Still Naughty

This is the post I dreaded most when I began this blog. I knew it would come and hoped it wouldn’t come too soon. Two years after our naughty tripawd became a tripawd at age 14, he passed away at age 16.5 on 3/22/2013. He has left us with sadness in our hearts, but also with a lifetime full of memories.

I first met Jake when he was 8 weeks old. He was wiggly and cute and always looking to get into something he shouldn’t. Stealing Chicken Parmesan leftovers from the table (jumping on the chair, then jumping on the table…you get the picture), chewing bed covers, and not listening in general.

As he grew up, his rein of naughtiness continued. Stealing sips of beer out of glasses/bottles, getting in the trash, and breaking into the “secure” dog food container. We still use the expensive horse feed container which proved to be the only dog food container he couldn’t crack. Stealing almost an entire pizza from my sister, who was NOT pleased. In addition to stealing and breaking and entering, Jake was probably the dog Poison Control received the most calls about in the history of the help line. “Hello, Poison Control, how may I help you?” “My Labrador Retriever just ate a pound of raw meat out of a pan on the stove…what should I do?” “Hello, Poison Control, how may I help you?” “My Labrador Retriever just chewed up a AA battery. I’ve got it out of his mouth, but he is shaking his head like he ate a jalapeno pepper”. “Hello, Poison Control, how may I help you?” “My Labrador Retriever just ate a tube of Neosporin, what should I do?”

Despite all of his naughty behavior, Jake was a really good dog. He loved nothing more than going out to the vegetable garden at the back of our property with my husband and snooping around while my husband Jason tilled the garden. I can still picture him over the last two years hopping out to the garden with almost the same speed he had when he was a four-legged dog. When I was quite ill a couple of years ago and was laying on the bathroom floor, he came and laid next to me and did not leave my side. He followed us wherever we went and always made us feel better when were were down.

Which brings us to the present time. A couple of months ago, vestibular disease entered Jake’s life. While vestibular disease is common in older dogs, it is much more challenging for a tripawd. Jake struggled to keep his balance, and couldn’t walk for almost two weeks. Due his incredible spirit, he was able to overcome the disease and was able to walk again. When Jake first became a tripawd, we bought him the tripawd vest, but never used it much, as he was quick to recover and did not need our assistance. However, when he was struck by vestibular disease, the vest became essential. I don’t know how we would have got through the past few months without it.

Even though Jake overcame vestibular disease, he began slowly deteriorating. I had a hard time seeing this decline. I’ve lost a significant amount of weight in the past two years and one thing I learned about myself in the weight loss process was that I tend to see what I want to see when presented with a difficult personal situation. So, although his eating slowed, I would find foods he liked and when he ate, comforted myself with his progress. Over the past week, I found myself propping him up in the dog pen so that he could stand. My husband started hinting that he wasn’t doing well, but I could only see the improvements from the day/week before. Luckily, Jake’s veterinarian is my mom. She came over for dinner this week and called me the next day to express her concerns about Jake’s state of being. On Friday morning, my husband told me that Jake couldn’t walk at all and that he had to carry him outside. We decided it was time.

On Friday evening, laying on one of our dog blankets, Jake left this earth surround by his dog pals, Labrador Retriever Biggby (age 2), and Labrador Retriever Daisy (age 1). Also in attendance was my mother (who administered his passing), my father, who assisted my mother (he works front desk and assists at another veterinary clinic), and Jake’s oncology surgeon, who is a close friend of the family and was the remover of his leg. I want to thank my mother for making this peaceful passing possible. She is a wonderful mom and a superb veterinarian. I also want to thank our oncology friend who made the last two years of Jake’s life possible and did an excellent job with his surgery. As I recall the day of the surgery, I remember her telling us how her technician was shocked about how naughty Jake was being in the moments before surgery prep began – he was getting into the trash in the surgery prep room. He was 14 years old and had a ruptured tumor on his front leg. But he still was geting into the trash, as he had done all of his life.

Over the past two years, Jake taught me a great deal about life. Although he had lost a leg, he didn’t let it stop him from doing the things he had always done. Until the last day of his life, every time he fell down, he struggled to get back up. His spirit was remarkable and I will carry it with me throughout my life.

On Saturday morning we were scheduled for a 5K and although I was not in the mood to go, I went. As I was leaving the house, I glanced over to see a quote I have on the refrigerator:

“I run because I can.

When I get tired, I remember those who can’t run,

What they would give to have this simple gift I take for granted, and I run harder for them.

I know they would do the same for me.”

So, I laced up my running shoes and I ran for Jake.

Jake drinking out of the lake after being told not to jump off the dock.

Last night my husband and I were at obedience class with our 5 month-old Lab puppy, Biggby. The class was covering “problem behaviors” such as jumping, barking, etc. As I was taking notes, I decided to make a list of Jake’s problem behaviors. Making this list was easy, as Jake’s problem behaviors are endless. Here is what I came up with:

• Sink Diving
• Counter Surfing
• Trash Diving
• Dishwasher Dish Preperation
• Barking at nothing
• Barking at people coming into the house
• Barking at cars
• Barking at bikes
• Toilet Drinking
• Not Listening…to ANYTHING

His latest old-three-legged dog escapade involves some of these behaviors (not listening, barking at bikes), but also includes a new one: chasing bikes. It all started out as a simple trip to the dog pen. In the past, I had not leashed Jake for the few feet walk from the house to the pen. However, due to the increase in “not listening” lately, I had been leashing him for these trips. It was a scorching hot day (95+ degrees) when I took Jake and Biggby out on the front porch to leash them up for the trip to the dog pen. I leashed up Biggby. As I was taking Jake’s leash off of the hook, a cyclist turned down our road. What I hadn’t realized was that the screen door had not latched properly the last time I had come into the house. At the exact moment I reached for the leash, Jake spotted the cyclist and busted the screen door open. It is important to note that I had not yet put my shoes on, as we keep all of our shoes on the front porch. As Jake roars down the driveway towards the road, I yell at and run after him, shoeless, with Biggby in tow. By the time I get outside, Jake is gone. He has cleared the driveway and has taken off after the cyclist down our road. I have been running in and training for 5Ks for the past year, but I can’t keep up with Jake. I actually think he is faster now than when he had four legs. Luckily, our road is a very low traffic road with approximately 10 residences. However, as I am running down our gravel driveway, I am worrying that he could reach the very busy crossroad that is less than a mile away. When I reach the street, I see the cyclist with Jake in pursuit. But I also see someone out for a walk. Why one of our neighbors was out for a walk in the hottest part of the day on one of the hottest days of the year I do not know, but I am forever grateful he was there. As Biggby and I ran down the road, the neighbor yelled out “What’s his name?” Upon my response, he called Jake, which slightly slowed him down and the neighbor was able to grab him. When Biggby and I caught up, I thanked him and grabbed Jake for the return trip home. Of course, Jake wasn’t up for going home, and stubbornly sat on the side of the road. Therefore, I had to drag an old, three-legged dog by the collar with one hand, and in the other try to control a very excited puppy on a leash. By the time we got back, I was soaked with sweat and the bottoms of my feet were slightly burned from running on the hot asphalt. Jake, on the other hand, wasn’t any worse for wear. But he did want a drink.

The moral of this story? Make sure the screen door is always latched and NEVER underestimate the speed of a 14 year-old three-legged dog.

This weekend Jake went back to the lake for the first time since losing one of his legs. He has always enjoyed playing in the lake and he still enjoys playing in the lake as a tripawd. He was wearing his new float coat and it worked great. His head always stayed above the water and he never flipped over. I can’t say that he enjoyed his float coat, as he spent a great deal of time trying to get it off, but it did it’s job and kept him safe.

The following is a video of Jake at the lake this weekend. I don’t think that Jake is actually swimming in any of these shots, as I was in the water teaching our 17 week-old Lab puppy (minus camera) how to swim when Jake was swimming in deeper water. Our Lab puppy Biggby has a role in the video as annoying sidekick.

Jake had a great weekend. He got to swim in the lake and jump off the dock (even though he was told not to jump off the dock). Life as a tripawd is good!

I am somewhat embarrassed to post this video. After chasing Jake around the house for a few minutes today, I decided to start recording his “journey” around the yard. As you can see, Jake does not listen to me. Never has, never will. I thought I could usher him back inside, but he had other ideas. I ended the video when he took off around the front of the house and I had to chase him. I found him in our neighbor’s garage with our neighbor and his Beagle and a visiting Basset Hound. Jake proceeded to root through boxes in the neighbor’s garage. I had to drag him by his collar all the way back to the house.

I also find it embarrasing when I can’t catch a 14 year-old three-legged dog. I have been running almost every day for a year and it is sad that Jake can give me a run for my money. Despite my embarassment, I wanted to post this video to show how well the old boy on three legs gets around.

Jake in the garden five days after amputation surgery.

This is Jake, our 14 year-old tripawd. Due to cancer, Jake’s left front leg was amputated on April 8, 2011. I started this blog for the same reason I started my personal weight loss blog: I want to provide support to others. Jake is much older than most dogs who undergo this surgery, and I wanted to share our success story in the hopes that it helps others facing a similar predicament.

Two summers ago, my mom and I were walking around my garden with Jake. As Jake ran past me, I noticed a small lump on his leg. My mom is a veterinarian, so I pointed out the lump. We had a biopsy done and discovered Jake had cancer. As the lump was not bothering him and the cancer was slow growing, we decided against amputation. At 12 years old, Jake was an active Labrador and we did not want to bring him misery in his final years. We thought it was likely he would die of another old-age ailment before the cancer became debilitating. We were wrong. The lump continued to grow slowly over the next two years until it reached the size of a baseball in March 2011. It was a this point that the lump ruptured and created a crater. It was time to make a decision that we thought we would never have to make: amputate or put him down. We were lucky to have my mom as a resource and she supported the amputation. Although Jake is elderly, he has always been a dog with a big attitude that had not dwindled in his latter years. She thought he was in good physical condition and had the kind of attitude that would lend him well in recovery. The bottom line was that she said if it was her dog, she would amputate. That’s all we needed to know to make the decision. We scheduled the surgery and prepared for life with a tripawd. About one week before the surgery, our other elderly dog, Skeeter, had a stroke and we had to put him down. This made the upcoming surgery more stressful for me and I prayed I would not lose two dogs in one week.

On April 8, 2011, my husband Jason drove Jake to the clinic for his surgery. I was very nervous about him not making it through the surgery. I was also worried that he would be miserable after the surgery and that he would die a sad shadow of his former self. I spent much of that day on the tripawds.com web site. I was consoled by the many stories of success. I had been on the site many times prior to Jake’s surgery, and had already ordered his harness and a new orthopedic dog bed. Word soon came that Jake’s surgery went very well and he was recovering nicely. Whew! But I was still nervous about how he would do with just three legs. When he arrived home, he was very happy to see us. We couldn’t use his new harness until the incision healed, so we put him in a t-shirt and used that to help get him up and down the stairs. We thought that we would be doing this for several weeks or possibly for the rest of his life. Again, we were wrong. One day after surgery, he jumped up and ran across the floor. Two days after surgery, Jake ran up the stairs. He wasn’t supposed to do this, and I tried to stop him, but if you knew Jake, you would know he does not listen very well. While I was glad he could go up the stairs on his own, he was supposed to be resting. Needless to say, there were other unauthorized stair trips. By the time he was finally approved to use his harness, he didn’t need the harness for going up and down the stairs.

It is now June, and Jake is still doing well. He lives the same life on three legs as he did on four legs. He still gets into the trash, into the sink, and opens doors with his remaining front leg. The other day he ran across the floor and I caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye. I wondered why he was limping. He wasn’t limping. I had just temporarily forgot that he had three legs and moved differently. Many people have commented about “poor Jake” after his surgery. I always tell them to take no pity on this naughty dog as he gets up to no good just as much with three legs as he did with four legs. Just yesterday he went charging out the back door at our next door neighbor, running as fast as he ever did, with me yelling at him the whole time. When I finally caught up to him, I apologized to the neighbor who commented “Oh, that’s just what Jake does”. He also remarked that he was getting around just as he had with four legs. I think everyone is starting to realize that Jake is just as happy with three legs as he was with four. Probably happier now that he doesn’t have a large mass on his leg.

Jake sinkdiving

I hope that this story helps someone who is trying to make a decision regarding amputation. I have a great concern with the “quality of life” issue in regards to my animals. I would not want them to unnecessarily suffer just because I couldn’t make a difficult decision regarding their fate. This was my greatest concern regarding amputating the leg of a 14 year-old dog. I cannot express enough the happiness I have regarding our decision to amputate Jake’s leg. His quality of life is great and he enjoys every day. Today, I received his floating vest in the mail so that he can swim again this summer. I can’t wait to see him fly off the end of the dock as he has done every year of his life.