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Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

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Griffin's Journey
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Member Since:
4 April 2019
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31 May 2020 - 2:42 pm
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Yes, the pill box looks familiar.  Brownie had one as well.  The only way to keep all the supplements straight.  Our restaurants are not opened yet, but all the drive throughs are.

I would love to be on that board walk!

My Beautiful Beloved Brownie was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma on February 26, 2019.  With all odds against him he lived an additional one year and eight days with amputation, love, and prayer.  I was honored to be his mom, and I have never been so proud!  He will live forever in my Heart!

Brownie Bubba Bell

04/01/2007 - 03/05/2020

"March Saint"

Member Since:
1 October 2017
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31 May 2020 - 4:48 pm
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Thats a great photo! I have gotten into many a traffic jam on that bridge icon_lol My mom and dad live in RI, about 3 1/2 hours away from you.  Griffin has got to be the happiest dog I have ever seen. He actually smiles.. like all the time? 

We are slowly starting to reopen here in Kentucky too. I still have my head stuck in the sand and am working on our backyard sanctuary with my husband. I figure we will be spending lots of time at home this summer, and my yard is big enough to exercise with Bo whenever I get a chance.  

We are also supporting our local restaurants tonight as after all the yard work I am tired and sore, lol. 

Stay safe and please keep the pictures coming, they are awsome sp_hearticon2

Jackie and Huck sp_hearticon2

Hugs,

Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry

Huckleberry's Blog

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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31 May 2020 - 7:10 pm
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I just love seeing all the city views and of course seeing Griffin especially. Has that dog ever taken a bad picture? #SupermodelTripawd!

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Virginia







Member Since:
22 February 2013
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31 May 2020 - 8:05 pm
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Always .oveGriffin's updates and photos.   Nice that the"professional"  took that sweet pic of Griffine.  Shhhh......your pics are just as good as the"professional".  Of course, with Griffin as the subject........

I like the view from the restaurant Great photo showing  the proximity between NJ and NY.  

Hugs

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!

Member Since:
1 April 2020
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1 June 2020 - 5:22 pm
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Nice photos! 🙂 I love the view. Similar here restaurants will start opening soon with many restrictions but it will be nice to be able to go out a little.  

Griffin, you have such an adorable face 🙂 

New York, NY
Member Since:
24 March 2020
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6 June 2020 - 6:01 pm
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I want to tell a story about how the Tripawds community has positively impacted my life.  I am the second of four daughters and my oldest and youngest sisters each have two daughters.  My youngest sister’s girls, ages 4 and 10, have known about Griffin’s amputation and recovery from the beginning, and they follow his progress through the Griffin’s Journey blog.  But my oldest sister delayed telling her girls, ages 9 and 13, about Griffin fearing that it would upset them too much.  The 9 year old has some issues with anxiety and both girls have struggled with adapting to life during the pandemic which has prevented them from engaging in the many activities (sports, volunteering, Girl Scouts, school) that they love, so my sister was hesitant to give them the news about Griffin which she knew would be upsetting.  As we are now more than 2 months post-surgery for Griffin, I wasn’t sure how much longer my sister planned to wait (that set of nieces lives 6 hours away and the others are 4 hours away, so avoiding the topic is easier than if we lived close).  She replied to the email I sent saying that she felt things were still too unsettled for the girls and perhaps in a month’s time.

This was my reply to her: You are their mom and know them best, so I'm not arguing that you should tell them.  I just want to share that I don't think the news about Griffin is sad.  It was definitely scary for a while, but he is doing really well now, so I don't want the narrative to be one that is framed as upsetting news, although clearly it will come as a shock to them.  I think they would really enjoy reading the updates about him that I post on the blog and seeing him thrive would be something positive.  Knowing the girls, they would start researching stories about other animals that underwent amputation and learning about how some of them use prosthetics or wheelchairs.   I'm not trying to convince you to tell them, just that when you finally do, to keep in mind that his story is a positive one of overcoming odds and living life to the fullest each day.

And this was her response:  Honestly, I wasn’t thinking of it as positively as you put it, but you have a point. I was thinking more about it as he had cancer, this is the treatment, and the average life expectancy is 1-2 years, which is not so positive.  Since you frame it so well as more optimistic, why don’t you tell them over a Zoom meeting? Then you can answer any questions they have, and they could see how well he’s doing. If you have time, this weekend is free.

When I read my sister’s email, I immediately thought about how her mindset of being focused on the negative was the one that I had prior to finding Tripawds and how through my engagement with this awesome community, I was able to shift her perspective to the positive lens through which I view Griffin's life.

And so today, my nieces and I video chatted and after hearing their many bits of news, I gave them the update on Griffin.  I started by showing them Griffin laying across the room (far enough that you couldn’t see his missing leg) so they knew he was fine.  I told them about his tumor and surgery, and then showed them photos and videos to document his progress from the beginning until now.  They took the news very matter-of-factly, asked some questions, and then moved on.  At the end of our call, the younger one asked if there was anything else that could have been done to help Griffin besides amputation, and after I explained that it was the best option to make sure he wasn’t in any pain, she said, “Griffin is really lucky to have you as his mom because you take good care of him and do whatever it takes to keep him happy and healthy.  I don’t think Griffin really cares about having only 3 legs because it doesn’t stop him from doing anything, right?”

Out of the mouths of babes. sp_hearticon2

Griffin lived an amazing life for 11 years! Diagnosed with osteosarcoma on March 17, 2020, Griffin's right forelimb was amputated on April 2, 2020. Ten days later he was running and playing fetch! Lung metastasis discovered in July 2020 did not slow down Griffin and he lived joyfully for the next 7 months, passing peacefully at home on February 11, 2021. https://griffin.tripawds.com



Member Since:
27 July 2014
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6 June 2020 - 7:46 pm
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That's a great story! I really like your positivity. Your nieces sound delightful! Griffin is lucky to have you as his mom.

Kerren and Tripawd Kitty Mona

p.s. when I told the neighbour girl that Mona had 3 legs she said that's okay, my cat has 5 toes!  

Member Since:
1 October 2017
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6 June 2020 - 8:12 pm
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I love this story.  I went through similar with my family when i told them about Huck. My mom felt so bad about me taking the leg of a feral cat.  She actually thought euthanasia was a better option. Even the vet almost fell over when i told her to do the surgery.

Once Huck was recovered i introduced Huck on a video call to my mom and dad,  they thought he was beautiful (he is, lol) and then i introduced him to my son and grandkids on another video call.  They fell in love with him.  

My grandkids 7 and 13 now were better than any of the adults! And this community gave me thre support i needed to push on and give Huck a chance at life❤

Hugs,  you did a great job!

Jackie and Huck💖

Hugs,

Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry

Huckleberry's Blog

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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294
6 June 2020 - 8:21 pm
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WOW! WOW! WOW! Stacy this just made our day, what a fantastic story! smiley_clap

So many future Tripawds parents struggle with how to tell their human kids. I think what they just don't realize that kids will see a Tripawd's resiliency and spunk above all else. It's the adults that make a big deal out of the negative aspects of losing the leg. Kids, like pets, follow our lead

I would love to share this in Tripawds News if that's OK> It's a great story that illustrates how to tell kids, I want to make sure as many people as possible see it.

Way to go Griffin, you're such an excellent ambassador!

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Livermore, CA




Member Since:
18 October 2009
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7 June 2020 - 1:57 pm
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That's a great story Stacy! 

It meshes with most of my experiences with my Tripawds and kids.  When my cousin told her daughter, who was 4 at the time, that Maggie was missing a leg now she squatted down and looked under her where her leg should have been (I've seen a lot of kids do this).  Her mom asked her how Maggie looked to her and she said happy!

You did a great job presenting to them so it wasn't scary and so they could see that even when life isn't perfect it can still be good!

Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls

Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.

1999 to 2010

 

              Maggie's Story                  Amputation and Chemo

New York, NY
Member Since:
24 March 2020
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7 June 2020 - 8:01 pm
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It's been a pretty regular week for Griffin and me.  We had a few hot and humid days, and I saw how much more quickly Griffin became fatigued in that weather, so Griffin's chariot will be getting a lot more use.  The highlight of our week was a visit from my friend of 34 years, Jody.  She is the first family we have seen since Griffin's surgery, and he was so excited that he was pretty much glued to her side for the entire visit!

Griffin and Jody

I'm always amazed at the wildlife that I see in NYC.  This little guy was next to a spot where Griffin pooped, and I'm not sure I would have seen him had I not bent to the ground to clean up.

NYC garter snake

It also amazes me that I can mix 6 capsules of vitamins, colostrum, and mushrooms, plus 20 tea pills of Chinese herbs into one cup of Griffin's home made meals, and he licks the bowl clean each time!

Griffin's latest batch of meals

 In the photo below, Griffin totally looks like he's saying, "Come on - let's go have fun!"  So, enjoy these videos of Griffin playing and exploring!

Griffin-exploring-jun-7-blog-rotated.jpgImage Enlarger

Griffin lived an amazing life for 11 years! Diagnosed with osteosarcoma on March 17, 2020, Griffin's right forelimb was amputated on April 2, 2020. Ten days later he was running and playing fetch! Lung metastasis discovered in July 2020 did not slow down Griffin and he lived joyfully for the next 7 months, passing peacefully at home on February 11, 2021. https://griffin.tripawds.com

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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8 June 2020 - 9:30 am
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Wheeeeeee! The weather is almost as gorgeous as Griffin, and almost as sunny as Jody's smile smiley4 What a fun day, how terrific to feel like you're getting some sense of normalcy back into your life eh? 

I love how Griffin's ears occasionally touch when he's romping down the road, too cute!

And his meals look so tasty, now I feel lazy for feeding Wyatt kibble icon_lol

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet


Member Since:
6 June 2020
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9 June 2020 - 7:22 pm
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Wow, thanks for sharing Griffin's story. I am worried about my nearly 4 and 6 year old kids reaction post surgery until our sweet dog recovers enough. We need to frame the story about resilience and adaptation. Appreciate you taking the time to post.

New York, NY
Member Since:
24 March 2020
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9 June 2020 - 7:34 pm
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Hi Jade!  Welcome to the Tripawds family!  One thing that might be helpful is showing your kids examples of how other dogs have adapted because there will likely be some rough patches during recovery and you want them to know what it will be like for June on the other side of that, a few weeks after surgery.  I have documented Griffin's story pretty well on the blog Griffin's Journey and perhaps that would be a useful resource.  Good luck on Friday! ~ Stacy

Griffin lived an amazing life for 11 years! Diagnosed with osteosarcoma on March 17, 2020, Griffin's right forelimb was amputated on April 2, 2020. Ten days later he was running and playing fetch! Lung metastasis discovered in July 2020 did not slow down Griffin and he lived joyfully for the next 7 months, passing peacefully at home on February 11, 2021. https://griffin.tripawds.com

Member Since:
15 May 2020
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300
9 June 2020 - 7:45 pm
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I love this Stacy. <3 I have been working on framing Kinzi's story through resilience and adaptation, especially now in a pandemic. Everything I thought was important has been completely flipped on its head. 

Go Griffin go! I just love seeing how happy he is and it gives me hope for where Kinzi will be in a few months. 

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