Thanks to everyone who’s submitted their answers to Part I and Part II of the first ever 2010 Tripawds Treatment and Recovery Survey.

We’ve received 32 surveys so far. The comments have been enlightening, and will serve future Tripawd pawrents well. Some of the heartfelt details pawrents shared included things like:

• “I went through “anticipatory grief” where I felt like he was dead even though he was perfectly fine. I think I cried every day for about a month . . . I no longer worry and know he will let me know when he is ready to move forward.”
• “he did really well, so i did well, for me it was hell making the decision to amputate because it felt like i was meeting my needs not his”
• “Day to do I didn’t worry but as soon as anything seemed ‘different’ I worried. A lot.”

Remember that by taking the time to answer the survey questions, you will be helping many others hopping along the same Tripawds path. Plus, you get to be entered into a drawing for another $10 Café Cash gift certificate. One lucky winner can use it toward anything from the new Tripawds Gift Shop.

To be entered in the drawing, just fill out Part II of the survey (and Part I if you haven’t already done so), no later than Monday, March 22 at 12 midnight, Pacific Time.

We’ll continue taking responses indefinitely. Stay tuned for our findings from your answers, here in Jerry’s blog and his three legged dog discussion forums. Thanks for taking time out to help us with this impawtant research.

Many thanks to everyone who sent in their responses for Part I of our 2010 Tripawds Treatment and Recovery Survey about Canine Amputation and Cancer Care. Now, here’s Part II, which focuses on canine bone cancer and alternative medicine.

Please be sure to complete the 2010 Tripawds Care Survey Part 1. You will be redirected here to part 2 upon submission.

Once again, Tripawds is holding an incentive drawing for another $10 Café Cash gift certificate. One lucky winner can use it toward anything from the new Tripawds Gift Shop.

To be entered in the drawing, just fill out Part II of the survey below (and Part I if you haven’t already done so), no later than Monday, March 22 at 12 midnight, Pacific Time.

We’ll continue taking responses indefinitely. Stay tuned for our findings from your answers, here in Jerry’s blog and his three legged dog discussion forums. Thanks for taking time out to help us with this impawtant research.

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We couldn’t believe it when we first heard about Maggie. She’s a three year bone cancer survivor living in Northern California with sister Tani and Mom Karen. Maggie was diagnosed with mast cell cancer more than three years ago at age 7. She might have lost her leg, but she sure didn’t lose her girlish charm! Here’s Maggie’s inspirational story as told by Karen:

Maggie is having some kidney issues right now, so please join us in sending lots of pawsitive healing energy her way. You can read more about Maggie’s Journey on her blog, Life with a Tri-Pug.

A fellow Tripawds member told us about this site in our Discussion Forums a while back, and we want to make sure you know about it.

DogFoodAdvisor.com, is a compilation of all of the latest dog food ratings, reviews and recall information. You can also learn about feeding tips and tools, red flag ingredients, and more helpful nutrition articles about dogs and diets.

Founded by Dr. Mike Sageman, a former chemist and Doctor of Dental Surgery, DogFoodAdvisor.com is an unbiased resource for all of us who are confused about what commercial pet foods are right for our companion animals.

The site was started after Mike lost his own beloved companion, Penny, in 2007, as a result of eating tainted pet food. Mike has turned Penny’s tragic death into a pawesome resource that is helping many pawrents make healthier choices for their dogs.

Stay tuned in the Tripawds Nutrition Blog for an upcoming interview with Dr. Sageman.

Jerry was our first dog, and even after his leg amputation in 2006, we knew zilch about canine rehabilitation (known as “physical therapy” in the human world). It’s only recently that we’ve become aware of this life-changing therapy, and we want to start sharing what we are learning with all of you.

Connecticut-based “Wizard of Paws,” Dr. Debbie Gross Saunders was brought to our attention by our friend, renowned dog behaviorist and trainer Sarah Wilson.

Dr. Saunders is a certified canine rehabilitation practitioner who is well regarded in the performance sports dog world. She is one of the founders of the first and only university based program in canine rehabilitation – University of Tennessee’s Canine Physical Rehabilitation Program. Along with her therapy services, she teaches  and has a variety of DVDs to help dog parents practice safe and effective therapy at home.

Dr. Saunders was kind enough to send us a copy of her newest video, “Osteoarthritis and Your Dog” for review.

Osteoarthritis and Your Dog: What it is, and How to Help

Osteoarthritis is a painful, degenerative condition that affects dogs of all ages. When one of these arthritic dogs is told that a spare leg  has to be amputated, pawrents agonize over the amputation decision more than others. They wonder:

Can a three legged, arthritic dog have a good life?

After watching Debbie’s video, we think that for most dogs, consistent therapy exercises like the one in Dr. Saunder’s video will go a long way in providing a great quality of life as a Tripawd.

The first half of the video will hit you with a lot of information. Be sure to have a notepad ready to take notes. Although we wished it had informational graphics to study, Dr. Saunders does a fantastic job conveying what we need to know about osteoarthritis if your dog receives an osteoarthritis diagnosis.

The rest of the video is an awesome instructional guide to performing canine massage and range-of-motion exercises at home. Dr. Saunders discusses why these exercises are important, and how to tell if you’re working your dog too hard.

She also gives tips to great therapy products that we like, such as Bella’s Pain Pack. Lastly, she kindly provides cost-saving ideas for making your own therapy exercise tools at home.

Catch a glimpse of “Osteoarthrits and Your Dog,” here on the Wizard of Paws You Tube Channel.

Tracy Snow-Cormier, pawrent to Tripawd Maggie, and Tripawds Supporter, is a fan of Dr. Saunders, and loves this DVD. Tracy says that  “I had an interest in Debbie’s new DVD because I have one of my dogs with start of arthritis in her wrists. I wanted to have a safe way to exercise and strengthen her, and know that I wasn’t going to do further damage to her wrists.”

About the DVD, Tracy says that

“The low cost to do most of her exercises for the dogs is great. From doing basic obedience flatwork to doing theraball work, to low cavaletti work. It is easy for someone to do the exercises with your arthritic dog with very little cost…with the exception of the treadmills!”

We think you’ll find “Osteoarthritis and Your Dog” just as informative and useful. If you order it on Debbie’s website, let us know what you think!

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.

Here’s a flashback video starring Max, taken when we met him in February 2008, not long after his amputation and diagnosis.

And here’s a few photos of Max will always put smiles on our faces.

Run free Max, go get ‘em!

Tripawd Codie Rae told us about a huge Federal Drug Administration (FDA) recall for the veterinary surgery drugs “ketamine” and another rumored recall for the drug “butorphanol.”

Ketamine is used for everything from teeth cleaning, to amputation.

As many as five cats have died as a direct result of contaminated ketamine, but thus far, the ketamine recall has been completely botched by the FDA.

Much like the pet food recalls of previous years, this mishandling has resulted in mass confusion in the veterinary world over what specific dates, lots numbers, etc., are actually being recalled.

Thousands of vets might unknowingly have the contaminated versions in their practices.

The Veterinary Information Network, a resource for vets, wrote this article about the poor job the FDA has done with the recall.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the drug butorphanol is also rumored to be on the recall list, but the FDA hasn’t released anything about it.

For more details, you can read this article in the Pet Connections Blog. Also, this article in the San Francisco Chronicle discusses the recall, and specifics about the broken link of trust between veterinarians and the FDA. These reporters know more about it than we do, so be sure to read these articles.

Remember, anytime your animal companion is going to be anesthetized, always know what drugs will be used. When we read the book “Vet Confidential,” we learned some nasty things about ketamine:

“This drug, which is similar to PCP (also known as Angel Dust), causes allucinations, which I worry may be an alarming axperience to the animal.”

The author, Louise Murray DVM, says she limits the use of ketamine in all procedures, for this reason.

We encourage you to become informed by reading books like Vet Confidential, and getting the specifics about all aspects of your pet’s surgical treatments.

When a Tripawd dog gets diagnosed with bone cancer, pawrents immediately think the worst once they learn what to expect. That’s human nature for you.

We dogs, on the other hand, don’t care what bone cancer is, or what it may do to our health eventually. All we care about is having fun with our pack while we still feel good. Yes, there may be a time when the cancer is too much and we must part ways for a while. But right now, in this very moment, we are going to have fun, and you are going to have fun with us, darnit!

Nobody demonstrates that better than our pal, Caira Sue. One look at this girl, and you’d never know that her health is being compromised by lung mets.

Take a look at this interview with her pawrents. Caira Sue’s amazing attitude will help you remember that the time to live, is now.

When your dog joins the Tripawd community, one of the most helpful things you can do is ensure that the floors in your home are slip-proof. Even if you are just able to create a path throughout the house for your Tripawd to follow, this will give your pup tremendous confidence with his new body structure.

When I became a Tripawd, one of the first things my pawrents did for our home was to cover the hardwood floors with pre-made carpet floor runners. They covered our hallways and my favorite parts of the house. But this wasn’t cheap, and since then they’ve discovered other ways in which pawrents can affordably slip-proof floors.

Here are just a few recommendations:

Interlocking Child-Friendly Floor Mats

12″ x 12″ x 3/8″ thick puzzle pieces.

Interlocking Carpet Tiles

2′ x 2′ Interlocking Tiles. 5/8″ thick. Corners and Border pieces available for a finished look.

Non-Skid Eco Friendly Floor Coatings

Add an eco-friendly, safe clear coat to your concerete, tile or wood floors.


Also, check out “No Skidding, Floor Safety Products.”

And visit HomeExpo.com for a directory of anti-slip flooring companies.

Do you have a favorite no-slip floor solution for your three legged dog? If so, please share it below in our Comments section or in this Discussion Forum Topic.

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:

• Tazzie and Kona’s Wild Pawty
• Zeus: Two Milestones
• Cherry’s Three Day Celebration
• The Amazing Peanut
• Jake’s Victory Laps
• Yoda’s Rabbit Hunt
• Tika’s Funny Story

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!