When Winnie was in the hospital getting her amputation, I spent hours on this site looking at videos of dogs one-month-out from their amputation. And, frankly, I wasn’t all that encouraged. I saw loving Moms and Dads take videos of their three-legged loves and while it looked promising, they stumbled and faltered and I was empowered but still saddened by what I saw. So, now it’s our turn. Winnie had her one-month ampuversary two days ago. She also started metronomic chemo yesterday. But, in spite of it all…she…is…awesome. Granted, we have 12″ of snow on the ground and I’ve had to rescue her more than once. But, if I think about it objectively, I think she would’ve made the same choices I made for her. It’s safe to say she isn’t back to her old self. But it’s also fair to say that she’s happy and finding new triumphs and just might live cancer free (or living with cancer) for a good long while. So…now…we get it. This experience of Winnie becoming a tripawd…and this experience of meeting all of you supporting us through something no one else quiet understood…well, it’s made me listen to and understand my dog in a way I didn’t know was possible. And it simply wouldn’t have been possible without your kind words and encouragement along the way. I wish Winnie could read all her tripawd family’s comments. And I offer this: if you are waiting for your dog to get an amputation and you’re scared and confused, email me. Or post a blog to this group. We will help you. And while it sucks right now, it SO WILL GET BETTER! And as I am obligated to do ( 🙂 ) , here’s a video of my lovely Winnie one-month out. http://youtu.be/VF0k8NFgYX4
Thank you for this encouraging story. We go tomorrow for our amputation and I am so nervous and hope that we are making the right decision for him.
So glad to hear Winnie is doing good. And for your own heart, I am glad you came over to this side 😉 They are amazing. They just want to be happy and be loved. And tripawd parents seem to be the best at doing everything they can to make that happen.
Karma, Adelaide and the crew and our forever angel Brendol
Thank you so much for your honesty about the recovery experience. Yes, it is tough to see your beloved dog go through the steps of getting confident on 3 legs, but I’m so glad that you got past it to see that Winnie is strong and resilient and doing so much better than any human ever would so soon after surgery. What an amazing life lesson isn’t it?
Meanwhile, about the video…we would love to see it but it’s not showing up. I tried to mess with it on the back end but no luck. For best results upload it to YouTube and that way 1) it’s easier to share here by just pasting in the URL, and 2) more people on the web will see it and get inspired by your amazing girl.
HOPPY AMPUVERSARY WINNIE! You’ve come a long way!!!