Maggie was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma on her left knee. She had amputation done on October 20, 2009. Four days after surgery she had a low grade fever and was off her food for two weeks! Trying times.. I am grateful and so pleased with how she is progressing now.
It’s a snowy winter wonderland up here in Northern Maine. My Mom and Papa have been hard at work packing our walking trails for us to walk on. This weekend I did 3 walks! Each one got longer and I’m here to say I’m not too tired either! Yay me! 🙂 Saturday, I walked with Cousin Dory and my Auntie Gina. At one point, Dory(a JRT) took off ahead of me and I was in hot pursuit chasing that little white dog! Talk about fun! My Mom stopped me though as Dory can go on and on and she didn’t want me to get too sore. She forgot the camera that day to take any photo’s of me and my cousin..
But here’s a video of me yesterday. My Mom apologized to me later for laughing at me while I was stuck in the snow but she didn’t want to help me…she says I’m strong, I can pull myself out of the hole! Gawd…how embarassing though! So I took my frustrations out after that on those branches! 🙂
Just before I got stuck in the snow, contemplating my next stick attack
Look at my crazy little sister's face...she's such a nutcase, unlike me! 🙂
Me 'working' my Papa to give me treats NOW please?!
I can run fast on this great trail - just don't go off the sides!
Will you guys hurry up! Come on, lots to things to see and sniff!
And one more video – such a fun game of running back and forth between my Papa and Mom! Listen to the chickadee’s…my Mom loves the chickadee’s…
Well, that’s all from this neck of the woods! ‘Til next time, keep on hoppin!
It’s been a slow, boring winter but today it’s a tad exciting! It’s my 12th birthday! Not that getting old is much to be excited about BUT I DID get some cheese, bison jerky and some green tripe treats so far today! My Mom has apologized to me that she forgot to buy me a birthday gift this past weekend when she and my little pain in the butt, sister Haley, went downstate last weekend. And imagine, she left me home! Oh well…I got in lots of snoozing while they were gone but I told her she MUST make up for the fact she forgot to buy me a toy!
Cold January day...
See, I have a 'spring' to my step!
I am thankful to be relatively healthy and still hoppin’ around though.. But since this past fall, I have slowed down a tad more(maybe I’m in hibernation mode), my eyesight has been giving me ‘fits’ now and then with shadows, Mom helps me up the ramp these days as I occasionally fall going up it and it scares the ‘bejesus’ out of me and my hearing ain’t what it used to be…even with these big ears, you’d think that would be NO issue! 🙂 I am also sleeping “like a rock” and scared Mom the other day when I didn’t wake up when she was putting in my mouth my cancer remedy at night…she had to shake me a little bit…no worries, Mom…you just tired me out with my PT workout that night! That’s my excuse anyway and I’m stickin’ to it.
Mom showin’ you my gray hairs! Pfftt Mom, you have more than me!
It’s been a cold and pretty snowless winter so far but we have some headed our way. With any luck at all, our winter trails will get better and I can get out and do some “deer hunting” on them soon! I DO love the cooler temps – puts a spring in my step 🙂
Well, not much else happenin’ on my birthday yet…maybe I’ll get a surprise later this week when Mom goes to town shoppin’! She’d better or I’ll sass her some more! I’m REAL good at that 🙂
Haven’t checked in on my blog in a while – not much happenin’ lately…but one exciting thing yesterday – me and little sister, Haley, got to rip, tear and demolish christmas presents!! The bestest part is ripping the paper and boxes! OMG, I LOVE IT! But hey, the groundhogs we got for presents weren’t too bad either – Mom hasn’t let me destuff them yet though! I’ll do it, don’t worry, when she’s not watching me! LOL 🙂
Look on tree - Tripawd ornament! 🙂
Mr. Groundhog, your days are numbered!
Destruction!!! Me LUVS ripping apart paper and NOW to rip apart this groundhog!
OK, so I'm tired now......zzzzzzzzzzzzzz............
Hoping you all had a great Christmas!!
So, onward to the New Year 2012 – here’s to hoping for health, hoppiness and well being…that translates to lots of treats, short walks and nice, long car rides! 🙂
I am on FitPaws Facebook page and they showed a photo of a dog on top of two of their “donuts” doing rehab work for a spinal issue and talking about how much the dog had improved. I’m not terribly fond of those donuts as they literally have a hole in the center and with our 3 leggers, I really can’t see those PT tools being very safe for them to work on(although they have suggested putting a towel down in the holes). So I thought, hmm, I work Maggie on one BOSU balance dome now, maybe if I get another one, she can work both her front and rear end at the same time…getting even more of a workout. I posted this video on FitPaws facebook page and they responded to me saying that this is a great workout idea for Maggie! This was only her second session on them and she did great! What I like about using these is I don’t really have to manipulate or hang onto Maggie…she does all the work 🙂 I do help her position her rear foot at times though but since this session, she’s gotten way better about positioning herself! This will be quite the workout for her as I could see her rear leg quiver just a bit in one session, so I quit on that note, knowing she was muscle fatiguing. Highly recommend this for other Tripawds! Front or rear leggers! 🙂
As she gets stronger, I may have her do two Fitpaws Balance DISCS – I have one now that I work her on but it is REALLY hard for her to balance on…not sure doing two at one time with her whole body, she’d be able to handle..we’ll see.
Tracy
UPDATE: 11-19-11 here’s a video of Maggie working on the domes – she’s gotten even stronger since I originally posted 1st video above:
It’s been a busy week so Mom is finally able to help me with putting up my last competition blog of the year…and wowza! have I got great results to share!
On Friday, October 28th, we competed in another Wag It Games Trial – competing in Shadow Skills, Independent Skills and No Need for Speed Skills classes. Mom entered me in both Novice and Skilled(Open) levels as I’m workin’ towards my Championship titles and need 8 qualifying scores in each level(Novice, Skilled and Proficient) to earn CH in each class. We’ve got a long ways to go but we’re gettin’ there! I qualified 6 for 6 runs! Ya baby! Shall I say FUN!!!
Novice Shadow Skills – score of 100(best score 100)
Skilled Shadow Skills – score of 100
Novice Independent Skills – score of 97 ( I didn’t hit the light hard enough to turn it on – hey, sometimes it’s a hard shot for me being 3 legged – that’s my excuse and I’m stickin’ to it!)
Skilled Independent Skills – score of 100 – THIS CLASS I TOTALLY ROCKED!!!!! Talk about FUN time! My Mom wanted to do the class again with me she had so much fun with me!
Novice No Need for Speed Skills – score of 100
Skilled No Need for Speed Skills – score of 100
Do I ever LOVE Wag It Games! Holy freakin’ CowDog is it fun! Especially seeing how I’m in the HeartDog Program where I have an exemption on not having to sit if I don’t want to….I really hate sitting but shhhhh, don’t tell Mom, I AM stronger now and it’s gotten easier to sit these days…but still, it’s nice to have that exemption as by class #6, I was getting a bit ‘draggy’…hey, I’ll admit it…I AM 3 legged and almost 12 years old you know..so I do have a couple good excuses 🙂 Here’s a video of me in the Skilled Independent Class:
Then Saturday and Sunday we competed in APDT Rally-O…It’s not as much fun as Wag It Games but I totally rocked and and as a fellow competitor/friend, Wag It Games and Rally-O judge commented on Facebook to my Mom:
“I’m just laying here thinking about what an incredible Tripawd dog Ms. Maggie is. She manages to knock the socks off her 4 legged competition on a very regular basis. What a delight to watch her, amazes me everytime!!! Thanks again for the inspiration Maggie”. From, Annette M.
Mom puts me in Level 3 and also in Veterans classes in Rally. Level 3 because of less sitting and more “fun” stations for me to do that I like, for example, the retrieve(holy smokes I’m good at that now and I’m NOT a Retriever dog!), the Moving Stand, the Down on Recall, the Directed Jump and fun stuff like that! And in Veterans class, it can be signs from all levels but the courses are shorter for us “old dogs”. The two classes are a good match for me! I went 6 for 6 in Rally too! Here’s results:
Saturday:
Level 3 run #1 – Score of 210 (best possible score is a 210)
Veterans run #1 – Score of 210
Level 3, run #2 – Score of 210 – had a PERFECT Retrieve for a bonus…made my Mom sooo proud!
Veterans run #2 – Score of 210
Sunday:
Level 3 – Score of 204 – My Mom cued me two extra times(probably to sit…that evil thing called sit!), so lost points for xtra cues.
Veterans run – Score of 202 – Super attention & perfect sits and FOOD BOWL station I was just perfect…never even looked at the bowls with treats in them! Yeah, I ROCK! But silly Mom messed me up on the first station and made me do a Drop on Recall when the sign was just a Recall to Front! Gawd Mom! Remember to read the signs correctly, will ya? And THEN, she messed up and did the wrong “finish”, so she had to fix that… Mom, what was with you!?!? Were you tired??!! Wake up next time! Don’t be messin’ me up! 😉
Here’s me doing one of the ‘easier’ Veterans courses..the only video taken of me unfortunately but gives you an example of the fun we had:
And Mom took this picture of me with my ribbons the other night. The orange ribbons are Wag It Games qualifier ribbons I earned and the other one’s are Rally-O ribbon qualifiers and placements…notice there’s some blue ribbons in there! I even BEAT my little sister Haley, a couple times in Level 3!! Haha! 🙂
So, now, we are going into winter hibernation mode…no more trialing until Spring. But Mom seems to tell me I’m not going to completely turn into a couch potato as she just ordered me another balance dome to do my PT work on…gawd, Mom…it’s time to sleep, ya’ know, for the winter! 😉
Two years ago today, we were waiting for Maggie to come out of surgery for amputation of her left hind leg, due to soft tissue sarcoma on her knee. It was a real struggle up until October 2009 to get a correct diagnosis on Maggie – started going to several vets in June of that year. She wasn’t really “lame” but shifting her weight from left side to her right side of her body. Couldn’t really pinpoint what was wrong. Diagnosis went from ACL injury(two different vets), to no, not ACL(one other vet), to psoas muscle pull(one vet) to finally in October, was diagnosed first by Gina, my sister a Vet Tech, as a probable soft tissue sarcoma, to then going to Dr. Chris Miles at Lucerne Vet Clinic in Dedham, Maine, for a final diagnosis of yes, a cancerous tumor. By that time, her knee was very large with diffuse swelling. Biopsy confirmed soft tissue sarcoma, of what type, they couldn’t tell us and after many special stains, we never have found out exactly what type of STS.
Thank you to Dr. Miles for doing a successful amputation for Maggie and caring for her at her hospital for three days/two nights. With her expertise in surgical amputation, Maggie is still free and clear of her cancer, two years later.
an Autumn day at Deboullie Pond
I do not ever want to repeat that time frame of about 3 weeks before and after amputation. I could not wait to get that leg off of her…the pain was unreal…thankfully, again, for my sister for finding out about a drug called Gabapentin, a pain reliever but not a common one. The local vet up here didn’t even know what it was, let alone prescribe it. That drug got Maggie through some incredibly painful days before amputation. Thank you Gina for being there when times were at it’s darkest for Maggie. The “vet” certainly wasn’t. “Give her a sleeping pill” he told me or “give her a Benadryl, it will make her sleepy”. I have since stopped going to that “vet”.
Her two weeks after amputation were HELL. No doubt about it. Four days after surgery, she wouldn’t eat and had a low grade fever. With Gina’s help, we got her eating and the fever down with dosing her with a homeopathic remedy, Belladonna and also a supplement by Standard Process, Parotid, which she ate directly out of my hand with no issues. Belladonna for the fever, Parotid to clear her system of chemicals from surgery, etc. Maggie ate fried eggs, baby food, canned dog food, dog kibble, liver treats, McDonald’s cheeseburgers, cooked hamburg/chicken…anything to get her to eat in those two weeks. It was a struggle..often having to force the first bite in her mouth. Extremely trying time for me – did I do the right thing for Maggie? I sure was doubting it then but we couldn’t look back and had to fight this!
My “pretty girl” …
By mid November 2009, life for Maggie was looking MUCH better! The two week recovery from HELL was over! Little things that we all take for granted, was a HUGE triumph for Maggie, like the first time she got up on the futon all by herself! Party! To the first time I let her off leash after having been on leash for so long before/after surgery – watching her figure out how to go to the bathroom, how to figure out her balance.
Maggie earning her first Wag It Games titles!
Fast forward to May of 2010, she was entered in her very first APDT Rally-O trial at Wag It in Lincolnville, ME. I never, ever thought she’d be in a competition ring again after amputation. She’d been an agility dog for 8 years prior to amputation. Sits were and still are, hard on her at times but we have worked hard with physical therapy work regularly and she has regained a lot of strength and stamina. She has now earned all three levels of Rally titles – RL1, RL2 and RL3 and her Veterans RLVX2. She also competes in Wag It Games in the “Heart Dog” program designed by Sumac Grant-Johnson of Wag It Training Center. Maggie is the inspiration for the “Heart Dog” program as Sumac saw the struggles that Maggie has sitting in Rally. Maggie gets special circumstances for being a Tripawd and isn’t required to do all the sitting exercises – she may stand instead. Also, she may skip some obstacles if they are too hard for her to maneuver. My hat is off to you, Sumac, for thinking “out of the box” for the disabled dogs(and handlers) out there that still want to compete! Maggie has earned her WAG1S, WAG1I and WAG1O so far! Wag It Games is PERFECT for Maggie. Being able to continue to train and compete with Maggie is really “icing on the cake”. I just wanted her to be out of pain from her cancer. Mission accomplished with amputation. As the saying goes on Tripawds.com“it’s better to hop on three legs than to limp on four”.
I also want to thank Jim and Rene of Tripawds.com for, first, having their website chock full of information for tripawd owners – I had only wished I had found their incredible site before Maggie’s amputation. I didn’t find it until 2 months later. But I have been fairly active on it since then, trying to help others with their journey of newly amputated dogs. Trying to help with physical therapy work or providing holistic views on treating cancer, to emotional support to others. No one can really know how tough it is on an owner to amputate a dog, unless you’ve gone through it. It’s anincredible emotional roller coaster.
“kisses”…
I also want to thank Dr. Charles Loops, a well known cancer homeopathic vet from North Carolina, of whom I actually met in person at a seminar here in Maine many years ago. Who knew I’d be using him to treat my dog for cancer years later. Maggie gets 3 remedies to keep her cancer from spreading, rotating two of the remedies daily and every fifth day with one other remedy. Maggie is also on a product called Transfer Factors, which Dr. Loops recommended for Maggie.
A short but tough walk in the long grass….
So here we are, two years later after amputation. I am here to say I am VERY happy we made the decision to amputate Maggie! There have been up’s and down’s but mostly up’s! She is now 11½ years old, her 12th birthday will be in January. Her most recent struggle is her eyesight seems to be changing. Not related to being amputated of course but with being 3 legged it makes her more fearful than I do think it would being 4 legged. She’s a brave, brave girl and I’m very proud of all her accomplishments, from being brave through her recovery of amputation, to figuring out life on 3 legs, to going to compete again. Maggie is my hero!
Maggie earning the “Inspiration Award” at a Rally-O Trial in September 2011
Love you Maggie-Moo! Happy, Hoppy 2 year Ampuversary! Here’s to many more!!!
I just had to share a few photo’s of Maggie from a walk a couple evenings ago. The weather here in Northern Maine has been unbelieveably warm for this time of year! I took Maggie up in the field that is behind our house. We used to walk there all the time especially before amputation but if the owner of the field doesn’t mow it, it’s tough going for her as it was a bit that night…so we didn’t spend much time up there but she very much enjoyed herself, as did I 🙂
My pretty girl 🙂Can hardly see it due to the bushes but Maggie is standing on what I used to call our "thinking rock" - Maggie and I used to spend alot of time up there just sitting and thinking & looking at the lakePortage Lake - our house is at the base of this fieldPhew! says Maggie - it's hot and rough going in this long grass!
I had taken a video too but I can’t seem to get it loaded onto Youtube or Vimeo…Wish WordPress would take Facebook links as I did get it loaded to Facebook…
Hope everyone’s fall is as nice as it’s been here lately…but it’s getting cooler now….suspect it won’t be long and the leaves will be gone off the trees….
Phew! I’m tired from our exciting weekend competing in Rally obedience in Saco, Maine this wknd! We stayed at the coolest KOA campground….it had LOTS and LOTS of chipmunks for me to stalk! LOVED that part immensely…here’s a few photo’s of our cute kabin and of course, ME! How do you like my glowing eyes? 🙂
Nice comfy bed at KOA campground
Look closely...you can see my crazy little sister, Haley, in the screen door
So on to the Rally-O trial! It was held at Finish Forward Dogs in Saco, Maine. I was entered for the first time in Level 3(the highest level) and also in Veterans class that I used to like much better before they went and changed the rules in June and took out my favorite part – the JUMP! 🙁 So sad to see that taken out of Veterans class and they also took out some of the “Down” signs and added more stupid “sit” signs. Gawd, don’t they know us rear legger Tripawds HATE sitting? Boo-hoo. Well, at least there are jumps in Level 3…and TWO of them! Yeehaw! But Level 3 courses are TOUGH and longer…but I got my Level 3 title by earning 3 qualifying scores of 206, 204 and 205 – a perfect score is a 210. Here I am performing my very first Level 3 run of the weekend. I was a little scared of the shadows on the floor in this run:
And my 2nd Level 3 run was much better:
My Mom had to make me pose for a picture with the judge with my two new titles of the weeknd, earning my RL3 title(Rally level 3) and my RLVX2(Rally level Veterans Excellent 2).
Maggie earned her RL3 and RLVX2 titles!
I did have some fear issues of the shadows along the edges of the walls over the course of the weekend. I have been having some fear issues at home too. My Mom wasn’t too sure just what is going on but pretty sure it is my eye sight. She wishes that I could talk so I could tell her for sure…but I looked at the floor quite a bit in some of our runs and I was seeing shadows…I’m not sure if I was going to fall in a black hole or what. My Mom says her eye sight is changing too and maybe we both need glasses now! It’s not fun getting old, is it? 🙁 But I was VERY brave for my Mom…she says that I have “heart”…whatever that means?
And the best for last….competitors were to nominate an individual for the “Inspiration Award” based on a performance that they were ‘moved’ by. The fact that yes, I CAN back up on 3 legs really “moved” alot of fellow competitors and I was awarded the Inspiration Award for the weekend! And there was another disabled dog there in a cart…that was a Corgi that did fabulous all weekend. So, here’s me and my BIG ribbon for the Inspiration Award!
Maggie earned the Inspiration Award!
So, there you have it! Our exciting weekend, with some up’s and down’s. Mom won’t be bringing me to Finish Forward again due to the shadows – she doesn’t want me fearful in the ring again. My Mom tries so hard to protect me…she doesn’t like seeing me scared of things…but this 3 leggedness on top of my eyesight maybe changing can get challenging at times. Thankfully, she brought my rugs down for the kabin floor at KOA cause I did NOT like that kabin floor…too slippery for me!
Well – guess that’s all I have to report! Another great weekend out and about with my Mom and oh yeah, that crazy little sister I have, Haley…
Phew! What a busy time we had from 8-26-11 to 9-1-11. First, my Mom left me and little sister, Haley, at my Auntie Gina’s house for a day!!! Can you believe it! She left us as she had to go to a wedding and we weren’t invited!!! Imagine that!!! Argh! I was NOT too happy about being left behind! The next day, though, we went with Mom, Auntie Gina and her two Dock Dog Jack Russell’s, Cue and Dory(Mom and daughter team). The event was at L.L. Bean in Freeport, Maine. Mom took me out for a walk among all the people and dogs galore at the event and I just lay there on my mat enjoying the scenery and the wonderful weather cheering on Cue and Dory diving. So, then Mom decided she’d go get Haley and my crate and put us both in it together. Huh? What was she thinking? Well, we really surprised her at how GOOD we can really be! Here’s proof! Look at all the people and dogs milling around…I never said a “peep” to any human or dog 🙂 Neither did bratty little sister!
Maggie at LLBean Dock Dogs event as a spectator 8-27-11
This is Auntie Gina and Dory doing a practice jump:
Mom was sooooo impressed with me and little sister on how well behaved we were at LLBean! She just had to video tape us! She thought for SURE we were imposters! Nah, we can be good sometimes!
Then Sunday, we were supposed to leave for New Hampshire for the beginning of Wag It Games Camp where Mom would be helping instruct campers/dogs but this little thing called Hurricane Irene sorta slowed our progress to leaving 🙁 By Sunday afternoon, the power went out at Auntie Gina’s, several trees down in her yard missing her deck and house but landing on the dog fence. It was quite scary! By Monday a.m. it was done and we were headed to NH for Wag It Camp!
Main Dining Lodge at Camp Robin Hood where Wag It Camp was held - Freedom, New Hampshire
Haley & I hung around a lot not doing much while Mom taught the ‘games’ to dogs/handlers. But when she wasn’t teaching she had us participating in the workshops she wasn’t teaching. I got to do a “Sniff It” workshop! That was pretty darn cool! Searching for food! Heck, who can beat that?! FOOD! The Instructor said I was the “over achiever” as I was trying to retrieve the items that the food was hidden in. Guess my retrieve training was coming out and I was generalizing the behavior well! Mom was actually quite impressed! 🙂 But she said “use your nose Maggie”…guess I’m not supposed to retrieve, it’s sniff it!
Then after campers were done teaching their dogs in other games that we already knew, Mom practiced with me and Haley. We both ROCKED! It was a great time playing with Mom doing No Need For Speed obstacles and Shadow Skills courses with her. Someone commented that I was the “famous Tripawd” 🙂 Guess someone has been talking me up doing Wag It Games.
We took fabulous walks around the 300 acre camp…fields galore and Lake Ossippee to swim in! Well, I don’t really swim but here you can me do my version of it…I’ve never been a swimmer 🙂
having fun at the beach of Lake Ossippee, Freedom, NH
Haley & Maggie by Lake Ossippee
Me and my bratty sister swimming! She’s such a L-U-N-A-T-I-C barking and trying to herd me!
And here’s me swimming alone….ahhh, peaceful…just me and Mom 🙂
So, our vacation has come to an end. We were pretty sad leaving camp…it was sooo much fun!
