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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Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
The race, it on indeed!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Go, go, go, go, go Speed Racer! Good Luck.
I am, however, in the spirit of support, getting a couple of the new pitbull shirts.
Sorry G.
🙂 (Still one handed, btw. Ugh).
Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall – Confucius
http://credocan.....pawds.com/
I love that song! Go!!!!! Rounding the corner turn, they are neck and neck....
Elizabeth and Sammy
Diagnosed with osteosarcoma in the right front leg 8/23/10,
leg fractured 8/27/10,
leg amputated 8/30/10
http://sammyand.....pawds.com/
I couldn't begin to say how special Sammy is to us. Living and laughing with and loving this wonderful boy is priceless.
Holy crap, I got a looooong way to go to catch up with you two! My money is on Cometdog, unless the monkeybutts sabotage her computer and pull the plug....LOL
Cathy
Well, I hate to give up a good fight to the finish, but look at the statistics. Comet joined a year behind me and is now within 131 posts of catching me. That wouldn't be much of a competition even if I felt up to the fight. Ge' and I have already talked about this, so she won't be taken by surprise when she reads this.
Since we are all family here, I'm going to share. Not really looking for sympathy, just thought it may help the next person not feel so all alone. I miss Trouble more today than I did the first week. Just when I thought I was beginning to adjust, I found myself back just about to day one. I can cry at the drop of a hat, so NOT me. I struggle to post, and struggle to say something that doesn't sound like blah, blah, blah in my head.
It isn't that I haven't had a world of support - I have the best group of virtual friends ever - so many right here, and I so appreciate each and every one. It isn't that I regret letting her go when we did - it was truly time. It isn't that she didn't pass as quietly and peacefully as I would have liked - for in my heart even though she may have been uncomfortable for a few moments, she didn't have long term suffering. I simply miss her. A friend of mine who lost her golden just a week before Trouble said it best - I want my dog back!
I know Trouble had a long, wonderful, happy life and was a blessing not only to us, but to every life she touched. I know I would never want her to suffer. I know she was a precious gift in my life. I know I will get past this. What I never expected was how very hard it is to make the adjustment to being without her.
So, until I can get back on a solid road, and begin to feel like myself again, I hope you will all understand when I just don't seem quite like the person you thought you knew. I'll get there, it's just going to take longer than I expected.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
I want my dog back too, and years later I still get easily choked up about losing Jerry. Sad truth is, he'll never come back. Knowing that he is always with us in spirit helps, but it doesn't allow me to rub his years. What does give me relief, is reframing the thoughts that bother me about him being gone... he would never want me to be sad, we had a wonderful life together, he will always hold a very special place in my heart, his spirit continues to touch and help so many, and as you say, blah, blah, blah, blah...
When it comes down to it. Life goes on. It must. And though you may not be able to control what life throws at you, no matter what happens, no matter how deep the shit gets, no matter how bad you feel, you always have a choice about how you react to the situation or emotions overwhelming you. Never underestimate the power of pawsitive thinking.
And for the record, you will always be the same funny, loving, caring person we think you are!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
So sorry Shanna. I'm with Admin "I want my dog back too!"
It took me several months before I could think of mine and not cry. It took even longer than that to be able to go to our favorite hang out spot (the beach) without feeling that painful stab in the heart that she wasn't there with me. I still to this day miss her terribly and would do anything to have her back and in good health. But as Admin said, it ain't happening and we have to move on with life.
I've busied myself with Maddie now, and I have actually found myself accidentally calling her Zoe. Even though her nad my Zoe beside both being Heelers, are 2 very different dogs. Maddie doesn't replace her, but I have made the choice that life goes on and Zoe wouldn't want me sad. And she WOULD want me to live life to the fullest and give all my love to another furbaby.
I don't know you well like the others here, but I feel your pain with you and if you ever need anything just let me know.
Kelly
Maddie Mae's left rear leg: amutated 3-17-2011 ( Injury not cancer)
Follow her adventures......http://kellyr20.....pawds.com/
Of those that don't know - Shanna and I are good friends so I wouldn't want her to be upset and told her to post her feelings instead of faking her happiness.
I know that the 26th is so hard since it was Trouble's ampuversary date and we all celebrated it. I was trying to cheer her up since she and I had our jokes about Cometdog coming up on her heels.
And Shanna, when I was in month 2 of losing Comet, I too couldn't find the energy to post much. I even sent Rene an email saying I wasn't up to being on the "welcoming committee" much. I think I even told you that during the that time. I felt like the shock was worn off and all I could do was think about all of the happy years and how much I missed them. I felt exhausted. Posting seemed like work and getting emotionally attached to new members seemed heavy to my heart.
(thanks Daisy's mom, Isabelle's mom and Cooper's dad and everyone else that posted humorous anti-monkeybutt stuff - it kept me cheered up during that time - I wasn't feeling very cheery but it helped a lot!)
I'm pretty sure we all understand how you feel, Shanna. It will get better. And yes, we've said that a gazillion times to others when our little girls were with us. It was easy to say. But "it" does get better. I'm still sad and still cry and I still long for the old days of Rugby and Comet but then I think about the positives...
I would be very alone and I don't know if I could have survived the death of Comet had Rugby not died and I found tripawds. I never googled 3 legged dogs in 10 years of having Comet. I found friends, like you that got me through it.
Had Rugby not died, I wouldn't have known the symptoms when Comet suddenly started bleeding out. Had I not known, I would have done a "wait and see" and she would have died in the middle of the night which was my biggest fear.
And there will be a life lesson for the better in Comet's death also. I'm not going to try to figure it out yet but I know there will be one and it will be a happy one. I just have to believe in my heart there is a reason everything happened the way it did.
So, Shanna take all the time you need if you don't feel like posting, even if that means taking a break from Tripawds. We'll cover you and we'll know that you are with us in spirit.
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Admin & Kelly - Your words really do help. I know there are many of us who have been in my shoes. We go on, we adapt, our sadness becomes a smile. I know in time I'll not feel the way I do now.
And Ge'Lena - you've been the best, and your words are always supportive and encouraging. You and I are a bit different from all the rest. We had chronic dogs from day one, they needed and demanded our undivided attention and we gladly gave it to them. We each had 12 years of service to our dog. That is not to say that everyone else doesn't have the same loss we feel, it is just to say the emptiness is different for us. It has been a lifesaver for me to have someone who understands this.
Thank you all for being here, for building the family we have. It is the people here who make Tripawds what it is. Jim & Rene provide the backbone and I for one am forever grateful, but the awesome members make it what it really is.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
For me, there was most definately a life lesson learned from Skyler & Chloe. Losing Skyler in a short 3 months after amputation & chemo, and then her sister Chloe in one day due to the hemangiosarcoma has really made me take a look at my life.
I will live my life to the fullest.
I will live in the now, and Be More Dog .
I will start doing things & checking things off of my bucket list.
I will show love more than I ever did.
I've had my cancer scare recently, and for now I am cancer free. I'm not taking anything for granted, but I'm also not going to live in fear of the cancer coming back.
Golden hugs to all the Tripawds & Pawrents, and even those crazy, silly monkeybutts!
Cathy
Bravo Cathy. That's something to hang on the bathroom mirror. Beautiful.
Hugs coming back at ya all.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Shanna wrote:
they needed and demanded our undivided attention and we gladly gave it to them
I think we have ourselves to blame for the that! Not that I wouldn't want it any other way! And to make my matters worse, Comet wouldnt' let any strangers or friends touch her! How fun was that for 12 years?! George and I couldn't go anywhere together because no one could touch Comet to leave her with!
I often laugh because when Comet was alive, I thought - if something ever happens to her, she'll want me to be miserable without her! She'll want my world to stop! My world was all about Comet and she was perfectly happy with that! She let me stay on the computer and even talk on the phone during the day but come night - FORGET IT!
But in the end when I said she gave me peace, she basically told me in her language that only she and I understood, she didn't want me to be sad without her. And I'm trying not to be.
Cathy - I think those are great life lessons!!!! I used to be one of those persons that never showed emotions - a sign of weakness in my mind. Phooey on that now!
I don't even care if I don't have spellcheck anymore on a post either! 
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Oh boy, I can soooo totally relate to what you're all saying......As Ge'Lena and Shanna know (and some of my other tripawd friends), I've been grief stricken over my loss for Mackenzie. Just can't seem to shake it. It's now going on 4 months (the 29th)and I'm finally not crying at the drop of a hat (although that was maybe 2 days ago that I haven't done that 
- 2 days - I'll take it!) So it's been hard for me to get totally involved the way I used to be (see I'm in the top 5 top posters, imagine that - considering that I haven't been very good about posting lately) And Cathy you are so brave for all that you have been through and are going through. I think there is a lot to be learned here from all of us and the love we have for our pets. I just feel so lucky and honored to be a part of this community. So thank you my friends for being such a great support during such a difficult time.
Here's to our Tripawd Angels - may they all be looking down at us with their big smiling faces
My sweet golden Mackenzie. She became my angel on Dec 29, 2010 at the age of 8 1/2 although she was always my angel from the time we brought her home. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in Sept 2009 and officially became a tripawd (front leg) on Nov 5, 2009. She will be forever in my heart and now she's running free with all of our other tripawd heroes. I love you Mackenzie!
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