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Best wishes for a very Hoppy New Year to all our Tripawds members, fans and followers! We hope you all have a healthy and prosperous 2012.

The stat monkeys at WordPress just sent us an interesting run-down of blog activities for Tripawds.com so we thought we’d share what’s been going on around here this year.

London Olympic Stadium holds 80,000 people. Jerry’s Tripawds News blog was viewed about 350,000 times in 2011. If it were competing at London Olympic Stadium, it would take about 4 sold-out events for that many people to see it.

In 2011, we published 84 new posts, growing the total blog archive of 602 posts by Jerry. This does not include the Tripawds Featured Blogs or all the Tripawds member Blogs.

For some reason, the busiest day of the year was January 25th with 1,709 views. As usual, the most popular post that day was the Tripawds Forums page. The Tripawds News blog post for that day was Jerry’s list of Tripawds Grief Support Resources.

How did everyone find us?

The top referring sites in 2011 were:

• facebook.com
• simple-press.com
• nutrition.tripawds.com
• pbs.org
• gear.tripawds.com

Some visitors came searching, mostly for tripawds, tripawds forum, bear, three legged dog, and tripawds.com. That “bear” business still perplexes us. We often notice vistors finding Tripawds after searching for “Bear” and we can only assume that Bear the Big Brave Three Legged Dog has lots of friends.

Most visitors came from The United States. Canada & The United Kingdom were not far behind.

Most Popular Tripawds posts of 2011

These are the posts that got the most views in 2011. You can see all of the year’s most-viewed posts in your Site Stats.

• Tripawds Discussion Forums
• Tripawds Blogs Directory
• Tripawds Photo Galleries
• Tripawds News Blog
• Ruff Wear Harness Best for Three Legged Dogs*

*The Ruff Wear dog support harness is now available in the Tripawds Gear Shop.

Many of Jerry’s most popular posts were written before 2011.

Looking Ahead

2012 is sure to be another exciting year here at Tripawds. Our membership continues to grow, as do our vast resources. That Admin guy will be updating the site to the most current WordPress version soon, and we are expecting an important update soon for the Simple:Press plugin that powers our discussion forums which should help improve performance. We are also planning a major server upgrade to meet the demanding needs of our ever-expanding audience and could really use your help. We didn’t hold a fundraising campaign this year and with your assistance we won’t need to have one next year either.

What was your biggest memory from the Tripawds Community this year? And what would you like to see here in the future? Let us know with a comment below or in the forums!

To every Tripawds member who has
loaned a shoulder to lean on
helped a Tripawd find a home
represented Tripawds at an event
shared their Tripawd warrior’s story
been here through good times and sad
shown Barney a good time (and let him live!)
written a helpful guest blog post for the community
sent a gift of direct support or requested a Tripawds bandanna
shopped in our Gifts, Gear, Nutrition, Amazon or Downloads blogs
shared ideas for new content or given feedback about the website
made us laugh and smile with crazy videos, photos and poems
hung out in the Chat Room to help a pawrent in need
purchased anything through a Tripawds affiliate link
used their talents to help support the community
answered a survey or entered a contest
sent photos to celebrate a Tripawd’s life
coordinated a Tripawds pawty

Thank you! Gracias! Merci! Mahalo! Danke!
Grazie! Arigato! kawp-kun krap/ka’! Obrigado! Toda!

We are beyond grateful for everything that each and every one of you does to make this a supportive, educational and fun place to be. Tripawds couldn’t exist without you.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

“What a beautiful day we had for the Paw Rade in Mainstrasse Village!” says Barb. “It was great to have the opportunity to talk with so many pet owners, rescues and shelter people about the best group of folks around–the Tripawds community, our extended family.”

Barb and John’s “Mission of Hope” is their way of honoring the support they received while their Hope went through her own amputation journey and soon after succumbed to kidney failure. The Youngs have started this outreach program to offer information and support to Tripawd dogs in the Cincinnati area.

“Tripawds folks gave us so much support and encouragement after Hope’s surgery, that in honor and remembrance of her, we have started the Tripawds.com Cincinnati Outreach Program, ‘Mission of Hope’” Barb told us.

“It was easy to tell people how all of you have taken the path that is before them, and how you can help them along the way.

So many people told me that they wished they had known about tripawds when their pet had surgery,” she added.

Create Tripawd Awareness in Your Town

Spreading the word about the amazing capabilities of three-legged dogs is easy and doesn’t have to cost a lot. Print our free Tripawds fliers, then pass them out to your veterinarian, dog food store, beautify salon . . . “Anywhere and everywhere,” says Barb, “because there are people out there who need YOU and the support you and this community can give them.”

If you have an opportunity to set up a booth at an animal function, “do it!” Barb says. “It’s easy and you will get far more out of the event that you put in. Email me and I will give you all the info you need to do an event!”

At the Paw-Rade, the Youngs set up a beautiful table, and had beautifully-packaged, tasty homemade dog cookies ready for hungry pups.

Barb turned her kitchen into a biscuit bakery, and baked several different types of treats for the event.

Although competition was stiff among the many different treat vendors, Barb added a classy touch to her offerings. Instead of grabbing treats out of a jar when a customer requested some, she used tongs to bag their order. This gave her treats a cleaner, more sanitary look than typical treat vendors.

In addition to dog treats, Barb addressed the feline fans at the Paw-Rade, with her homegrown catnip treats.

They even had Charger, a Tripawd pup staff the booth to show everypawdy what three legged dogs can do!

“It really was a great time for everyone and gave me a good opportunity to talk with other rescues about tripod animals they might rescue in the future,” says Barb.

We’ve never seen a more well-dressed bunch of pups anywhere!

Thank you Barb and John for all of your hard work to raise over $100 to help Tripawds.com, and show the world that Tripawds Rule!

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Always leading the pack, showing us what really matters in life.

Thanks for teaching us that no matter where we are or what we’re doing . . .

Every day’s a great day!

Every situation, every moment — is of infinite worth;
for it is the representative of a whole eternity.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Jerry G. Dawg, Tripawds Founder and Chief Fun Officer
Born, October 1, 1998

With that said, we are happy to announce Jerry’s fifth Tripawd Pals gallery! Enjoy this slideshow of the fourth gallery featuring 100 friends of the Tripawds community, and send your favorite photo to be included in the fifth.

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Starting a free Tripawds Blog is the easiest way to share more photos of your three legged friend. Upgrade with a Tripawds Supporter Subscription to receive plenty of upload space, automatically remove ads, access enhanced features for your blog, and much more!

Check Jerry’s galleries often for lots of photos from his life on the road and of new Tripawds spokespup Wyatt, favorite pet products, procedure and treatment photos and more. Subscribe to the Tripawds Gallery Updates forum topic to be notified of new additions.

Join the forum discussion on this topic.

Every Tripawd has a great story to tell, and we want to share yours with the world in the newest edition of Tripawd Heroes, a collection of three-legged love stories.

From now until September 19, 2011, we are accepting submissions of photos and stories from Tripawds members who want to star in this book. A limited number of pages are available to share stories so please read on for details and act now for your best chance to be included.

Inspiration Instead of Fundraising

Since love alone cannot pay to keep this community online, all proceeds from this book will go directly toward defraying the costs of keeping Tripawds online. This special project is our latest effort to avoid another annual fundraising campaign. That’s right, with this project and the various other ways to help support Tripawds, we hope to never ask members for money again.

Instead of endless fundraising appeals, you can get a beautiful full-color, 7″ x 7″ soft cover book featuring the inspawrational stories of amazing canine amputees. Act now to include yours! The books will make great gifts for veterinary offices and help keep Tripawds online. It’s a win-win for everypawdy. The price has not yet been set, but since we will only receive a couple bucks from the sale of each book, no discounts will be available to those who participate.

How to be Featured

Tripawd Heroes will feature a number of inspawrational dogs who have been active participants of the Tripawds Community over the past four years. Remaining pages are available for up to 12 stories. Each dog featured will receive one page with 3 to 5 photos. Exemplary photos may warrant full-page presentation.

This Tripawds photobook will be available for ordering by mid-October. The first 12 members to submit their story will be considered for publication. Here are the details:

• Submission Deadline: Monday, September 19, midnight
  
• Story length: 250 words maximum
• Can be about Tripawds past and present, single or multi-Tripawd families*
• Photo Requirements: 3 to 5 high quality photographs (300dpi minimum)
• Please include name, city/state and your Tripawd’s milestone dates.
• All three legged dogs welcome! Tripawds is not just about cancer.
• Include your Tripawds blog address, if applicable.
• Participation is limited to Tripawds members only. (Register here.)
• Submit stories in the body of an email to jerry with photos attached, or compress your images together (.zip or .sit) and use the Tripawds contact form.
• Please be aware that space constraints may prevent us from including all stories, but read on for information about upcoming editions.

*Stories with more than one Tripawd will be featured on the same page.

Customized Books Will Be Available

Anyone who misses this deadline will have the opportunity to be featured in a future edition. In addition, customized versions of Tripawd Heroes featuring your story – and your dog on the cover – will be made available for an additional fee. Stay tuned for complete details.

Create Your Own Photo Book Now!

Can’t wait for the new Tripawd Heroes? Want your very own book telling your dogs story in detail? Create your own custom photobook using Blurb!

On behalf of everyone who finds value in being a part of this community, thank you for your continued support and participation!

Join the forum discussion on this topic.

Yesh! That silly Wyatt is right about one thing.

Tripawds Moms Rock!

Here’s a big shout out to all the Tripawds moms out there!

But I must say, mine truly is the bestest. She showed me the greatest time any dog could ever ask for.

She kept me alive and loving life through that whole cancer business.

She let me go in peace when it was time to head to the Bridge.

And now she keeps the mission alive as “Jerry” in the forums.

Momma makes me proud for sure.

As far as monkepawdboy “taking me” – he better mean for a run by a lake, or he’d be sorry. He kinda reminds me of that Santo character. I showed him a thing or two and he had four legs!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Join us on Saturday, May 7, 2011

Funds raised at the Cure Canine Cancer Walks go toward funding the work of oldest and most respected animal health research organizations in the world, the Morris Animal Foundation.

We’ve got three team members now and we would love to have more members walk with us. Our goal is to raise $500 and we’re not there yet, so sign up today.

Why We Support Morris

We wholeheartedly support Morris Animal Foundation because of the huge impact their Cure Canine Cancer Campaign has had on the lives of our beloved dogs.

Since 1948, Morris has funded over 148 succesful canine cancer studies, such as;

• Research that showed how bone cancer spreads
• Ways to custom tailor chemotherapy
• How chemo resistant cancer cells behave

The Morris Canine Cancer Walks help raise money so Morris can continue these breakthrough discoveries.

Join us in Elk Grove, or at Home in Your PJs!

This walk will take place in Elk Grove, near Sacramento. Anybody is welcome to join our team on-site, but remember you can also walk virtually from the comfort of your own home.

The walks are always so much fun! For our last team effort, Nicole, Chloe’s Mom, designed this fantastic shirt for everyone.

Team Tripawds has participated in every walk since they began a couple of years ago, and we would sincerely appreciate any kind of support you can give toward this effort.

Let’s make this year’s Northern California walk bigger and better than ever so we can reach our goal of curing canine cancer for good!

Join Team Tripawds today!

Deck the Halls with Tripawd Spirit

This small token of our appreciation was the best way we could express our gratitude to every one of you. We also plan on thanking you in the Chat Room on Christmas Day, but until then…

Thank you so much for sharing your stories, your support, and your encouragement to those who are just starting their own three legged journey.

In this crazy, hectic world, it’s so beautiful to know there are people like you, ready to help a Tripawds newcomer get through one of the hardest times of their lives.

We considered sending holiday cards to everypawdy, but in the end decided that free Tripawd ornaments might be a better use of the funds you so generously contributed to the community this year.

For Hoppy Holiday memories to last a lifetime don’t miss our selection of special edition ceramic three legged dog ornaments in the new Tripawds Christmas Shop!

Get your Free Tripawds Wall Calendar Too!

Another way we want to thank you is by offering you a free download of the 2011 Tripawds Calendar, which normally sells as a wire-bound calendar in our Tripawds Gift Store.

This 28-page PDF calendar includes some of the most inspawrational photos featured in the Tripawds Community.

These three legged heroes are paired with inspirational quotes that serve as monthly reminders to enjoy every day to the fullest.

To download your free 2010 canine amputee hero calendar, just visit our Downloads Blog.

Should you decide to order a professionally printed copy, you can order it here, and feel good knowing that your purchase is supporting this community.

From the bottom of our hearts and the top of Sheriff Wyatt Ray’s lungs, we wish you the hoppiest, most beautiful and loving holiday ever.

May the wisdom of our Tripawd heroes stay strong in our hearts in 2011, and continue helping us to live the best life pawsible.

Join the forum discussion on this topic.

On November 22, 2006, I flew down the rabbit hole.

When I woke up, I felt so much better.

My leg was missing, but my pack was complete. We were together and that’s all that mattered. The doctor said something about “cancer” and I knew it was bad when Mom and Dad started crying a lot.

But did I let that cancer thing get me down? Nooooo way!

Who knew that in the next few years, my pack and I would travel all over the place, meet lots of cool people and dawgs, and gather a community made up of the most loving, caring, kind and funny humans in the world?

Who knew that my pawrents would find their passion from such a sad thing, and turn it into something more uplifting and pawsitive for them…and so many other people all over the world? Wow!

To my Tripawds family, thank you for creating one of the most beautiful communities on this planet. For you continue to spread the lesson I was born to share, which was that even in our darkest hour, we can all find something hoppy to celebrate and take comfort from.

Cheers to you, Tripawds family! Thank you for making my ampuversary remembrance something to celebrate!