A decision I am so happy I made…
I have never written a blog before, but I wanted to talk about my amazing PiperGirl. She is an 11 1/2 yr old yellow lab we call PiperGirl, although her given name is Piper Cub. She has been the most amazing dog, daughter, friend and big sister. She loves to run, swim, dig in the sand, take long walks, wrestle with her daddy, snuggle with her little sister, and gives the best puppy kisses! A few months ago she wasn’t being quite herself. Some limping after her long walks, or swimming at the beach. We attributed it to old age, arthritis, possible hip dysplasia. We upped her glycosamine, and tried not to overdo it. Lately her limps were getting worse and we decided to talk to her vet again. She gave her an anti-inflammatory shot, put her on pills and said if she wasn’t better in 2 weeks we would x-ray her hips. Well, she was doing a little better, but “had” to chase a squirrel in the backyard and went right back to limping. Took her for her x-rays and it was revealed she had the beginning of hip dysplasia in her right hip. We continued with the anti-inflammatory, added pain killers and hoped she would improve. When she didn’t, it was decided on Monday, Sept. 19, that she needed to see an orthopedic surgeon. The vet thought she may have torn ligaments in her right knee.
On Wed. Sept. 21, we went to see the ortho and my worst fears came true. She had cancer in her right knee. The doc told me my options and I knew that I couldn’t let her go. She was too full of life, playing with other dogs in the waiting room, wagging her tail, giving kisses…So, I managed to reach my husband, who is serving in Iraq, and we both decided amputation was the right choice.
On Thurs., Sept. 22, my little Piper had her surgery. She was so brave, walked back to the OR tail-wagging, didn’t even look back at me. On Friday, my 5 yr old daughter and I went to get our PiperGirl – PG for short, and now PG3 🙂 She was so happy to see us, tail-wagging, sparkling eyes, gave us lots of kisses, and I knew I made the right choice. I told my daughter that we needed to be strong and brave for Piper, that we had to tell her how great she looked because Piper would be sad about losing her leg. So, the first words out of my precious daughter’s mouth to her were “Piper, you look great!”
After a few hours at home at Friday, I began to doubt my decision, I wasn’t sure anymore if I did the right thing. Piper was out of it, eyes hanging, nose running, crying, panting, unstable even with the sling…it was awful. I wasn’t able to maneuver my 80 lb girl on my own. I thought to myself, what am I going to do? I can’t do this on my own!! What did I do, my God, what did I do?! Family and friends tried to support me with phone calls and uplifting talks on how strong I was…I didn’t feel strong, I felt helpless. I felt like I made a horrible mistake. But, I tried to sleep that night and hoped for the best for the next day.
The next morning, after only about 3 1/2 hours of sleep, I walked downstairs to a smiling, tail-wagging dog and thought, oh yea, I so did the right thing. It has been 3 days since her surgery and PG3 is doing wonderfully. She is getting up on her own, walking a little on her own in her confined room, and not relying too heavily on the sling when I take her out to do her business. I know we have a long road ahead of us, but our future looks bright…and happy.
it is easy to have doubts when you are low on sleep and deep in the recovery period, but you did the right thing! Once PG3 is off the pain meds and her stitches/staples come out, she should be back to her old self. Usually around the 10-14 day range it starts to just be all good!
She sounds like a very special girl! All the best to her for a quick and uneventful recovery!
Sending virtual hugs and healing Abby kisses,
Jackie, Abby’s mom
well, bless your heart!! it’s very scary, and the first two weeks can be tough, but know that it will get better. piper sounds like a brave girl (like her mom and dad and sis), and she’ll teach you alot as a tripawd. paws crossed for a speedy recovery – pictures, we need pictures!!!
charon & gayle
Sounds like Piper Girl is doing great! Thanks for sharing her story, best wishes for a speedy recovery! Please keep us posted on her progress.
Tears are flowing… I am so happy for you that you still have your baby girl. As you know, I know all to well the pain that comes when you have a dog with cancer. I am so glad that she & you are doing so well!! Dogs are such amazing friends & you are doing everything that you can for her, to keep her happy & healthy. I wish you the very best!
Life finds a way. We have had some miracles in our lives my wife. Thank you for being so persistent with our Piper Girl. If you hadn’t kept taking her back to the Vet we would never have know she had cancer till it was too late. Great blog too. I love you guys!
We love you too Honey…
Thank you everyone for your kind words. It is so wonderful to know that there are websites like Tripawds that are out there to help people understand what it’s like to go through what we go through. Tripawds has helped me tremendously in my desire to arm myself with as much information as I can to help my little girl and give her the best life possible. Thank you Tripawds for being there!
Welcome to the group no one wants to join but find so much love and support in. Piper Girl sounds precious! The first couple of weeks can be a roller coaster of emotions but know that you know PG3 the best and therefore make the best decisions for her.
Good luck and keep us posted. And as others have said, we love to see pictures.
A special thank you to your husband for serving this country.
Ginger and pawrents
I would love to post more pics, just haven’t figured out how yet! Thank you for your kind words….for our PG3 and my hubby 🙂
love, love, LOVE the picture with the goggles- totally brought a smile to my face. The first 2 weeks are the toughest, and when you are doing it by yourself, that adds extra stress (thank you to your husband for serving our country, by the way!). Once Piper Girl gets off the meds, she will seem like her old self, but there are ups and downs a lot during the first couple weeks. You have definitely come to the right place for support- these people are wonderful and amazing. Hang in there, you can do it!
Jenna & Spirit Chili Dawg