Ginger will be receiving $10 in Café Cash to spend toward anything she wants in the all new – and much improved – Tripawds Gift Shop!
Thank you to everyone who submitted answers! We’ve received 62 responses so far, but we’d love more, so remember you can submit your answers anytime you’d like.
Meanwhile, Admin is working on Part II of this impawtant survey, which focuses on cancer care, holistic therapies and metastasis. When it goes live soon, we’ll have a second drawing for another $10 winner for the new Tripawds Gift Shop.
Stay tuned for preliminary findings from the Part 1 survey results, and new questions coming soon in Part 2. And be sure to drop by Ginger’s blog to leave a comment with congratulations for Ginger & Randy!
Here are some of CARE’s post-surgery tips to remember:
Keep an eye out for pain medication side effects; if you’re concerned, stop the medication.
Use supplements only when they are needed
Choose supplements that have been third party tested by unbiased organizations such as ConsumerLab.com.
Many thanks to the pawesome staff at California Animal Rehabilitation Center in Southern California for helping us bring this series to you. If you are lucky enough to live nearby, be sure to visit this incredible facility and see how they can help your Tripawd stay strong and live hoppy!
In this second of our three part series with Drs. Jessica Waldman and Amy Kramer from California Animal Rehabilitation Center (CARE), the good doctors answer popular questions Tripawd pawrents want answers to:
Who has it harder: front, or rear leg amputees?
Do dogs get depressed?
How can we help our dogs heal faster from surgery?
While rehab is great for Tripawds, Dr. Waldman says she wishes she could see all of her rehab clients before they have surgery; when they are still young, healthy puppies. If she could, she would warn pawrents about seemingly harmless fun that could result in injuries later on.
She would tell pawrents not to let their dogs jump in and out of trucks, or play Frisbee without warming up and cooling down. She would also tell them to use a ramp instead of jumping into trucks or on furniture. Because if pawrents wait until their dog is injured to take her advice, that’s when things get complicated. Changing a dog’s behavior patterns is another hurdle to add on top of recovery.
In the next and final discussion we have with Drs. Kramer and Waldman, we’ll address concerns about supplements and pain medication.
Many thanks to the pawesome staff at California Animal Rehabilitation Center in Southern California for helping us bring this series to you. If you are lucky enough to live nearby, be sure to visit this incredible facility and see how they can help your Tripawd stay strong and live hoppy!
Dr. Waldman says she wishes she could see all of her rehab clients before they are injured; when they are still young, healthy puppies. If she could, she would warn pawrents about seemingly harmless acrobatics that might result in injuries later on.
She would tell pawrents not to let their dogs jump out of trucks, or play Frisbee without warming up and cooling down. She would warn them about allowing them to jump on the bed instead of using a ramp. Because if pawrents wait until their dog is injured to take her advice, that’s when things get complicated.
What a great time it is to be a Tripawd. With the increasing number of animal rehabilitation practitioners, or what humans call “physical therapists,” three legged dogs can now take advantage of the same life-changing therapies that humans do.
Tripawds recently visited Southern California, and were lucky enough to spend the afternoon with one of the most respected animal rehabilitation centers in the region, California Animal Rehabilitation (CARE).
The founders of CARE, veterinarian Jessica Waldman, VMD, CVA, CCRT, and physical therapist Amy L. Kramer, PT, DPT, CCRT, are partners at one of the few rehabilitation centers in the country that has a vet and a physical therapist on staff, both certified in canine rehabilitation.
Drs. Waldman and Kramer were kind enough to spend time with us to answer Tripawd member’s questions about rehabilitation. And here in part 1, “Stretching and Exercises with Happy Face,” they demo conditioning exercises on this two year old pup who was hit by car. Happy Face is just a few weeks post op and is in therapy because he has neck, lower back, pelvic pain and phantom pain caused by the accident.
CARE’s Exercise Tips to Remember:
Be creative and find new activities to do together, such as creating homemade obstacle courses and playing new games that can help with mobility.
Create body awareness by doing things like playing with your Tripawd’s paws to help her connect her leg movements with her brain.
Open your mind and be creative with finding new activities such as homemade obstacle courses and seeking out different terrain to walk through.
Create body awareness by doing things like playing with your Tripawds paws to help her connect her leg movements with her brain.
Fun doesn’t have to be about rough play. Research canine physical therapy to show you different activities that are both fun and rehabilitative.
Many thanks to Drs. Waldman and Kramer and the pawesome staff at California Animal Rehabilitation Center in Los Angeles for helping us bring this series to you. If you are lucky enough to live in the region, be sure to visit this incredible facility and see how their staff can help your dog stay strong and live hoppy!
We said goodnight to a hero yesterday, strong magnificent Max who lived for nearly fourteen months past his bone cancer diagnosis. His stunning blue eyes, his enthusiasm and his stoic pawsonality put smiles on the faces of everyone he met. Max will never, ever be forgotten.
In the spirit of our courageous hero, we want to share these fun clips of him with you.
This movie was taken at our Tripawds get together in Santa Barbara last December. You can see here that not even lung mets could stop this boy from having a good time with the other pups.
Tripawds is a close knit family, sharing our stories of victory and sadness, triumph and grief, from all corners of the world. Throughout the year, we become close with our amputee dog heroes and their pawrents. The more we grow to know about their daily lives while they recuperate from amputation and battle cancer, the harder it is when we lose them.
When a Tripawd warrior leaves this earthly life, we are griefstricken. We all know that this is the price we must pay for loving another being, but it doesn’t make saying goodbye any easier. Our community has suffered heavy losses this year, and our deepest condolences go out to pawrents who are hurting.
Many pawrents say they have avoided coming to the Forums lately, because they are afraid of finding out if any more dogs have passed on. But in the spirit of all of the Tripawds who have bravely lived life to the fullest, let’s not forget that the Tripawds we grieve for, are also the dogs who amazed us as they took on the world with fearlessness and courage. And every day, new Tripawds members are bringing hoppiness into our community!
On this New Year’s Eve, let’s all keep the good times of our Spirit Tripawds in our hearts, by remembering some of the highlights from the year gone by:
Our apologies for not including all of our Spirit Tripawds in the links above, but that’s where you come in! Please feel free to post links to more happy memories of our Spirit Tripawd Warriors, in the Comments field below, or in this Discussion Forum topic.
Thank you for being a part of our family. We send you all many, many warm wishes for a joyous, peaceful and hoppy 2010!
The following Guest Blog Post was generously written by Calpurnia’s Mom, TC Wait. To submit your own guest post to Tripawds, contact us today.
I have always been somewhat uneasy with the thought of chiropractic practice. Somehow the thought of someone manipulating my spine just gives me the willies. I am the first to admit, however, that I don’t know much about it, so when my Aunt told me she was using a canine chiropractor for her rescued greyhounds, I decided to educate myself about it. The world of veterinary medicine is continually evolving and with that evolution, holistic practices are also becoming more frequently found. Maybe my dogs, including my tripawd Calpurnia, would get some benefit to adding chiropractic work into their health care.
I did some online research and found Dr. Debbie O’Reilly, who has been adjusting animals since 1996 and is certified by the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association. Dr. O’Reilly is also a practicing human chiropractor and runs the Vibrant Energy Healing Center in Littleton, CO. She was happy to answer my questions, and even came to our house to evaluate a dog that was having some issues.
Pika is a new dog to our pack. She has been showing some weakness and poor gait on the right side (both front and rear legs) that my vet and I have thought may be related to an old neck injury (possibly from a rough birth or something). Poor Pika was coping as best as she could, but when it came to pulling in harness (something she LOVES to do), her gait definitely showed signs that she became painful from it.
In addition to Pika, I had targeted our front leg amputee, Calpurnia, as a potential for chiropractic work, since she is getting older (she is going on 14 now) and front leg amputees are sort of forced to rotate the good shoulder down to walk. That has to have some sort of spinal implication. I decided to have work done on Pika first, since some dogs are sore for about 24 hours after an adjustment. I figured being sore when you are 2 years old on 4 legs would be easier than being sore when you are 14 and on 3 legs.
Dr. O’Reilly arrived at our house and patiently answered more of my questions. She then introduced herself to Pika, who is pretty shy. I was surprised at how Pika seemed to understand that Dr. O’Reilly was there to help, and since I think that you can tell a lot about a person from how animals react to them, this was a good thing. After watching her gait and stance, Dr. O’Reilly was able to determine a couple of areas that she thought were not aligned correctly and went about doing an adjustment.
The adjustment itself was pretty quick. Dr. O’Reilly started at Pika’s pelvis and used her hands to move up the spine, vertebrae by vertebrae, testing the alignment and flexibility of each joint. In places that were out of alignment, she used a firm pressure to bring them back to alignment. She did this all the way up to the back of Pika’s neck. It was hard to really see what she was doing because it was so fast!
After the treatment, Pika needed to remain quiet for about 24 hours. No running, playing, or jumping. This is to help keep the corrected alignment in the spine, and also because she might have some muscle soreness following the treatment, sort of like after a deep-tissue massage. Some dogs will need a pain reliever or arnica post-treatment to help with the soreness (the chiropractor will tell you what to do). Pika would need to have a follow-up treatment, possibly including some acupuncture work, in 2 weeks, then probably monthly after that.
I asked Dr. O’Reilly about adjusting Calpurnia, who is a natural busy-body and felt she needed to be involved “assisting” with Pika’s treatment. Dr. O’Reilly felt Cali’s spine for a bit, then laughed and said “Calpurnia is FINE. There is nothing wrong with her spine.” Apparently, whatever spinal twisting is going on with Cali’s missing leg is not causing any incorrect vertebrae alignments. Dr. O’Reilly was impressed at how well Cali was doing and attributed her good health and agility to her overall physical condition and light body weight. All those years of running on a sled have had a good long-term effect on the old girl.
So, here are some tips and thoughts for other “Chiro-Newbies” that may be considering a canine chiropractor that I learned through this experience.
A canine chiropractor can be considered anytime a dog is not performing at 100% (seems out of sorts or just not “their normal self”, reacts to petting, starts holding up a paw, standing not quite right or holding their head off to one side, or anytime the dog has been involved in a accident either due to play or work). Typical issues that Dr. O’Reilly is asked to help with include “everything under the sun” ranging from injuries, post surgical care, and limping/lameness, to lick granulomas, sloppy sitting, and internal medicine disorders. Canine chiropractic works hand-in-hand with veterinary medicine. Sometimes Xrays or drugs are necessary as well as physical therapy.
When looking for a canine chiropractor, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. An animal chiropractor can only be a chiropractor or veterinarian certified in animal chiropractic. The American Veterinary Chiropractic Association certifies all veterinary chiropractors. The website lists their certified doctors by state. There are many people out there calling themselves animal chiropractors, but they are not vets or chiropractors and have not gone through the AVCA approved programs. I have heard some horror stories about crippling injuries stemming from chiropractic treatments gone wrong, so I would recommend doing your research before letting a doctor adjust your dog (or yourself). In Colorado, canine chiropractors also need to be licensed by the state.
Some animal chiropractors offer other holistic treatments that you can ask about. Dr. O’Reilly also has a Diplomate in acupuncture, does massage and swim therapy, and can use “muscle testing” to check for allergies and recommend supplements.
At Pika’s follow-up exam, Dr. O’Reilly was happy that progress had been made in her spine. I had been noticing that Pika was using her back leg more effectively around the yard. Dr. O’Reilly did some acupuncture in Pika’s lower back, followed by another chiropractic adjustment. We will do follow-up treatments monthly through the start of our fall training to see how she is progressing.
Can anyone guess what the most common fear among Tripawd pawrents is?
Most pawrents fear that their Tripawd will lose the use of another limb.
What if a rear-leg amputee grows old, and hip displaysia takes it’s toll? Or a front-leg Tripawd takes a bad fall and severely injures the remaining leg?
What would you do if your Tripawd lost the use of another leg?
As much as it hurts to think about it, it never hurts to be prepared, just in case.
That’s why we talked to the good people at Doggon Wheels in Bozeman, Montana.
Since 1994, Doggon Wheels has been one of the world’s top creators of mobility aids like wheelchairs, for physically challenged animals.
We asked Doggon co-founder Lori, a few questions about how Tripawds can benefit from wheelchairs, and here’s what she had to say:
Can wheelchairs work with Tripawd dogs?
“Yes- we do make wheelchairs for amputees. They are most commonly used by older amputee’s who are starting to have difficulties compensating for the missing limb (front or rear), or for pets with birth defects. We also make wheelchairs for pets with double amputations.
Generally they do really well with using wheels and appreciate being able to go for longer walks or on more varied/difficult terrain.”
The biggest fear some Tripawd pawrents have is for their dog to lose function of their remaining rear or front leg. We know of one Tripawd who needs a hip replacement, yet he is also a rear-leg amputee. Would a wheelchair help?
“This is legitimate concern and why we recommend that you take into consideration putting the remaining rear leg up in the stirrup during periods of intense exercise. Generally the dogs using amputee wheelchairs are doing so because the other limb is overly stressed or arthritic. Putting the remaining limb into a suspended position allows it to rest during the most stressful periods of exercise.
Owners who do this find that their dogs are able to get around easier on their own the rest of the time, when not in wheels. A wheelchair for the pet above would be useful for both long term use to avoid stressing the remaining limb post surgery, or if the humans opt not have his hip replaced.”
How do you measure a Tripawd for a wheelchair?
The measurements are the same for all of our chairs, except for a Tripawd we need to know:
Is s/he a left or right amputee?
Does the dog have any part of her leg remaining? Is the amputation site partial or flush? Most amputations are flush, however if there is enough leg remaining that you can measure the circumference around it, a different support might be needed, other than our amputee support.
This powerful essay, written by Denver lawyer Doug Koktavy, helped Mom and Dad by finally convincing them that blame, fear, anger and guilt are a waste of precious time when living with cancer.
“. . . I realized my fear of the disease was the fuel that was being used against me. Devilishly clever, my biggest enemy was not the disease, but me. I was the power source being used to generate the very negative energy destroying my own being and wasting a special day with my beloved dog.
This paradoxical contradiction was glaring. I had thought the growing presence of disease was causing my mounting fear. In fact, just the opposite was occurring. My daily increasing fear was causing the disease to grow and become more powerful. I decided it was high time to start working for me and the Beez, not against us.”
Doug’s story brought tears to my pawrents eyes, and his straightforward coping pointers gave them the motivation they needed to get on with life.
His essay is one of the most powerful tools around for coping with serious illness in our animal friends.
“Not only is it so well written that you become a bystander observing the story from within, but the compassion for the vital connection we share with this wonderful kingdom oozes out of and between the lines.”
–Martin Goldstein, DVM, author, The Nature of Animal Healing, and host, Ask Martha’s Vet, Martha Stewart Living Radio
Proceeds Benefit the Tripawds Community
With this book, big-hearted Doug has set out to accomplish two impawtant things:
Help you cope with your best friend’s terminal illness, and
Help companion animal groups by donating forty percent of the proceeds for each book sold.
For every copy of “The Legacy of Beezer and Boomer,” purchased here, Doug will donate $10 to Tripawds! We are so excited about his generous offer to help us maintain this community.
We recently had the opportunity to talk with Doug about his book and this is what he had to say about The Legacy of Beezer and Boomer. Check out our video interview above, then be sure to head on over to BeezerAndBoomer.com, and get your copy today!
Meeting new online friends in pawson has been one of the joys of our lives since we started Tripawds.
But not all of the pups we meet because of Tripawds are three-legged; some actually have four! Hedi, a quadruped who became my YouTube friend in early 2007, was one of them.
Our hearts were broken when we learned that Heidi passed away recently. She was one of the most gentle, sweet souls we have ever known. Her Shepherd spirit will always live on in our hearts.
And now, we’d like to pay tribute to Heidi, by sharing these fun YouTube videos we made together.
Here’s Heidi playing it cool the day we met:
And here’s a video mashup that Heidi’s brother, Creekracer, and mine put together:
Join the Tripawds Blogs Announcments, Special Events and Scheduled Maintenance forum discussion on this topic.
Wyatt Ray Dawg was busy today picking a name out of his paw’s hat.
Randy B. & his Tripawd, Ginger
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