I shared Juno's pic with my Mom; she is in love with her, too. Juno brings back lovely memories for us.

Holly - Awwwww! Did you all have a similar pupper?  😊

I'm going to have to give that a try with Nellie, thanks for the inspawration.

Gooooo, Nellie!!!

Similar in intelligence, training & SWEET SOUL eyes. My Doberman Faith Rae. 💫 Everyone adored her. She was a handful at eight weeks old. We took her to kindergarten training and continued obedience training & canine good citizen. Plus, all our training at home was So much fun. She needed to have jobs and loved learning. 💝💫

Like all our furmily, each one-of-a-kind and gift from above🎁

Holly - OMD. I resonate with this so much. All of it! And so true - so much fun! They are truly gifts.

In the new year I’m thinking of signing June up for a nosework class. I’ve said for years she’d love it. (I would to. 😊)

Juno is now one year cancer free!  

Right now she’s reveling in this year’s huge crop of yard bunnies. She’s 10.5yrs and three-legged and for the first time in her life managed to catch not just one bunny, but three (or the same unfortunate one three times, as we did release it each time!)

She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma on 6/16/23 and had her amputation on 6/29/23, so tomorrow will be her one year ampuversary. (Now when we see photos of her as a four legger she looks weird to us – how quickly we’ve adjusted!) She finished chemo on 10/31/23.

On Tuesday she just had her most recent scan for the Yale EFGR/HER2 immunotherapy study and there’s no sign of metastasis! They also let us know that at her next visit she would be eligible for a booster shot of the immunotherapy if we wanted to have her continue in the trial. We set up the next visit and will likely go ahead.

In the meantime, we’ve kept up every two months doing exercises with her CCRT/CCFT (Certified Canine Rehab Therapist / Fitness Therapist). Every two months June gets new fitness exercises and we practice them daily, mixed in with the others she’s learned. We’ve largely kept going because she thinks it’s an absolute blast and loves the physical challenges mixed in with her regular training. She’s also probably the fittest and strongest she’s ever been. 

The CCFT says she’s never before worked with a tripawd this long - most of her long range clients are competitive sports dogs. As such, she says she's discovering right along with us exactly how much a tripawd can actually do. Because she’s also a rehab therapist she’s careful not to do anything beyond June’s capacity, but is equally willing to explore the full range of what she can do, and often takes video of her to share with the pet parents of both three and four legged pups to show just what is possible. She says she’s impressed with how undaunted Juno is to keep trying through challenges. You can really see the determination in her - she knows she’ll eventually get it.

A few additional notes, in case others find these helpful: 

– We have been giving her Zesty Paws Wild Alaskan Salmon oil after convos here at Tripawds about ways to look after her joints now that she has fewer of them (also there is some evidence that fish oil is beneficial in fighting other cancers, so we wouldn’t mind any advantage we can get there!) 

– We also learned the virtue of trimming the fur between her toes for better traction , which seems to have made a world of difference on slick floors at the vet’s office, etc. She’s a short haired dog who doesn’t require a lot of grooming, so this was something we’d never done before. 

– Word to the wise - if you have a rear legger tripawd keep an eye on the anal gland on the amputation side - we’ve noticed June’s doesn’t drain as well on that side and needs to be regularly expressed.

– Also, this past winter (her first as a tripawd) we found PAWZ rubber booties to be indispensable for her for salt/ice protection for her feet. Truth be told, if we’d known about them sooner they’d have saved us a world of difficulty when she was four legged too.

– We did jump-ship to work full time with the oncologist who is administering the Yale study to June. Our previous onco had been great, but when I asked jerry who they’d prefer if they had to choose for their pup, they said the one we are now with as she is double board certified (onco and radiation), so we did. 

– As noted above the Yale study is now offering a booster shot at 10-12mos out from the initial treatment (this may have already been discussed here in the thread about the Yale study.) Our onco suggests this could be because they’re seeing waning immunity, but it is a good sign that their understanding of the treatment is continuing to develop. Hopefully it will be commercially available soon so more pups and their peeps can benefit.

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It's been quite a while since I’ve posted. Pre-dog-cancer-life came to reclaim me late last year, which in many ways was all for the best as our life over here started to transition back to some semblance of pre-cancer normal. 

That said, I can’t say how grateful I am for the care and help of this community. Without it, we know our girl would not have gotten the kind of care she has had so far, and we would not have had such amazing support. The work and care that happens in this community is so good and so needed.

Thanks sooooo much @jerry!!!  Your cheers and excitement mean a lot as you know the odds of her making it this far.

Indeed, we as pet parents can do everything “right” and yet still cancer is a capricious thing — there are no guarantees. (Ugh.) But I remember in our early months on the site how much it mean to hear the good stories, those little glimmers of hope, the extra months or years savored, and I knew we had to add ours if we ever got the chance. Already with a year extra bonus time with our girl we feel incredibly grateful and fortunate.

Yes, my radio silence was more abrupt than I would have liked. In the moment I needed to make a swift pivot to some responsibilities that had up until then sat rather obligingly on the back burner through June’s early treatment. It is a relief to be able to drop back in to offer a positive update!

Yes - the paw pad trimming has proved surprisingly effective traction -wise — and I can’t quite remember where I heard that advice to try it. I ended up getting a 4” curved grooming scissor with a safety tip to do it. I try to do it about once every week or week and a half for the best effect.

Just checking in with news that Juno is still cancer free and last week received a booster of the immunotherapy for the Yale vaccine study. Yay!! 💥

We celebrated with a woodsy getaway this weekend - June always comes alive in the woods. 🌲🌲🌲

Whether because of the study treatment, the standard of care treatment she had earlier, or just the natural course of things we are glad to have this continued extra time with her at our sides. There are never any guarantees with these things.

We also wanted to share the news that the oncologist who administers the study for June now recommends rehab to all the tripawds that visit the clinic because of the difference she’s seen in Juno. That’s to the credit of the rehab recommendations we received here at Tripawds!

Also a few mysteries solved...

We recently had Juno genetically tested and finally have the answer that she is a purebred Mountain Cur! For years we’ve thought she could be a Mountain Cur or some sort of beagle/boxer/whippet mix. Now we have our answer.

Also, regarding the mystery of her bobtail - whether it is natural or was docked before coming to us - it is indeed natural! Bobtails naturally occur in some Mountain Curs and she is one because she has not only the short tail, but also the genetic signature for a bobtail. So there we have it. Several mysteries solved.