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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I wrote these blogs in 2010 when I switched to homemade food. I guess it was longer ago than I thought! They may help. Other than the cancer (which is most likely genetic anyways) all my dogs have fantastic coats, healthy weights, and all ear infections/allergies are GONE.
Whole foods, I'm telling ya!... I wish I could eat only whole foods but the processed stuff is SO GOOD. Mmm chocolate..
Barret was diagnosed with Hemangiopericytoma May 16, 2013. Front left leg/scapula/pectoral muscle was amputated on June 11, 2013 and we've never looked back. Follow our story on http://barret.t.....pawds.com/ and read my column on That Pet Blog
Zoey's mama, I was raised in Simpsonville till I was 11. My family have been there since the 1700s. My parents moved back to be near my grandparents about 17 years ago. My aunt is in Simpsonville, too. My sister is in Moore with her family. If you tell me you went to Simpsonville Elementary or Bryson in the 1960s, we really need to have a talk!
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
It really is such a small world! I graduated Eastside High in 1991 and my best friend went to Taylors First Baptist - any chance you are around that age that we may know each other?
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
Good heavens, this is weird. I technically live in Simpsonville! We were in Greer from '89 to 2000 and went to Taylor's First Baptist from 1990 to about 2000.
Didn't grow up here, but graduated Clemson and have claimed South Carolina as home ever since. You are 10 years younger than I. When we lived in Greer, we were right down the road from Eastside, in the Silverleaf Subdivision.
Good grief, what are the odds?!
Are you saying Lisa, Zeus's mama, or I am 10 years younger than you? It doesn't matter...but what if we went to nursery school together?! I am 54 years old (Good Lord! Really?) but it's a very immature 54. Just ask anyone here.
Are you familiar with the Hunter House (it was turned into a B&B) in Simpsonville, across from the humongous First Baptist complex? That was my great-grandparents' home, where I spent lots of happy times. My grandparents' place is on East Georgia Rd. My parents are near there.
When I go visit, if I see a 3-legged collie hopping along, I'll know whose name to shout!
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
Stranger and stranger.... My childhood home was on the corner of East Lee Road and Taylors Road - right across from Taylors Church of God and Colonial Hills Church (yep, two churches side by side). I know the Silverleaf subdivision well as I had alot of friends that lived there. All of my siblings now live in Simpsonville or Fountain Inn. In fact, I was at my brother's house in the Shadowood Subdivision just this weekend!
Did you by chance know Johnna Bain? She was my friend who went to Taylors FBC. BTW, my brother and husband are both Clemson grads - T I G E Rrrrrrr S, Fight Tigers Fight Tigers Fight Fight Fight!!!
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
My birth certificate says that I just turned 50, but like you I see that written down and think, that's not me! No way am I that age! Zeus' mom is a youngster apparently, darn her!
Good heavens, I know exactly what your talking about! Our barn is out in the general vacinity of East Georgia Road.
The whole area sure has changed, hasn't it?
The area has changed for sure. My grandparents' place is now my aunt's home. She made some changes and now leases the horse property to a guy who's turned it into a pretty large boarding facility. Near Club Dr. I can't think of the name of the place, but it's weird to go there now and see this pristine barn and riding trails. When I was a kid, the barn was where we went to see how many tetanus shot opportunities we could find.
Shari
(And no, this has nothing to do with dogs but everything to do with demonstrating the connections made here every single day!)
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
Barret'sMomHeather, thank you for those links to the diet information. I've got some studying to do!
As for us Greenville gals, I cannot even believe what a small world it is! I can't get over it. Yes, and go Tigers!!
Wow I'm offline for a day and look at what I've missed! This is fantastic. I love how the universe puts people together at just the right time. What a HOOT that y'all are from the same area!
Barret's Mom, I think your work at That Pet Place rocks! It's a great resource, and you might have noticed that Tripawds is an affiliate advertiser with the company 
Would it be OK if we made a Nutrition blog post about your Doggie Diet series? We'd love to refer folks to them, they're very well done.
I'm a big enthusiast of raw/home cooked feeding as well, but I agree with everyone else; don't make major diet changes during chemo, talk to your vet, and do it smartly by reading all you can about it. Some vets will be OK with it, others will discourage it completely, it can be frustrating. The Eating Healthy posts may also be helpful to you Zoey as well as these recent ones
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
jerry said
Barret's Mom, I think your work at That Pet Place rocks! It's a great resource, and you might have noticed that Tripawds is an affiliate advertiser with the companyWould it be OK if we made a Nutrition blog post about your Doggie Diet series? We'd love to refer folks to them, they're very well done.
I actually had no idea I'm so glad and happy about that! I would LOVE it if you posted about my series. Now that I've gone back and read them (gotta fix some broken links) I think I need to do a follow up post too. Three years later I definitely see major differences in my pets and diet is the only real change we've made.
I started That Pet Blog (TFP only had the fish, reptile and bird blogs when I started here 6 years ago) because I have access to so many resources that others don't and I wanted to be able to share and help other pet owners looking for quality information. It is kind of my personal project, and one that I really enjoy.
I'm a big enthusiast of raw/home cooked feeding as well, but I agree with everyone else; don't make major diet changes during chemo, talk to your vet, and do it smartly by reading all you can about it. Some vets will be OK with it, others will discourage it completely, it can be frustrating. The Eating Healthy posts may also be helpful to you Zoey as well as these recent ones
As far as this, I totally agree. I actually spoke with my vet last week about my dogs' diet and while nutrition isn't a widely studied topic in domesticated dogs, he did say that special considerations need to be taken for dogs on chemo. His advice to me was to remove any veggies and fruits that have anti-oxidants in them if we were going to do chemo (which we're not, but this will help you, zoey1).
Chemotherapy creates oxidants to fight cancer, so a diet with lots of anti-oxidants is going to make chemo less effective. He suggested going with just the meat and brown rice, and using supplements for the rest of the nutritional requirements.
Jerry (and this is open to any tripawd interested), one last thing: If anyone would like to write a guest blog post for That Pet Blog about Tripawds we'd absolutely welcome it.
I planned on writing something about common tripawd misconceptions but I don't write about something unless I have first hand knowledge about it.. so I'll have to wait until Barret is back to his bouncy self to do it. All of you have much more experience on the topic. PM me if you're interested. There are a few "rules" we follow because it is a company blog, but almost anything goes
Thanks, Heather
Barret was diagnosed with Hemangiopericytoma May 16, 2013. Front left leg/scapula/pectoral muscle was amputated on June 11, 2013 and we've never looked back. Follow our story on http://barret.t.....pawds.com/ and read my column on That Pet Blog
Very cool Heather. When you have the links fixed (oh can we relate!) and that blog update written let us know and we will share all of them in the Nutrition blog . And yes, we'd love to write something for the blog, thanks so much! I'll PM you.
You are a great resource for your company, what a cool project you have going on!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I've got a question.
Yesterday was Zoey's one week post op. I've noticed that she is getting tired out while hopping outside to go potty much quicker now. Could that front leg be getting sore?
The meds that she's been on since she came home have not changed. In terms of the meds in her system from the surgery, the vet had reversed those once she realized Zoey's adverse reaction to them. So I don't think it's a matter of the meds that made her supposedly feel good (which they didn't) after the surgery are finally out of her system.
So, why does she have less stamina yesterday and today hopping around ?
My guess would be that the week of hopping has caught up with her. Is she a little more active? It takes a lot more energy for Tripawds to get around, especially new Tripawds who are training muscles to work in different ways. It is not uncommon for pups to seem to go backwards in this period. If her incision looks OK, she is eating, drinking and eliminating, and over all she seems to be feeling fine then she is probably OK. Of course call your vet if you have concerns.
Karen
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