Hi Taylor!  You have come to the right place for answers and support for Jetta. I know that you must be feeling overwhelmed having just received the diagnosis today.  I remember the day my boy Griffin was diagnosed - I was so angry, sad, and scared.  So here is my advice - take a breath, focus on Jetta who is still right here with you, and reach out for help here as often as you need.

After Griffin's diagnosis, I was blessed to find the Tripawds community and I remember scrolling through story after story on this site, soaking in information and being reassured about how he would do living life as a 3-legger.  Griffin is a 10-year old goldendoodle who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma on March 17th and underwent right forelimb amputation on April 2nd.  He had his first round of chemo already and we have planned for 6 in total before participating in the Yale Canine Cancer Vaccine trial.  You can read Griffin's Journey for more about his story.  Another story that might interest you - Ziva is a female rottweiler whose dad, Steve, writes about her story as a forelimb tripawd in Ziva is becoming a Tripawd today.  

Creating a list of specific questions might help you channel your energy in a way that helps you feel more control about the situation.  I know the Tripawd community has answers to almost any question you could pose.  I'm sending hugs to you and Jetta from NYC! Stacy

Hi Taylor (is that your name?)!  I know exactly how you feel and ultimately, it was my desire to remove the source of pain for Griffin that made me feel at peace with the decision to amputate.  In my post, there were links to the Yale Canine Cancer Vaccine trial, as well as Griffin's Journey and Ziva's story.  Just click on those links to go to those pages.  Griffin will do the vaccine after chemo, but Finn the Dane started the vaccine first.  His mom, Casey, was the one from whom I first learned about the vaccine in a post on this site.  Is Jetta's surgery scheduled yet?  Where will it happen?  Do you have any questions I can answer for you about anything else?  Hang in there!  ~ Stacy

Hi Taylor!  You are probably a bundle of nerves waiting for the surgeon to call - I know Jetta is going to come through with flying colors.  Since she is in great hands right now, you can focus on getting things read for her at home.  You probably want a harness with a handle that can be used to assist Jetta getting into/out of cars, up/down stairs, and providing some extra steadying support whenever.  You can check out harnesses in the Tripawd Gear shop.  The Flagline by Ruffwear is a popular one on this site due to its versatility and being lightweight (summer is coming!).  You want to also think about elevated feeders, nonskid rugs to cover tile/wood floors, and a supportive bed.  Griffin loves the FurHaven Cooling Gel Memory Foam bed because of the bolsters and the firm, yet very comfortable, sleeping surface.

On the tech side, you can insert photos in a forum post only if the photo lives somewhere online so you can copy and paste the image address (right click on the image online, choose "copy image address", come to the forum post, and right click again to paste).  If you store photos in the cloud, I think that works.  I created a free blog on the Tripawds website just for the purpose of uploading photos for the forum.  If you go that route, be sure to resize your photos to the smallest (0.25 MP) option before uploading to as not to use all of your storage space quickly.  

Please let me know if you have any other questions and please provide an update on Jetta when she is out of surgery.  Sending healing vibes to both of you today! Stacy