Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

First off, a couple goofy pictures to get your day going right. (Gravity does amusing things to dogs...) Maddie is beauty, Maddie is grace, Maddie has derpy looks on her face.

Maddie's oncology appointment Friday went without incident. It was just a blood work and kidney/liver function check before starting metronomic therapy. Thankfully no sedation or chemo drips, so a relatively easy visit for us all and a quick bounce back for Maddie.

The current metronomic therapy plan is: Cytoxan (19mg every other day) with Deracoxib (75 mg once per day). The oncologist tells me Cytoxan is generally well tolerated, so really hoping Maddie falls into the "general" category here. We haven't received the meds yet. They were supposed to shipped out Monday and to us Tuesday, but they are in NYC so things got delayed by the snow storm. Maddie will go in for a blood count check in a couple weeks and then for chest scans in about a month.

Has anyone else used this combination? Would love to hear people's experiences with this, or just metronomic in general. 

We decided to stop briefly at a dog park on our way home from the vet so that not every car is just about the vet. There was NO ONE else at the park, so Maddie lost interest quickly. We stopped for coffee on the way home, and they gave us a pup treat, which she did NOT lose interest in.

The stuff she can do still amazes us. There is this makeshift climbing structure at one of our local dog parks. Maddie decided against using the little ramps there and instead jumped straight up!

Check out how great her amputation spot is looking! Fur growing in nicely and everything.

And as a final chuckle, a short clip of Maddie grinning and sneezing: https://i.imgur.....FjCmcu.mp4. She probably licked my face right after this...

I almost didn’t post, as I really don’t want Stacy’s deep loss to be about anyone other than her. But man oh man is grief a funny thing. It can come from no where and you can feel for someone’s current loss, while simultaneously grieving a past loss and fear of a future loss. I was heartbroken to hear about Griffin tonight and find myself in tears over his loss and all the things it brings up. Not just the reality of cancer or the uncertainty of Maddie’s future, but mostly the loss of our other dog Barley in April. He had some kind of spinal degradation or injury, and Stacy’s description of Griffin’s decline and last few days sounded so much like Barley’s that it took me right back. While I still think about him, I haven’t had a good cry over it in a bit and definitely the biggest cry since we first got Maddie’s cancer diagnosis. From other posts tonight, I don’t think I’m alone in feeling big feels tonight. That her loss has touched so many of us who have never even met says a whole heck of a lot about Stacy, Griffin, and this community as a whole.

We (finally) got some snow! Maddie, who can be really lazy, has had such a pep in her step. What is it about snow that’s just lights a fire for some dogs?!? ❤️❤️

https://i.imgur.....sdyli2.mp4

❄️🐾❄️🐾❄️

Seattle got hit with actual real snow this weekend. We had a small dusting Thursday overnight that left a very thin layer on grass but the roads clear. (That's the picture of Maddie laying on our deck from a last week). But then starting Friday evening until mid-day Sunday we got about 11 inches of snow. This is pretty unheard of for us. Of course it turned to rain so most of it is gone already.

Maddie seems to really enjoy the snow. We took her on one of our longest walks with her post-amputation and were prepared to cut it short. But she just kept going and seemed really into it. She also seems to enjoy eating it. Dogs are weird and wonderful.

I thought I'd share a photo and video of her and Jeremy playing in our yard. Three legs didn't stop her from romping around the yard. (In fact, maybe she is even better suited to it now because she is already used to hopping around...)

Here is a video of her trying to chase a snowball and then trying to find it when it disappeared in the snow: https://i.imgur.....LPDHAw.mp4

There is certainly a life lesson there for us humans in the way these creatures enjoy their adventures -- even when inside the confines of your own backyard.