Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello everyone!
So the critical 2 week period of amputation recovery is over with and Chloe had her staples removed just earlier today! I think the vet was quite surprised at how well Chloe was doing since she walked him out to get to me when they were finished. He said that her incision site was healing well, she seemed to have grasped this 3 legged thing, and that I definitely made the right call with amputation. I certainly had no doubt in my mind about the decision I made a few weeks ago.
Anyway, Chloe and I are both relieved to rid ourselves of the satellite dish since she ran into everything in the middle of the night and made all kinds of racket…
I am so glad I got to spend every minute of her critical recovery period with her, but sad that I will have to say good bye to her for a month. I am moving up in a couple days to start grad school in a couple weeks and she still needs to have a tooth removed. She will have to stay with my parents until mid september when they have time to drive her the 350 miles to live with me. It will be tough since I will miss her like crazy, but seeing her condition continue to improve day after day has given me the confidence that she will continue to do well even at my parents house.
Everyone always likes good news, so I thought I would share some with all of you! Thank you everyone who has read my blog and has given me advice in the forums, your support has made all the difference. THANKS!!!!
-Chloe's mom
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
Hey we can definitely use good news like this!!! Thank you.
Good luck with the move! Remember, there is always Skype!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
It's great to hear how well Chloe is doing - isn't it wonderful when those staples are gone? She is such a cutie! And I see she has our Honey's favorite squeaky toy. She absolutely goes wild for that thing!!
When Honey got her staples out it was a real turning point and we sure needed that - so did she! Honey's favorite human (well, maybe 2nd favorite!) was away the 2nd week after surgery and I think her spirits were low. One of the posters here gave us some great advice that I'll pass onto you. Treat the spirit as well as the body & to find one favorite thing they can do and exploit it! This might help Chloe's spirits and recovery while you're apart.
Have a great year at grad school. Enjoy spoiling your girl!
Dx Osteosarcoma 3/31/10. Amputation 7/21/10. Honey put up a valiant fight and lost her battle 9/22/10. Missing her and treasuring 9 years with our Honeygurl.
Happy 2 weeks Chloe and YAY for staple removal and no more satellite dish! 
Thanks for sharing your good news with all of us.
Jo Ann & Tasha
Tasha 8 years old, First cancer diagnosis 6/26/09, Last cancer diagnosis 9/26/09, Amputation 10/01/09, Loving our girl moment by moment.
Tasha lost her battle and became my Angel on May 4 2011. Forever in my heart….
Great news! You and Chloe made it through the upsy-downsy 2 week recovery period. No more cone. No more staples.
Thank you for sharing.
It'll be tough for you to leave her, I know, but mid-September will be here before you know it. Good luck with the move and your studies!
Catie -
Birthday – November 4 2003
Amputation – January 13 2010
Crossed the Bridge – June 2 2011
Great news about Chloe! It's so obvious how devoted you are to her. I'm sure she is going to miss you big time (and vice versa) but you're leaving her in good hands with your parents and she'll keep improving every day. When you see her in a month, you won't even know that she only has 3 legs and she won't either 
. Best of luck with your graduate work and here's to Chloe for making such a great recovery in such a short amount of time!
Kami (Mackenzie's Mom)
My sweet golden Mackenzie. She became my angel on Dec 29, 2010 at the age of 8 1/2 although she was always my angel from the time we brought her home. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in Sept 2009 and officially became a tripawd (front leg) on Nov 5, 2009. She will be forever in my heart and now she's running free with all of our other tripawd heroes. I love you Mackenzie!
Everyone always likes good news, so I thought I would share some with all of you!
You're darned right we do! We love to know! That's great about Chloe!
The month will pass quickly and she'll be showing you that your decision was the best decision ever!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Yay - so happy to hear that Chloe is doing well and the staples are out! We are eagerly counting down to Kobe's 2-week mark so it is really encouraging to read about others' milestones 🙂 Thanks for sharing your good news!!
Yay Chloe!!! LOVE good news!!! 
I'm so glad she's doing so well....it'll make it easier on both of you while you move and are apart...
Tracy, Maggie's Mom
Maggie was amputated for soft tissue sarcoma 10-20-09
Maggie lost her battle with kidney disease on 8-24-13
awesome! you'll be so excited when you see her again as she will have improved even more ...
btw, I may be the only person who had this experience, but Ajax is a sneaky licker - so we actually needed the conehead much longer for times when we weren't with him. the stitches were healed, but he managed to lick the area around them raw. so you might want to have your parents check every few days to seek if there is any redness. In our case, I think it was more the itchy hair growing back in than the stitches ...
Great post!! Its awesome that you were able to spend that time & help her recover. That's the hardest time, the time right after the amp.
My dog also had to have teeth pulled right after his amp.. it was so hard to put him thru it but so glad I did. I couldn't have him suffer with a teeth pain after getting rid of the awful bone pain.
Hope all goes well with the surgery & the move. I'm sure you'll miss her tons but hope that time goes by quickly!
Jenna & Zak
12 yr old Rtvr
Dx front leg 1/24/09
Amp 1/29/09
Carboplatin SR 2/5/09, 3/6/09, 4/3/09, 5/1/09
Doxorubicin 6/12/09, 6/26/09, 7/17/09, 8/07/09, 9/01/09
Chest X-rays; 2/5/09; 5/8/09 clear; 8/7/09 clear; 10/28/09 clear; 12/31/09 clear; 4/9/10 clear; 8/6/10 CLEAR!!!
Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement!
Honeygurl, yes Chloe loves the squeaker that is shown in the avatar and I will make sure my dad plays with her before and after work in order to "exploit" the joy for that toy.
kazy55 thanks for the tip, I will ask my parents to do that.
I'll let you all know how it goes once she is up with me again!!
-Chloe's mom
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
Gerry was a sneaky licker too! Though only prior to staple removal. Still, he and Ajax can start a club. His cone collar (e-collar) was not quite long enough and I had no idea until the day I took him in for his staples to be removed. Took him home after they told me it was going to take 2 more weeks to finish healing, because he had been licking somehow. Then maybe minutes after we were back, he showed me how he had been sneaking all along! Then experimenting with t-shirts ensued (and failed) and finally getting a longer cone collar from his new vet did the trick. But I have digressed wildly -
Congratulations Chloe!!! Getting those staples out is one of the best holidays ever in our book 
Gerry has been a tripawd since 12/16/2009.
He was a shelter dog with a mysterious past and an irrepairable knee injury.
Videos and pics of Gerry's pawesomeness can be found at: http://gerry.tripawds.com
Great update for Chloe. So sorry you guys will have to be separated for a bit, but I bet your parents will take really great care of her. She got a great report, you need not worry, she will be fine until you are reunited.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
Hi Chloe's Mom,
So glad to hear that Chloe is recovering well and finally got her staples out! I know you're gonna miss her tremendously, but the next couple of weeks will pass by so quickly... and then when you see her again, you'll be amazed at how well she's doing!
It's funny, because Jake and Wolfie also both had (have) the same squeeky toy too!! Wolfie still plays with them in the pool...
Good luck in school!!
Angel Jake and Wolfie's Mom
Jake, 10yr old golden retriever (fractured his front right leg on 9/1, bone biopsy revealed osteosarcoma on 9/10, amputation on 9/17) and his family Marguerite, Jacques and Wolfie, 5yr old german shepherd and the newest addition to the family, Nala, a 7mth old Bengal mix kittie. Jake lost his battle on 11/9/2009, almost 8 weeks after his surgery. We will never forget our sweet golden angel… http://jakesjou.....ipawds.com ….. CANCER SUCKS!
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