By: Hannah Darnell, RN
Harper had a mast cell tumor on her right lower leg just across from her dewclaw. It was about the size of a golf ball. The vet said it hadn’t spread to her liver or spleen, but may spread to other areas with or without amputation. However, if we started with surgery to grade the tumor, she may need more surgery down the road, or chemo/radiation. Such a difficult decision.
We adopted Harp from the Baltimore Animal Rescue Center (BARCS) in 2018 and have been in love ever since. She’s now 7 and recently had her right foreleg amputated. My husband and I were so upset about it. Some days we still feel guilty about the procedure, like when she used to act like a racoon and cover her face with both front paws. She is able to wipe her face with the left paw, which we’re so grateful for; yet it’s been a difficult adjustment more - so for us.
The first week or two post - op was horrible, one of her pain medications had the lovely side-effect of diarrhea. We felt so unprepared despite the questions we had asked the vet or vet technician prior to her amputation. Thankfully, we had some supplies on hand, but not enough disposable pads or blankets. We were so thankful to have our parents visit on a Friday so we could run to the store.
If you live alone and have a large breed dog, I recommend asking family or friends prior to surgery to help you lift your tripod. Friends and family may be willing to provide you with respite relief. You can run errands knowing your fur baby is being well cared for by someone you trust. We needed to get groceries and have time out of the house once Harper was home for a week after her surgery. It was as if we had a 60-pound baby to nurture around the clock.
My brother in-law found a community support group online called, “Tripawds.” It was heaven-sent! Tripawds, was an amazing resource we could count on for our 7-year-old pup. Tripawds offers many programs such as:
- Helpline
- Emergency Surgery Financial Aid
- Rehabilitative Services
- Gear Funding
- Cancer Care Packages
Tripawds also has a lively community chat group that prepared us for her big day. Our main dilemma was how to get her upstairs into our house, and also going to the bathroom out back. She was already somewhat of a diva, not wanting her precious paws to get wet in the morning dew; another issue we had was our slick wood floors.
I couldn’t fathom how we would survive this, then I found solace in the chat group. I found out that another lady with a tripod dog used work blankets (aka moving blankets), so I asked, “oh where do you buy these?” She responded, “well, I’m from Sweden, but I’m sure there’s stores in the States that would carry them.” Another gentleman chimed in, “you should check Home Depot or any hardware store for the work blankets.”
We bought them the day prior to her procedure, and they worked so well on our hardwood floors. The helpful lady added that she secured the work blankets to the floor with carpet tape to avoid slippage.
We were guided to a post entitled, Used Harness Gear, but we decided to purchase her a new one. We still have yet to adjust the harness to fit (as she slithered out of it like a snarly snake), but hopefully it will save our backs! Harper loves to bite her leash and collar before we go out to the dog park, groomer, or one of her favorites - Grandma and Grandpa’s house! Ironically, we were happy she was going back to her ornery canine-self as she fought against the harness of entrapment!
I inquired about a ramp for our 5-6 porch stairs, a supporter recommended to wait on the ramp as if she hadn’t been previously trained to use it, now would not be the best teaching time. We decided to buy and try the ramp. She used it easily to hobble downstairs, but going uphill was not her speed. We thought it would be easier, turns out the ramp was helpful for us, not her.
Then, I anxiously wrote, what about getting her in and out of our SUV? The vet tech explained they would provide a harness. I was relieved, only to find out later, we ended up using a shirt or towel to support her going down stairs. The original harness got lost in a sea of soiled blankets we threw away. The towel and shirt idea worked well, but it was more effort on our part, lifting Harper up and down took the two of us helping our 65-pound bundle of joy. I couldn’t imagine how other pet parents/grandparents with multiple steps survived.
Please take a peek at Tripawds if you, or someone you know may need help with their tripod fur companion.
List of Supplies and Recommendations for Tripods:
- Customizable harness specifically for tripod dogs
- Gather extra disposable gloves/dog-safe antibiotic wipes
- Purchase absorbent pads in case of accidents/Extra Blankets/old t-shirts
- Towels/Ice packs applied per your surgeon’s order
