovery!