Our Tripawd Family

Surprisingly, Biff and Gabby do quite well in the snow! They take some tumbles, but they get right back up and keep hopping. This morning, they chased each other all around the backyard, even with a windchill of -9. Brave little dogs!

Ever since Biff came to live with us, Gabby has been on her best behavior. Biff is an untrained two-year-old, and Gabby seemed to notice this right away. When we tell them to sit, Gabby sits instantly!! Then she looks over at Biff as if to say, “This is how you sit. I’m being a good dog.” When we tell them to say, Biff tends to wander off if we’re not constantly reminding him to stay. I remember this happening when we were training Gabby, and so I’m not too concerned about it. Staying is tough. When Biff gets up without being released, Gabby looks at us and wags her tail. “I’m still staying, I’m a good girl,” she seems to say.

I wonder how common this is? Her obedience tends to help Biff as long as he is paying attention.

This imitating is not always good, however. Gabby has taught Biff to chase Clover, one of our cats. Before the cat-chasing demonstrations, Biff didn’t seem to think about the cats at all. Luckily, Clover loves to be chased. He acts put-upon, but he always comes back for more.

Biff visited the dog park for the first time yesterday! I was slightly nervous about it, even though to my knowledge he has never bitten any person or dog. Would he freak out and jump over the fence? Would he get aggressive?

I should not have been nervous, however. Biff loved the park! I kept him on the leash for a while, then I let him free. He sniffed some other dogs and then hopped around the edge of the fence, smelling the plants and marking them. He kept looking back at me, keeping an eye on where I was. After a while, he came back to visit me, then went off again. I think he cuddled up to every person at the park, asking to be petted! When he got tired, he found a couple sitting on a bench and sat at their feet. I apologized for my big tripod oaf, but the couple said he was friendly and they enjoyed his company.

A very successful trip! We will have to go more often.

Gabby joined our family in June 2007.  She was a feisty 4-year-old German Shepherd/Australian Cattle Dog mix and she was quite a handful.  Right away, we noticed a very small lump on her left front leg.  The vet said it was nothing to worry about, but we should keep an eye on it.  Hop ahead two years, and suddenly, within one month, the very small lump grew large.  A biopsy showed that our beloved Gabby had a sarcoma (soft tissue cancer).  The lump was removed, and tests revealed that she had an extremely aggressive neurofibrosarcoma, a tumor that starts at the nerve sheath.  We then had the option of radiation or amputation, plus 5 rounds of chemotherapy.  It was a difficult decision.  Before the tumor appeared, we didn’t even know that there were oncologists for dogs.  When the tumor grew back a month later, that made our decision clear.  We had to remove the leg.  At this point, the leg was hurting her and she was limping and frowning.  The phone call to the doctor to schedule the amputation was difficult and sad, even though we knew it was the best decision.

Gabby made it through the operation rather cheerfully and recovered safely at home.  She did a lot of sleeping and cuddling.  To encourage her recuperation, we took her to local forest preserves for exercise.  She is much more motivated to go for walks if we are in a forest!  Gradually, her wound healed and her leg muscles got stronger.  Then we started chemotherapy.  The first round was the hardest because her recovery medicines weren’t started until she was symptomatic.  Subsequent rounds have gone much better, as if we have all found our chemotherapy rhythm.

Enter Biff.

We got it in our heads that Gabby would benefit from a canine brother or sister.  Since losing her leg, Gabby had become friendlier and needier.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could rescue another tripod who was looking for a good home?  I did a search on Petfinder.com and checked the “special needs” checkbox.  There I found Biff, a German Shepherd mix who had been horribly abused – beaten, starved, and finally shot in the leg.  He was left at a county shelter for four days before the wound was addressed, and, by that time, it was too late to save the leg and it was amputated at the wound, leaving a short stump.  For the past nine months, Biff had been living with a foster family and looking for a good home.  Nobody was interested in a three-legged dog!  Not one person showed interest in him.  Until we came along.

Biff has been with us for two weeks now, and the two dogs are getting along wonderfully!  They are both missing the same leg and get tired at the same time on walks.  We never dreamed we would have a tripod, and now we couldn’t imagine our lives without these two sweet dogs.