It has been a very long time since my last post. Sad to report, this is the last post about Boomer.

February 2016 would have been the 4 year mark for Boomer. I still remember the vet letting him come back home early because I wouldn’t leave his side. I remember my husband and I setting up a mattress on the living room floor for Boomer and me to sleep on. I remember around the clock medications and long nights. I wouldn’t trade that time with him for the world. It was wonderful to have him there, alive and by my side. He was so smart, he figured out all of the tricks that were used to hide his meds. But we got through it. We set up a chest at the foot of our bed for him to use to continue to sleep with us. He did so well, he maneuvered long flights of stairs like a pro. He never missed a chance to do zoomies for a cookie. He was a picture of perfect health, bright eyes, soft shiny coat, active and never stopped mooching for anything we ate.

Thats why I knew something was wrong last week when he stopped eating, started struggling to get up the stairs. Then it happened tar like bloody runs; constant panting. I called the vet we started him on some pain meds.”Sounds like cancer in the GI area.” Either way he was suffering and in a great deal of pain.
My husband came home early, we set an appointment for 5 o’clock. We were going to have blood work done, run through the whole routine, see what it would take to “make him better”. However, Monday he was pleading with his eyes, unable to stand up to do his business, and diminishing quickly. We made the choice to forgo all the test and exploration of treatments. So the appointment changed tones. We arrived at the office and they had a blanket on the floor with no slip underneath it. Boomer was very stressed out so they gave him a sedative to relax him a bit. We sat on the floor his head in my hands, my husbands hands gently caressing his scruff. Boomers heart fought to stay with us, it took what seemed like a long time for him to let go. At 5:25 Monday December 7th, Boomer was set free back to having 4 legs to run with his sister Sunshine.

WOW! Time flies! We are coming up on the 2 year ampuversary for our Golden Retriever, Boomer on Feb. 2nd. It is hard to believe he is 9+ years old and still going strong! I am so proud of him. He went to the vet this past week for a dental (3 teeth removed) and his blood work is great! He still does the long set of stairs off the deck several times a day without giving it a second thought. He has kicked cancers butt for almost 2 years and still showing us how great life is!
On a sad note, his Golden sister, Sunshine 10+ years old, has severe arthritis. Her hips and knees are bone on bone, her lower spine is fused together with damage from it. She struggles daily. We have started her on an anti-inflammatory, glucosamine and pain killers…quality, not quantity…I tell myself often right now. She is still so bright eyed and happy but she just can’t get up easy, do stairs without a struggle or walk without difficulty. Cancer has so many more options and is not a guarantee. Arthritis has options to make a dog more comfortable. It was easy to make the decision to amputate Boomers leg. It is difficult to determine when the quality is not enough for my dear Sunshine Lady of the Grey.
Cancer is horrific! Arthritis…sigh…the precious life it hurts, so full of life in a broken body.

Hi Everyone,

Boomer had his 8 month ampuversary on Oct. 2 and had the best day ever!  Do you want to know why it was the best day ever? Wyatt and his pawrents Jim and Rene came to visit!  It was wonderful, the boys had Charlie Bear treats and finally got to see each other.  Wyatt is such a super guy and enjoys a couch just as much as Boomer!

The other day I was looking at Boomer and thinking about how much he has been through, how much all the pawrents of tripawds have endured watching their loved furry kids go through amputations.  I don’t think I could have done as well with facing Boomer’s amputation without the help of the Tripawds family.  So I spoke from my heart when I wrote this the other day.  I hope you like it.

So here is to all the survivors, Tripawds and pawrents alike:

 

It was a normal sunny day

We had plenty of time to play

Grooming hit just the right spot

Then my heart my heart it stopped.

A lump hidden by your soft fur

Cancer you would have to endure

Your beautiful leg had to go away

My heart hit bottom that day.

 

When I left you at the vet

I didn’t want you upset.

You didn’t understand

As I walked away you licked my hand.

You made it through the amputation

Crying was such a temptation

You wagged your tail and greeted me with love

I prayed for strength from God above.

Your missing leg a gruesome site

Holding tears was such a fight.

 

You came home, the meds made you ill

At night you would lay so very still.

Night and day I stayed with you

My heart heavy and blue

 

You showed me all you could do

You taught me not to be blue

You learned your funny little hop

Your spirit it would not stop.

You stayed strong and sure

Teaching me we can endure

 

A Tripawd you came to be

We grew as a family

Sharing all the familiar tears

Facing all those horrible fears

Thanks to Tripawds we have hope

And many new friends to help us cope

So, I got very mad at Mom and my bi-pawed sister Amber.  They took 2 of my MB brothers AND the stinky cat for a car ride and left me and my MB sister home alone.  I barked to let them know I was not happy.  They ignored me.  I whimpered trying to make them feel guilty, it didn’t work.  They were gone for 6 hours with those 2 Monkey Butts!  BUT when they got back I laughed and laughed and laughed some more.   I bet you want to know what was so funny.  Of course you do.  Well, MB Gilligan got his shots and nails trimmed but that wasn’t so funny.  What was funny is the stinky cat Thatch and the Monkey Butt Sammy got neutered.  Yep you read correct fixed!  They left intact and came back missing their stuff.

Then it happened, as I was relishing in the fact I wasn’t the one to go to the vet and come back missing parts, Mom said “What are you so happy about?  You don’t have your junk anymore either.”  What?!  I checked and she was right.  WOW was I ever let down and put in my place.

Here’s to calmer days ahead.

Boomer

It has been a long time since we have posted so her is a much overdue update:

It has been 3 months and 10 days now, hard to believe.  Boomer has continued to trim down and we have moved to maintaining his weight now.   His energy is almost back to his old normal because yesterday he ran around the yard back and forth between Amber and me many times wagging his tail.

Here is a list of his posts amp normal that has come to be over the last 3 months.

When we walk to go potty in the front yard, he asks regularly to do a walk to the other side of the block and back a couple of times.

He has learned to do very fast circles when he want a cookie (I can’t believe how fast he turns without that extra back leg getting in his way).

Boomer now gets on our bed all the time with no assistance (and off).

He rarely slips on hard surfaces anymore and when he does, he gets right back up again as if nothing has happened.

He has learned to push back against the MBs that seem to try and knock him down.

Boomer has learned that he can get away with sleeping all night between Robert and me because he plays our heart strings when we tell him to get in his spot at the foot of the bed.

He manages going up and down the deck stairs (still scares me a bit and Robert doesn’t have the courage to watch).

Boomer has also learned how to ask to be scratched behind his left ear and on his neck where his back left foot used to do the job.  Along with this he has finally learned how to use the rug as a way of pacifying a left side itch.

He has learned a simple routine to help us put his RoughWear harness on so we are dressed and ready to go in under 10 seconds.

He can get in and out of the car without assistance now but still needs help with the truck.  He only goes in the truck when we go camping, something he dearly loves.

These are just a few highlights of a 3 month post amp Super Hero in my eyes.  I hope this gives new amputees and their owners insight on how life can go back to a comfortable norm, how precious and fun it is to live in every moment we are blessed with and have to share with our wonderful furbabies.

Tina

I know, dogs will be dogs and we should let them learn and not stand in the way of their attempt to establish their new normal after an amputation. But, Boomer overdid it yesterday and I am so sad to see him be lazy today.  Yesterday he did the 16 deck steps at least 6 or 8 times and that was a lot.  Then we have all our stairs inside and the fact he was so proud to be able to get up on the bed, he did that several times yesterday.  Also, he had troubles gaining his back foot after he got knocked down by MB Sammie on the kitchen floor (off of the carpets).  What a day.

Today, he realized he has a limitation with his discomfort and has requested help even getting up on the couch.  I gave him a good massage and he is now stretched out on my side of the bed sleeping.  I don’t know if he is dreaming or his leg is having spasms because only his back leg seems to be doing any twitching.  He has been panting some today and none of the other furry kids have been so I think he is definitely showing signs of discomfort.  To medicate or not, that is the question.  If he isn’t doing better tomorrow I will check with the vet before we head out to the lake.

Still living in the moment and thankful he is here for me to fuss over,

Tina

Yes, Boomer did it!!!

Hegot on the bed by way of the chest all on his own this morning!!!!  I am so proud of him and he is very proud of himself (very big smile and huge tail wags).

We are getting ready to go camping again this weekend and it looks the weather is going to be beautiful.  Hopefully Boomer won’t mind have a few more pictures taken of him enjoying himself.

Living in the moment,

Tina

Well, it has been 2 months and 2 weeks as of today since Boomers amputation.   I am happy to report, that Boomer is learning how to get on the bed by way of the chest at the foot of our bed.  He still needs a little help but I am sure he will be doing it on his own in a very short time.  That being said, we have finally removed all signs of a recovery room from our living room.  The mattress has been put back into the spare room.  It is so nice to have the house getting back to a normal.

Yesterday we took Boomer to the lake again and he enjoyed himself so much.  We stopped by Sonic and got him a cup of water because we didn’t bring any and while we were doing that we picked up some chicken poppers for him as well. It was easy to tell the food was yummy in his tummy by his big smile.

Friday we have planned another camping trip so Boomer and I are both looking forward to relaxing and de-stressing.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Making every moment count,

Tina

It has been 2 months and 10 days since Boomer had his back left leg removed.  Our camping trip was wonderful, however, he couldn’t make it up into the lawn chair like he used to.  But he did manage to jump on the futon in the camper and from their get a boost onto the bed.  He really had so much fun and you could see in his expression how he was so happy to go to the lake for 5 nights.  Being outside and relaxing with no stress was good therapy for both of us. Check out a couple of the pics I took of his 1st camping adventure since his amputation:

He was tuckered out by the end of the trip as you can see he was falling asleep before bedtime.

 

One more update:

I am amazed at his progress.  He is now going up and down the long set of step off of the deck.  He does this a couple times a day and goes out into the back yard with his 4 legged siblings.  It is fairly tiring but he seems so proud of himself and he is showing more independence with every new found normal.

I still find myself slipping into a sad thought pattern when I see him hobble uncomfortably from over doing it.  However, I realize sometimes they just have to test their boundaries.  With these test Boomer learns what he can and can’t do and I see his pride in accomplishment.  Seeing him so happy when he shows me he can do things is so powerful and heartwarming.  Here is to wonderful moments and realizations to all.

Tina

 

(My heart weighs heavy today as I report the great day we are having here.  I think of all the people here who are not as fortunate as we are to have such a good outcome and my heart goes out to all of you.  To those suffering a recent loss, to those who have gotten the bad news of cancer, and to those of you who are in the roller coaster recovery phase after an amputation.)

Boomer has had a very busy day today.  He was very excited to go for a car ride to the vet for his 2 month ampuversary check -up.  We are very happy to report everything is healing up very nicely and Boomer was given a clean bill of health!  YEAH!!!  He is down to 86 pounds and only has 11 pounds more to lose so his weight is coming off nice and steady with no problems.  The vet and staff were so proud of how well he is recovering and his weight loss, there was hugs and kisses all around him.  Yes, Boomer loved every minute of it.

To celebrate we went to PetSmart and picked up a few things.  Every time we go there he gets doted on and everyone wants to love on him.  They were all happy to hear about the positive 2 month check-up and gave him plenty of small treats.

Now we are back home and getting ready to go on his first camping trip since his amputation.  We are living in a very good moment right now.

Wish everyone a great day!

Boomer and Tina