At Tripawds, we talk a lot about our three legged canine pals, but here’s a story about our awesome new feline tripawd friend. Meet Henry, the Three Legged Cat.

Henry’s Mom, Cathy, recently wrote to us to share his story, and tell us about their heartwarming book, “Henry’s World: A Three Legged Cat’s View of Human Absurdity.”

“Henry would like to take this opportunity to share his book with people worldwide and to particularly help Tripawds raise money for their website.

For every book that you buy, $12 will be given to Tripawds.

You can buy them at Henry’s website : henrysworld.org, through PayPal. Just write in the message part the word “Tripawds” so we know where to send the profits.

Now, a bit about the book:

The more we expose our children to books that promote respect for diversity, compassion, courage, and resiliency, the more we will see children who thrive in this incredibly complex diverse world. We would love to get this true tale about Henry the three-legged cat into the hands of all children!

At its core, it’s about so much more than a cat. Henry’s owners were devoted “dog only” people who didn’t even like cats.

Sometimes, we don’t always get to decide what happens to us in life. What we do get to decide is how we respond. When Henry shows up with a front leg beyond repair, his owners respond in a way that changes their lives as well the lives of thousands of others.

There are many powerful messages in this book, but I love how Henry’s life reminds us that we are not defined by our misfortunes, but by our responses to them. In the back of the book are “Kibble for Thought,” life lessons from Henry himself.

The end of Henry’s World actually is only the beginning, as we learn that Henry is now a cat with a mission to help animals and children in need. To date, he is answered over 33,000 letters from around the world and over 30,000 of his two books have found their way into the hands of humans who need them. This is without being in one bookstore, so that all the profits can go to animals and children in need. Buy a bunch now, you will not be disappointed.

Henry is happy to announce that his canine sister, Dollydog, finally has her own book, “What About Me? I’m Here Too.” Visit Henry’s World for details.”

Cathy Conheim, Cat Scribe >^..^<
La Jolla, CA
www.henrysworld.org

Winner: What’s the Matter with Henry?
ASPCA Humane Issues Award 2006
Best Gift Book 2006 Cat Writers Association

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Recently, there’s been some discussions here and in the Bone Cancer Dogs Yahoo Group about whether or not mushroom therapy has any real benefit to dogs undergoing cancer treatment.

We wanted to get a current picture on the status of how mushroom therapy treatment is doing out there in the real world, so we wrote to my oncologist, Dr. Marie Mullins, who led the K9 Immunity clinical trial that I participated in, when I was patient in 2008 at the Santa Fe Veterinary Cancer center.

With her permission to quote her, here is what Dr. Mullins said about the study:

“The results of the K9 Immunity trial have not yet been published. They were submitted to JAVMA* but rejected (they rarely publish articles on nutriceuticals). They were going to try to get it published in some international mushroom journal (not sure of the exact name) but I have not heard much since then (October 2008 time frame).

The data that I saw was all very preliminary (some of the dogs were still alive). At that point in time, it did not appear to significantly extend survival times but the case numbers were low and statistics lacking.

However, it seemed to overwhelmingly improve their quality of life and protect most of the dogs from untoward chemotherapy side effects.”

In our own limited knowledge about mushroom therapy, we recently learned that mushroom therapy isn’t just something being promoted for dog cancers only. A family friend who is a certified “ND,” a naturopathic doctor, in Washington state, and specializes in holistic cancer treatments, uses mushroom therapy for her own human patients.

It’s so hard to know what is fact and what is fiction when it comes to nutriceuticals, but by posting your stories and experiences with K9 Immunity and other canine cancer therapies here in our Eating Healthy Forums, we can try to help get the official verdict out to the public much sooner.

*Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

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As you know, Tripawds get around great in life. And although we can do anything a four-legger can, we tend to just do it with  shorter bursts of energy.

Sometimes after surgery our stamina can decrease, especially if we are coping with cancer. Our walks may become much shorter, and our people may get sad that we can no longer go as far as we once did.

But now our people don’t need to be sad about those shorter walks! We just heard from a tripawd named Xena, who gets around all of Manhattan with a Strollit dog stroller. Her dad Brian says:

“Xena has had surgery on both cruciates. In addition to that, she had a tumor that ruptured her spleen in 2007. She had to have her spleen removed. Shortly after that she had bloat which required emergency surgery. So to say she’s been “through the mill” is an understatement. The scariest thing by far was her being diagnosed with osteosarcoma and having to make the decision to amputate her leg.

Now a year later, after the surgery and the chemotherapy, she is still with us. She stays as active as she can given her ailments and her age. We still take her for walks in the city, and she even has her own “carriage” to get in when she gets too tired.

The Solvit HoundAbout Pet Stroller for Big Dogs

I highly recommend the product to anyone. We get tons of people asking about it when we walk through NYC. It is well built, folds down for transport or storage and the company’s customer service is very helpful.

Xena loves riding in it. As you can see, even at 94 pounds, she fits in it comfortably. It also allows us to go places with her that we normally could not. We took her right inside the mall with it.”

We think this dog stroller by SolvIt is fabulous. If you get one for your Tripawd, just remember to introduce him to it slowly. There are lots of ways to get a dog used to being carted on wheels, much like crate training, so that the stroller becomes a comfortable place of refuge for your Tripawd.

Solvit HoundAbout Pet Strollers are also available in various sizes at EntirelyPets.com.

Back in November, 2006, when my Dad first heard three legged dogs referred to as “Tripods,” he thought it sounded kinda derogatory. That’s when he thought it would be neat to empower that word and turn it into something more pawsitive, so he started spelling it “Tripawd” and registered the tripawds.com domain for this website.

Last year, my pawrents filed a USPTO trademark application for the word “Tripawd.” They did this because they wanted a way of protecting the special meaning of the word to make sure that it would only be used in pawsitive ways to help three legged dogs and show the world that … “It’s better to hop on three legs than limp on four!“

As of March 10, 2009, Tripawds is now a registered service mark (#3,586,016), found under the name of “Agreda Communications,” which is the company run by my pawrents, Jim and René where I served as the Chief Fun Officer. Tripawds.com is a special project near and dear to the hearts of the Agreda team.

My pawrents trademarked Tripawds not to capitalize on the word, but rather to keep others from doing so. My Mom and Dad want to ensure it’s proper use and integrity. They don’t want anything in return from anyone who wants to use the word “Tripawds” for limited, personal use, other than giving credit to the Tripawds.com website.

If anyone wishes to sell items branded with the word “Tripawds,” however, they simply ask that you contact us to talk about licensing for commercial use.

Trouble is a three legged pit bull girl from Orange, Texas. Last November she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at age nine, and underwent amputation to remove her bad leg.

Since then, she hasn’t looked back. In May, she had her two-month post chemotherapy check up, and passed it with flying colors. Although she is bothered by arthritis, you sure wouldn’t know it by looking at her!

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We think all Tripawds have star quality, but there’s only one out there that will fit the role that filmmaker Geoff Talbot has created in his upcoming movie, “Lucky and Scrap.”

You may have seen his casting calls on Twitter or Facebook lately, because Talbot is taking his casting call worldwide, and giving the general public a chance to make their Tripawd a star.

Talbot is specifically looking for a rear-leg amputee with “big cinematic doggie eyes.”  This romantic comedy is a 24- hour Bohemian love story between a Czech street girl called Lucky and a homeless New Zealand guy named Rich, who has a three legged dog.

The future Scrap and his or her human must be fit and cleared to travel internationally to Prauge for about 20 days of on-location filming in February 2010. A veterinarian will be on the set at all times to ensure proper care of the future canine star.

The “Find Scrap” contest is currently running on Talbot’s blog. Since May, over 80 Tripawds have applied from countries as far away as New Zealand, America, Wales, England, Greece, Canada and Australia. Over 14,000 votes have already been cast. Tripawds can apply by sending a JPEG photo to help.find.scrap@gmail.com.

Talbot is encouraging more dogs to apply. “We want every three-legged dog on the face of this planet to hear about this competition, and at least have the opportunity to be our star. Each dog as an incredible story of courage that deserves to be told.”

In late June, the contestant field will be narrowed down to 12 runners-up. A winner will be then chosen from the results of an exciting interactive online TV show called “World 3-legged Dog Idol.” Stay tuned for more information here.

Photos and videos of the Tripawd applicants can be viewed on the filmmakers blog, www.geofftalbot.wordpress.com

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Earlier this year, my Dad was searching for a quick way to describe Tripawds’ purpose. He came up with this nifty little bite-sized kibble:

The Tripawds Mission Statement

“To maintain a community of support for those faced with amputation for their dogs,
by providing resources and a platform for discussion.”

Here’s another touching story we learned about, after we were featured in the PBS show, Why We Love Cats and Dogs.

Greg Hess, a viewer from Colorado, wrote to us and shared his story about a deep  commitment he made to his senior dog Stormy, whose health was in rapid decline at the same time that Greg lost his job. Greg and Stormy’s story is so beautiful, we had to share it with you. He writes:

“Rene and Jim,

I am truly sorry for your loss. What great Being Jerry was for everyone he came in contact with. I feel that your story has a very significant message too. That is, your commitment to Jerry in his time of need. Your willingness to do what it took to give him a life that many animals will never know.

I concluded in much the same way, that my own dog needed that kind of commitment. About a year and half ago, I lost my job. While thinking about the next move, I wondered how the next job would impact my our 14 ½ year old Beagle, Stormy. It dawned on me that since both my spouse and me would be gone all day, his life would mostly be just laying around being board. And in Colorado, it’s dark and cold for many months so trying to get out for a walk at night wasn’t very promising.

It wasn’t easy to commit to that. Even with the support of my spouse, losing income and one’s place in the work world presents some difficult hurdles to overcome. But the life we were able to provide Stormy for those 18 months was incredible. He went ‘everywhere’ with me. People new him from one end of the city to the other. He ate with us, walked with us, slept with us, there seemed to be no reason to exclude him from anything in our lives.

We had to have Stormy euthanized in January 2009. Like you, as his health declined, it became clear from our vet visits, that there were too many unknowns about his condition, which was probably a brain tumor or, the beginning of kidney failure. So we decided to just do everything possible to make his life good until it was time. I simply couldn’t put him through massive testing, prodding and poking to gain a couple of days or weeks.

So a grateful thanks for sharing your story. It’s really felt like I’ve been out on the fringe of society by taking off so much time to be with Stormy. His passing (as I’m sure Jerry’s did) has left such a large hole in our lives. I guess the more time one spends, the more threads we interweave between our pet’s lives and us. Perhaps it’s an unfortunate byproduct of losing Stormy, but it’s created a profound sadness in me for all the other Beings on our planet that will not come close to experiencing what dogs like Jerry and Stormy had.”

Here is a beautiful essay Greg wrote about Stormy:

Read the rest of this entry »

More big news for tripawds and their people who wish to connect with others! We just created a new tripawd discussion forum where members can schedule live chat sessions of their own.

My people always try to be available in the chat room most evenings. But often there is no one their to chat with others in their time of need. Now there is a way to schedule your own chats, or just let everyone know when you may be online. Here are some other ideas that would make the Tripawd Chat Room an even better resource for everyone:

• Add a new topic for scheduling breed-specific chats
• Create a topic for scheduled live chats about specific issues
• Announce a schedule of regular times you will be in the chat room
• Update topics with a summary of the chat

Simply add a topic for your scheduled chat(s). Be sure to provide ample notification time for your chat considering some members may check the forums weekly. Optionally, use the Private Messaging (Inbox) system to invite specific members. Then, just be available in the chat room at your specified time and hopefully others will arrive. We’ll certainly try to be there!

After the chat, post a reply to your forum topic with a summary or transcript. If you do not refresh the page during your chat, all comments can be copied from the shout box and pasted into a forum post. Keep in mind, however, that emptying the shout box by reloading the page can improve browser performance during busy chats.

Anyway, we hope this new scheduled chat forum will help members utilize the chat room better. We’ll certainly use it to schedule tripawd chats of our own, so stay tuned!

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Whew! You did it! Tripawds pawrents rock!

Between March 27 and May 31st, an amazing $4342 was raised for our first ever web server upgrade campaign. Wooo hoo! You helped us make our goal, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

The kindness of our Tripawds family never ceases to amaze us, but it is especially touching because of the ruff economy going on right now. Wow. What a testament to the awesomeness of our Tripawds family.

Your generosity has covered the cost of migrating Tripawds.com to it’s own dedicated website server, and paid for a whole year of hosting fees and maintenance. Now, aside from experiencing faster performance speeds in the Forums and Chat Room, you’ll soon get to participate in an awesome new way to tell the world about your own unique Tripawd journey. Stay tuned for our big announcement, coming soon.

With gratitude always,

Rene, Jim & Spirit Jerry