Two weeks ago as I was leaving New Mexico, my pawrents and I started traveling north to meet my Tripawd friend Daisy. We’d never met in person, but we were being treated by the same oncologist in Santa Fe. We had already missed meeting each other at the clinic by one day, so now we were finally going to get to play.

Sadly, we crossed paths one more time, but still didn’t get to meet. At the exact time were traveling northbound toward Antonito, where we would meet up with Daisy in a couple of days, Daisy and her parents were traveling south, on the same road. Only it was a very sad trip for them. See, the cancer had recently gotten the best of Daisy, and her health was rapidly deteriorating. Her Mom, LeeAnn, had to make the difficult decision to help Daisy across the rainbow bridge. She and Daisy were driving to the vet’s office at the same time, on the same road, that we were on.

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A lot of people are surprised that big dogs can get along as Tripawds. But did you know that even a pony can get around on three legs?

This was sent to me by my friend Calpurnia. It’s been making its way around the Internet. I hope you enjoy it!

Molly the Pony
Story by Pam Kaster

Meet Molly. She’s a gray speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Katrina hit southern Louisiana, USA . She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier, and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected and her vet went to LSU for help. But LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. You know how that goes.

But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn’t seem to get sores, and how she allowed people t o handle her. She protected her injured leg. She constantly shifted her weight, and didn’t overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic.

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I’ve just gotta share this story about my friend Maruk, from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Last December, Maruk joined the Tripawd club because of bone cancer. He had chemo, and all was good until late February, when he let out a loud cough.

Sadly, X-rays showed “blurry flakes of snow on a gray and black background,” his Mama Karen said.

Karen says in her April 1st Forums post, “All we kept hearing was how quickly the cancer spreads once it is in the lungs. Panic set in. We didn’t want our buddy in pain, so we began discussing euthanasia.

Thank goodness we snapped out of panic mode! Occasionally, we hear “the Cough”, but he is nowhere near ready to give up on life.”

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Pound puppies get an extra chance at life when a good person like you takes them home for a chance at another, better life.

And when a pound puppy has a physical challenge, yet still gets adopted, well that’s extra special!

Our friend Beverly wrote to us, to tell us about her miracle Tripawd dog, Drake. Although he passed away recently, his beautiful life story is one that will leave a pawprint on your heart forever.

Here’s Drake’s story, in Janel’s words:

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The following post was generously written by our friend Sasha, who lives in Tel Aviv Israel with her tripawd gal Lalla.

There’s something to be said about dogs when they sleep: they stretch out, growl, yelp, drool, produce various aromatic emissions and even sleepwalk And there is, of course, the oft-repeated “rabbit chase” which some dog experts claim is actually a re-enactment of pushing mamma dog’s mammalian protuberances to the max for the liquid known as milk. I for one, am going to stick to the “rabbit chase” theory and fact is, Tripawd humans are the real dog experts.

There’s no animal on this planet (apart from myself on a Saturday morning) who loves sleeping in as much as a dog. Although most of them think otherwise, most dogs do not need a human bed; they need a firm, comfortable no-frills / no-bling pad, which to our benefit should be easy to keep clean, i.e.: can be thrown into the washing machine after being used as a specialized dining room.

But when you live with a Tripawd, you do have to make special orthopedic considerations, but those don’t have to break your bank account.

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When a dog is diagnosed with bone cancer, veterinarians tend to give pawrents the worst case scenario. In my situation, my doctor at UC Davis said I would be lucky to get six more months out of life. Ha! Wrong!

Now, we know that their intentions are good, but when humans learn that their beloved furry friend might only have a couple of months of good health left, it’s too easy for them to focus on that number. Sometimes, pawrents don’t want to put a dog through amputation because they think he won’t live long enough to recover from it.

But many times, that’s not what happens.

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Hey check out my gal pal Lalla’s new comic strip, “Tri-Stix.” It’s the first comic strip all about the adventures of three legged dogs! Here is the first Tri-Stix comic, a tribute to Samuel Jacob and his funny story about what “Half-Fast” means.

Stay tuned for more adventures. Thanks, Lalla!

Join the Tripawd Forum discussion on this post

Many times, pawrents aren’t sure if they should go ahead with an amputation on their senior dog. Of course all situations are very different, and there are no right answers. Lots of things about the dog’s existing health issues need to be taken into consideration.

But when a senior dog with osteosarcoma is otherwise in fair health, amputation can immediately alleviate the pain from bone cancer. And despite surgery recovery time and a bit of a learning curve, living out life on three legs can be a true gift for older dogs.

“Its all about growing old together,” says my friend Sasha, dog mom of my special girl Lalla. “A senior dog needs gentle exercise . . . and a pain free life in the ‘golden years’ is the greatest gift you can give to your senior dog.”

Daisy is a great example.

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You might have heard . . . the first Tripawd Heroes and Tributes book was a great success! Today, we are looking for more stories, for the second edition of this special coffee-table tribute book that’s all about Tripawds, both past and present.

We want to show the world that it’s better to hop on three legs than limp on four, and we want you to be in the book too! Just send us photos and a short bio of your Tripawd pal. Help us shine a light on the amazing qualities of thee-legged dogs!

Just send us your story with a few high resolution photos, and we’ll publish a custom version featuring your furry friend on the cover.

With every purchase, $5 will be donated to my pal Luke’s “2 Dogs 2000 Miles Campaign.” Luke and his two dogs, Murphy and Hudson, are on a 2,000 mile walk from Austin Texas to Boston Massachussets, to raise money to fund the first ever study of what exactly causes canine cancer. Please read more about Luke and the Boys’ incredible journey here.

This is an going project, which we hope you will want to be a part of. Our ultimate goal with it, is to mass market a published book with many stories, to increase awareness about the amazing ability of three legged dogs everywhere!

I must thank Arnie from Watson’s Pet Products for sending us this story. But some people are just so stupid!

Featured on WBIR in Knoxville, Tennessee, Panda is a Saint Bernard who had it with her human who obviously didn’t care for her one bit. She had been tied up outside and had become entangled with a wire for so long, that she gnawed off her own rear leg to get away. You go girl!

Panda obviously knew she’d be better off on three legs that tied up and forgotten. Her owner, Adolfo Lopez was charged Thursday with animal cruelty. Perhaps we should tie him up and wrap a wire tight around his leg for a week or so …

But I digress, not all people are bad. The Smokey Mountain Saint Bernard Rescue group is now caring for Panda and hoping to find her a new home. I couldn’t find adoption info on their site yet, but if you’re in Tennessee, or know someone willing to take better care of Panda, please email them about her.

Arnie was even kind enough to donate a Bottom’s Up Leash to help Panda get around. It’s too bad all humans aren’t so caring toward animals.