My Tripawd Family

Biff’s stitches were removed last Thursday after some nose-wrinkling and tooth-baring at the vet.  He was still yelping and whining when he would lay on the surgery side, so we got some more Tramadol for the pain.  The vet thought perhaps the stitches inside might be causing some discomfort, and they will dissolve on their own.

So after a few more days of Tramadol, Biff is already improving!  We went on a nice morning walk with Gabby and now the dogs are resting on the sun porch.  I will know Biff is feeling even more like himself when he wants to go on car rides again 🙂

Biff resting after a nice walk

Gabby resting on the cool floor

After several days of continual improvement, Biff hit a plateau.  He wasn’t getting any better, but he wasn’t getting any worse either.  At first this felt like a set-back. I want my baby to get better!  I had to remind myself that he just needed to continue resting.  The stitches looked great, the initial swelling had gone down, he didn’t have a fever, he didn’t have increased pain.  So there was nothing to do but wait and keep resting!

Finally, yesterday Biff started to improve again.  We were able to take a nice walk, and he didn’t whine all day.  There is hope!

Biff is recovering remarkably quickly!  Today we took a nice hop outside, and Biff was very happy and eager.  After Gabby’s amputation, she seemed to take a longer time to recover.  For several days, she relied on a towel sling to walk.  Biff, on the other hand, rejected the towel sling and has walked well on a leash.  Gabby was more painful, while Biff is already going a longer time without the Tramadol.  I guess this goes to show every dog is different.  It is hard to know what to expect for the recovery time, and the best idea is probably just to be ready and be flexible.

Biff has left the stitches alone, and the wound is healing beautifully.  However, several times he scratched an area of shaved skin and now it is red and irritated.  I called the vet, and they said it is most likely razor burn and I could put a small amount of diaper rash cream on it.  This has worked well.  He hasn’t scratched since I applied the cream.  Now the trick will be to keep Biff calm and still for the next few days while he continues to feel better and better.  This is a good challenge to have!

See the red area to the left of the stitches? That is the itchy spot.

Our second tripawd, Biff, came to us with a small stump remaining of his left front leg. He has been with us now for almost two years, and the stump has become more of a problem. It has atrophied, and it pulls on his spine and puts extra pressure on his remaining legs. The muscles in his shoulder make him think he has a full leg, and that causes confusion in his gait. As you may or may not know, dogs put 60% of their weight on their front legs. Therefore, a stump in the back is not as much of a problem as a stump in the front.

After consultation with the vet and much deliberation, we decided to amputate the stump. The surgery was yesterday, and Biff is in pain and sleeping like a good boy. Today he ate and drank well and even took a quick trip outside in the yard. He is already walking much better! No more flailing, no more twisting spine. It is nice to see the surgery is already helping him. We definitely want his remaining joints to stay healthy as long as possible.

Biff (L) and Gabby (R) await Thanksgiving treats

Gabby had her checkup back in November and received the coveted “no disease found” results we pray for.  Yay!!  With this coming spring, Gabby will reach two years since her amputation 

Both dogs are very happy in the new home, which is worth writing a little about.  When we had to move to a new town and went looking for a home we looked at one house that we really liked, but it had too many stairs for comfortable hopping, so we had to pass it by.   After considering and passing by several houses with basements, we chose a ranch on a slab.  Now, we are a little concerned about the unresiliency of the slab (even with carpet) and the long-term effects on their joints, so we are very attentive to their joint-support tablets and such.  So far it seems to suit them very well.   We’re thinking about lowering our box spring to the floor to reduce the jumping distance down from the bed.  🙂

Gabby will be 8 years old this summer, and she’s been having some arthritis and is taking rimadyl to anti-inflame.  It works very well for her but definitely must be with food.  So far she’s on half a pill per meal.  Without it she clearly is stiff and less spunky.

All considered, those are pretty small concerns compared to Gabby’s cancer and Biff’s puppyhood abuse.  We’re glad every day for the joyful presence of both dogs and for all’y’all and all’y’all’s dogs too.

Hoppy New Year!

Biff and Gabby both have endured many car rides this summer, and we are thoroughly dependent on the harnesses that you can see (sort of) in these pictures. In fact we have spares for laundry cycles and just-in-case. Biff is shown watching windmills from the highway. Gabby is shown sun-napping in the back seat. The harness is handy for belting them in, and the handle on the harness is quite necessary for lowering them gently from higher cars to the ground. Biff is ok with the harness, but he really wants to bite the leash so we’re lately using the “Gentle Leader”. Anyway we highly recommend the harness. I would even have one for a four-legged dog.
🙂

It’s been a busy summer for Biff and Gabby, gradually moving to a new home over the spring, summer, and now fall.  Here they are lounging in the sunporch area at the new place during one of our few restful moments of 2010.  I think this was August?

Gabby is now about 18 months after her planned amputation to remove a neurofibrosarcoma, and about a year since the ensuing chemo.  She’s due for a checkup soon so Good Luck Gabby!  🙂

Biff is nearing 2 years since his emergency amputation after being shot and left for 3 days.  We won’t dwell on that story.  You can read about it in an earlier post.

This is just one of a bunch of really nice pictures that have come, directly or indirectly from the moving process.  We’re working on the others and will be posting htem soon.

🙂

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!

Tripawds in the snow

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.