My last entry

A portrait I took of Maddie last year...such a beauty...

This will be my last post to Maddie’s blog…despite Maddie being a fabulous example of amputation recovery…she died unexpectedly last night…
we went for our usual walk/run with her best bud Lillie and she seemed fine. When we got home I offered her dinner, she wasn’t interested, which wasn’t that unusual. Even though I feed her the best dog food, she isn’t fond of only dry food, so would eat it when she was ready. She went and slept in the family room with my husband and son. A little later he yelled to me that something was wrong with her…I ran in the room and it appeared that she had a seizure or something…my son and I attempted CPR while my husband called our vet (a very close friend). She felt she might have had a clot or something rupture and there was nothing to be done…but she came over anyway, but it was too late. I think she died instantly…
I am having a really hard time accepting it
I hope she didn’t suffer much
I try to be happy with the 4 months I got…but based on how well she was doing, I hoped for years…

I can’t come back to the blog, because it makes me too sad…all the sad stories…and now ours is sad too

I am trying to think of the glass as half full instead of half empty, but I just don’t see it that way right now…she was such a great dog…just too short a time with us.

Good luck to all the rest of you

Squaw Valley USA – 3 months as a tripawd!

I haven’t posted in months, so I thought it was about time. Maddie is doing great, running/walking/hopping up to 3 miles at a time. This is the farthest I have taken her, but she could go farther with a few rest stops! She NEVER refuses to go, sometimes she doesn’t climb the hills as much as Lillie but still covers a lot  of ground. She has been to the vet for a quick follow up in February and Dr. Joni thought she was doing fantastic, her lymph nodes were all normal. She is going in for a chest xray this week to make sure everything is good…
Maddie has really been an embassador for tripawd dogs, most people are simply amazed at how well she get along! The funny thing is that most people don’t ask what happened to her (I think they think it is rude to ask?!), they just look at her and point. When they do come up to her to pet her and find out what happened they think she is so cool! Her boys think she is cool now too…at first they were worried she would be a “freak” but now they realize how amazing she is! So if anyone out there is doubting their decision to amputate…don’t…it is the BEST think I could have done for her and our lives have changed very little so far. I can only hope it will stay that way.
Maddie and Lillie hang out at Squaw Valley while their boys snowboard. Wow do they need haircuts!
Maddie LOVES the snow...running like she has 4 legs...with an occasional tumble!
Squaw Valley is a really dog friendly place...they hung out on the patio of the lodge all day without a single complaint. And got to run in the meadow to boot! Last summer (before amputation) they even got to ride the cable car to the top and run through the meadows on a moonrise hike....talk about dog heaven!

getting in the water in the middle of winter...okay it was about 60 degrees out! Spring skiing in February!
Great way to cool off!
Maddie & Lillie love to play and as you can see in the following photos, Maddie is still the dominant female...three legged or not!
Okay, I need a rest now!

She’s back…

Maddie is really back to her old self…on our walks she pulls me on the leash! Maddie isn’t really a leash kind of dog, she is fortunate to live in an area where she gets off leash and runs to her hearts content! Which in turn makes the walking on the leash part of the walk the least favorite part. We go to the local school, cemetary (shhhh…don’t tell anyone!) open fields, etc. and the girls run like crazy. Ok, Maddie can’t run as fast as she used to but as of last Friday she is raring to go and only rests occasionally. It is a joy to watch and I only feel a little sad when she watches her crazy friend Lillie run so much faster. She is always happy to go and also happy to get home and take a nap (even though I think she hates to admit that it wore her out).

Update on Maddie

At our favorite off leash dog area- The Michael Douglas Family Preserve in Santa Barbara!
Maddie & Lillie (our Gordon Setter) shortly before surgery at our favorite off leash dog area- The Michael Douglas Family Preserve in Santa Barbara!
Maddie - 1 week after surgery with her t-shirt
Maddie - 1 week after surgery with her t-shirt
Maddie has recovered very nicely from her surgery. We are 16 days post surgery with no complications! Plus we got the good news that her cancer is not Osteosarcoma…sorry but I just can’t remember what the name of it is…?! But it is good news and it has not spread as her lymph nodes are clear. We are still going to consult with the oncologist to see if she needs additional treatment. I think her recovery went so well partly due to the fact that I work from home (sort of) and she is always with me. She also wears a t-shirt to keep her away from her incision. This has worked really well and her incision looks great.
We went for our first real walk at one of our favorite off leash areas and Maddie did great. Much slower and less stamina but she got along fine and it was great to see her buddy Lillie slow her pace a bit for Maddie.  They each worry about the other and Lillie has wondered about Maddie and yesterday she was so great. She is a serious runner, but she ran out briefly and then came back to check on Maddie. She never went to far and I was amazed how far Maddie could go before tiring. She stopped occaisionally but never refused to go! It was a great day.  I think Maddie has recovered so well, because she is an athletic dog that had been running off leash 4 or 5 days a week, prior to her cancer. She is a bit out of shape but I expect she will be able to go the distance in a few months.
Thanks for all the nice comments!
Maddie on one her first walks with my son
Maddie on one her first walks with my son
Maddie running at the preserve
Maddie running at the preserve

 

Just so Lillie doesn't feel left out...here is a picture of Lillie dressed up for xmas. I don't really dress my dogs but Lillie went with me to ring the bell and collect money for the Salvation Army..people can't resist her!
Just so Lillie doesn't feel left out...here is a picture of Lillie dressed up for xmas. I don't really dress my dogs but Lillie went with me to ring the bell and collect money for the Salvation Army..people can't resist her!

Maddie’s header photo

This photo was taken on the morning of her surgery…I took her and her best friend Lillie on a walk in the vineyard as we often do. I knew it would be hard for her, since she wasn’t using her leg much by now…but it didn’t slow her down! She was so excited to go and certainly overdid it, but I figured it really wouldn’t matter. The photo shows how happy she was! She was definitely tired by the time she got to the vets…and I was really feeling bad, but she just laid on the floor (which she never does) and I knew it was time.