Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
I just found this site and I expect to be a regular here. Our oldest dog is a 10 year old black lab/golden retreiver cross. She developed a limp that didn't heal towards the end of 2007. In early January she was diagonsed with osteosarcoma in her right rear leg. As of today, she no longer has a right rear leg. I just got off the phone with the vet and the procedure went fine. They had to remove her entire leg, all the way up to the hip. We pick her up tomorrow. I have been a nervous wreck today, but the phone call has relaxed me a bit. Now I'm nervous about seeing her for the first time as a tripawd. I'll be in touch!
Here she is a few years ago. Her name is Bella, pronounced "bay-yuh" in Spanish, lke "tortilla"
Welcome, and thanks for registering ... Bella is beautiful!
It's OK to be a wreck, that's normal. Just try not to show it to much around Bella. As a smart pack animal, she needs a strong leader and will take on any negative vibes she picks up.
Other forum posts include a lot of advice and information about what to expect. But all stories are different. We look forward to you sharing Bella's and will help in any way we can. Tha's why we created this website.
Best of luck ... keep us posted,
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Bella is almost two weeks into her recovery and she is doing terriffic! Everyone who has seen her has been so impressed with her recovery. We are so proud of her! The first night was tough for her, but I think you have to expect that. It's kind of a big deal to go through that..... Here's a video clip of her at 1.5 weeks post surgery. What a champ!
bella is beautiful! wow, she is doing so great! our 13/14yr old lab sami had her surgery on jan.3, it was her back right leg too. she recovered well but sometimes has trouble walking and getting up.
jerry, rene & jim have been a great resource, you will find much comfort and support here!
i hope you guys continue to have a smooth recovery and our best wishes to bella!
-sami & samigurrrl's momma
I met Jerry in Santa Fe at the Plaza. My dog Ben was diagnosed with bone cancer in December, and had his foreleg amputated. He is 11 years old, and is a golden retriever/rottie mix. He has had 5 chemo treatments, and one more to go. Ben would love to meet Jerry if he is in Santa Fe again. Ben loves to go to the dog park here on Sunday mornings.
Thanks for commenting Knut! We'll be headed back to Santa Fe next month for a follow up visit at the clinic and will give you a shout before we do.
It was great meeting you and we look forward to meeting Ben. The dog park sounds like fun!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Bella's mom! Your video of Bella is very inspiring - we are new members here as of today as my golden, Winston had surgery this morning. I havent seen him yet - I am picking him up Monday. But like you I spent the whole morning anxiously waiting by the phone. Apparently the surgery went well, although there was a 'good blood supply to the leg' according to the surgeon - so this took a while to sort out. I realised after i had put the phone down that this might mean he had lost a lot of blood - but apparently his blood levels are now normal and his is not anaemic. I am hoping we will be a success story like Jerry. Will you be doing chemo? My instinct is to not do it - the benefits seem uncertain. Let us know how Bella is doing now - she is our inspiration at the moment!
Winston's mom
This is Bella's dad. Bella was very groggy the first night home and much of the next day or two. We just made her as comfortable as possible. My wife arranged her favorite dog bed with extra pillows all around and after she was laying down on it we gave her food and water right there so she wouldn't have to get up. She was very thirsty, but not really interested in food. I'm not sure about your dog's situation or ability, but with us it was so tempting to lift her up and take her outside to do business. But that was unnecessary, she could get up and do her thing on her own. We have a doggy door and Bella would sometimes appear outside so she was obviously able to get up and use the door on her own. She had basically been behaving as a tripawd for the last couple months already, so she was already partially trained in hopping around. More recently, now that she is quite mobile again, she has had some trouble with the hardwood floor portion of our house. She has slipped and fallen acouple times, so we try to have as many carpet runners as possible in that area for her to get traction on. Good luck and you are great doggy parents!
Well, Bella, aren't those humans funny? They worry so much! But look at you, you look great! I'm so glad to hear how you're doing, thank you for updating us.
Man, that's a lot of snow! You still have enough fur to keep the both of us warm, though.
Watch those floors, and keep on keepin' on. We're rootin for ya!
Love, Jerry
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
jerry said:
Well, Bella, aren’t those humans funny? They worry so much! But look at you, you look great! I’m so glad to hear how you’re doing, thank you for updating us.
Man, that’s a lot of snow! You still have enough fur to keep the both of us warm, though.
Watch those floors, and keep on keepin’ on. We’re rootin for ya!
Love, Jerry
The snow picture was actually from March when we did have quite a bit of snow still. The lawn is greening up now, although we're still getting the occasional snow squall. Bella's shaved spot is finally starting to get a little fuzzy. Although it is by no means covered in fur yet. The rest of her coat is getting very furry so it is almost time for the summer cut. Thanks for the good vibes!
Bella dawling you look marvelous. Keep on trucking and don't give up, we old folks have more energy than anyone can imagine...just look at Jerry. My goal is to go go go go and never give up.
Kellie
Thanks for the 1.5 week video; it's very comforting. Our 12 year old flat-coated retriever mix, Buck Leigh, just got out of surgery after the diagnosis was made this morning. It all happened so fast that we were still researching the diagnosis and came across this, which truly makes us feel better about the decision. We'll post the progress of our new tripawd once we see her, hopefully on Wednesday.
Buck Leigh said:
... just got out of surgery after the diagnosis was made this morning. It all happened so fast ...
Hi Buck! We're sure you'll do well and wish you a speedy recovery.
Thanks for commenting. We're glad you find the website helpful, and look forward to hearing more about you.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Buck Leigh said:
Thanks for the 1.5 week video; it’s very comforting. Our 12 year old flat-coated retriever mix, Buck Leigh, just got out of surgery after the diagnosis was made this morning. It all happened so fast that we were still researching the diagnosis and came across this, which truly makes us feel better about the decision. We’ll post the progress of our new tripawd once we see her, hopefully on Wednesday.
Thank you! And good luck, I'm glad to have helped you feel better!
1 Guest(s)
