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.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
I know I should have sorted this ages ago, but I finally got my act together and ordered new orthopaedic beds for the girls, and they arrived this morning.
I'd say Meg seems pretty pleased
Yup, it works well this way too...
Elsie's (typically) less sure...
I think she's worried I'll throw away her favourite sagbag snuggle cushion. As if.
Obviously, Momma's bed is always no 1.
Seriously though, I'm really pleased with the beds. Right now one dog is beside me on the sofa, while the other's lying upside down on the floor, but it's good to know they've got a comfortable supportive option, should they choose to use it...
P.S. Sorry for all the photos. I know, I know, any excuse...
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, November 2023, adopted January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Elsie Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
NEEEEEEEVVVVVVVER apologize for posting photos!!!! ESPECIALLY when they're they're as adorable as Meg and Elsie!!
They truly love their beds...all of them!!
Don't you worry Elsie, that sagbag is here to stay!!
Clearly .eg as "bonded" woth her bed and is ccompletely comfy!
I ALWAYS look forward to pictures of these two, as well as the commentary to the photos!
Thanks for the smiles!! 🙂
Love!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
The picture of Meg upside down in her bed is priceless!
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Pawesome... Thanks for sharing! 
For anyone interested, don't miss this selection of the best recommended beds for Tripawds.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Those are great! What kind of bed did you end up getting?
Kathi
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
Thanks, Kathi. It's made by a British company called Orthopaedic, and it has a memory foam mattress, which fits under the cover. It was actually really reasonable (I know these things can cost a fortune), so we'll have to see how well it wears, but so far I'm impressed. It's firm, but comfortable and supportive. Meg, in particular, seems very taken with it. She's just gone back over onto it now 
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, November 2023, adopted January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Elsie Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
Yeah for new beds! 
I love the pictures - there's never too many I especially love the picture of Meg upside down, she must be very comfortable.
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
That does look mighty comfy!!! 🙂
Shelby Lynne; Jack Russell/Shiba Inu mix. Proud member of the April Angels of 2014.
October 15, 2000 to April 8, 2014
Our story: Broke rear leg in June 2013 - non-conclusive results for cancer so leg was plated and pinned. Enlarged spleen in September 2013 and had it removed and was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma and started chemotherapy. Became a Tripawd January 8th, 2014 and definitive Hemangiosarcoma diagnosis. Three major surgeries in 7 months and Shelby took them all like a champ only to lose her battle to cancer in her brain. We had 8 amazing extra months together and no regrets. #shelbystrong #loveofmylife
YAY !!!!
Memory foam mattresses are the BEST
Eurydice has two (one in the house, or better said the "travelling bed") and another in the boot of the car, I totally love them as they adapt to their body shape and are firm enough for them to get up comfortably.
LOVED the pictures , Meg really is a Meg-A-Star trying different sleeping positions with such charm and I bet Elsie will do the same when nobody is watching 
Your girls are simply adorable 
Lots and lots of hugs and cuddles to your cuties
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Have I mentioned before how much I like Elsie? Every time I see her I get a surge of Tani memories.
Like the time I carefully cut up a memory foam bed cover to make into a dog bed for Tani. I even put edges around three sides since she liked to sleep with her chin up on something. I cut it to fit an existing fleece dog bed cover that I had. When it was done I put it down in the kitchen for the dogs. Obie checked it out, laid down once then got off. Tani got up on it, sniffed around a bit, then squatted and peed right in the middle of it!
Obie sleeps with my dad and Elly sleeps with me, yet there are eight dog beds in the house and shop!
Do they ever sleep together?
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Oh Karen!! Love these stories about your Pugs!! 
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Hehe! I love Karen's pug stories too. Sounds like Tani and Elsie are definitely soul sisters. One time at her best friend's house (a whippet/jack russel mix called Sophie) Sophie had been given a lovely plush new bed, which her Mum was really proud of. Else climbed straight in it and, looking at us, squatted and peed right in the middle of the bed. I was mortified.
Elsie and Meg will both curl up with Sophie and Elsie loves lying with my Mums Staff, Owen, but they will very rarely sleep together. I wish they would. That's always what I'd imagined. Like Otis and Tess or Frankie and Myrtle. But they just don't. At night we all sleep in my bed, and I'm squeezed in the middle like the filling in a dog sandwich. Great in the Winter. Less so when it's hot.
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, November 2023, adopted January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Elsie Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
The orthopedic bed .... one of the best purchases ever. Yes, Milo liked it, but more importantly, I liked it. Milo had a few rough nights during his last week. The orthopedic bed saved me. For example, on Milo's last night, he slept on the floor next to his bed, and I slept ON his bed. What a nice doggie bed for my old human back!
So this is for you, Karen (and because I need no encouragement at all when it comes to Miss Elsie Pie). A friend of mine, who's an artist (Sophie's Mum, in fact) wrote a children's book, some years ago now, about two dog detectives who solve a mystery. The dog detectives are based on (and drawn from) Elsie and Sophie (who's called Dot in the book). They made a trailer for it. I can't get over how much younger Elsie looks. At the launch, Elsie was so overwhelmed, she threw up in the middle of the bookshop. Anyway, hope you enjoy.
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, November 2023, adopted January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Elsie Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
😂 Elsie is such a character 😂
I can't believe she threw up at the launch of the book and peed on Sophie's bed in front of you and your friend ...
She definitely is like a cartoon character 🃏
Love her 💕💕💕
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
1 Guest(s)
