Author: hannah

I know it has been awhile since my mom helped me with a post. But I had to share my dogcation!

My mom took me to Oakland California to go to the Bark in the Park event at O.co home of the Oakland A’s!

It was great fun. We got to meet Austin Rae of the Oaktown pack and his brother Smokey who had 4 legs  and I got to see my favorite 3 legged golden retriever Shelby again!

It was a small but mighty representation of Tripawds! But there were 3 of us which is quite appropriate for 3 legged dogs! 3 is the magic number!

Here are a few pictures.

I told my mom to wake me when it struck midnight so that I could Bark in the New Year! But she said she just couldn’t when I was so cute sleeping! So I slept through the midnight celebration but I refuse to sleep through 2014!

Wishing all of you lots of health and happiness in 2014!

May you all have a safe and happy Christmas! Wishing you all health and happiness in the New Year!

Ok they are any dog Banana Pops – but my mom made them for us and I wanted my mom to share the recipe because she said that it is such an easy, healthy fun recipe for a nice refreshing summer dog treat! I had my first one (ok I asked for a 2nd) tonight! I ate them too fast for my mom to get a picture of me eating them!

Here you go:

1 cup plain whole milk yogurt (healthy for us dogs, make sure you get the good stuff with all the live stuff in it)

2 tbsp peanut butter (we like chunky but you can use either)

1 banana (good for everyone)

Mix all together in a blender or food processor and this size recipe is the exact fit for one standard size ice cube tray! Fill the tray and freeze and then pop out, now if you have a gulper, you might want to fill the bottom of a 16 oz. plastic cup (you know the red costco ones)  and freeze for a bigger size (my brother is a gulper and almost choked, next time my mom will make him one in a cup) Me I can handle the little size, I don’t gulp it, I enjoyed it melting in my mouth long enough for me to break it up and eat it! Enjoy!

I have no challenges, my life is great! I can do what any other dog can do, I might not look as graceful doing it, but that does not stop me! Now my mom on the other hand seems to have a few challenges in caring for me, I really don’t know why, if she would just go with the flow and take my lead there would be NO challenges!

But my mom is concerned for my health, safety and longevity, one never knows how long we will live but we all know we must stay strong and healthy and live life to the fullest while we have it. My mom really wanted to be the one to help me get and stay strong, she thought she found the answer with Mr. Tony, the CCRT that came to the house and showed us an at home program, while he had LOTS of great new PROM exercises for me that my mom can and does do with me, my mom says I need much more than PROM to increase my strength because while I am strong, I need to build more muscle because I have none.

The exercises that Mr. Tony did show us to really help build muscle and get stronger , my mom couldn’t do with me, because she wasn’t strong enough! Go figure right!!! It could be that we were trying to use a human exercise ball instead of a peanut which is  more designed for a dogs body, but we didn’t have a peanut!

So my mom’s solution??? She is taking me back to the professionals, to help me build up more muscle, then she can be the one to help me maintain that muscle with the PROM routine that we have.

She also says that grooming me is a challenge but she says she will save that for some other time! =)

Well it is official I have been told I have no muscle! Which in reality is a good thing because now we know…everyone always tells my mom that I am too SKINNY…but my mom knows she has to keep my weight down and feels I am just right, you can’t see my ribs, but what we found out from my very special visit from Mr. Tony, the CCRT is the reason I look so skinny is because I have NO Muscle in my lower back, butt, or my existing rear leg! Ok maybe NO is a slight exaggeration because if you follow my blog you know I have made great strides from where I was to where I am now, so there is some muscle there but I just don’t have as much muscle as other dogs!

I won’t let that stop me though, we are dedicated to getting me to BE MORE DOG, it will just take me longer than most, but that is ok, I have my whole life! We have been doing lots of the right things so far, which made my mom feel good, but in reality we were not building new muscle, we were just maintaining the little muscle that I have. We added some really tough exercises (tougher on my mom, she will be getting a work out also) that will make me use my lower back and hind end more!

I was able to prove a point to my mom though because Mr. Tony told us that dogs playing together really is a good form of therapy, it is just NOT enough therapy! =)

Mr. Tony also made a really good point about me not being born with any muscle, so unlike Tripawds that had good muscle structure going into an amputation, I didn’t have that at all, so we really are starting at the beginning, but we will get there and the next time my mom takes me for a photo shoot you won’t see my back end sloping down like it is in this photo! I will stand strong and tall!

My mom really likes the posts on Tripawds.com about physical therapy ideas to do at home, because she really wants to help me get and stay strong and knows that my daily walks are not enough. Even though I try to tell her over and over that my wrestling with my pack members is all I need, she doesn’t believe me.

My mom was really excited about finding a local certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist via the post http://downloads.tripawds.com/2013/03/07/conservative-management-alternative-to-leg-knee-and-hip-surgeries-for-tripawds/ .  The CCRT she found will come to our house and make up a plan for me to get stronger, he uses the equipment that we have here.

Since I don’t like walking on the couch cushions, and couch cushions are a great idea for an unstable surface to walk on to increase my core strength.  I  would much rather lay on the couch cushions, she found these dog beds (well really a friend found them for us) and my mom got some and has practiced with me walking across them. I do like them better than couch cushions, but after taking a couple trips over the dog beds,  I decided to take a break and lay on them also!

I was rescued 12/21/11, I was 3 mos old, I was born with a disability with my rear legs and one of them had to be removed and I became a Tripawd 2/16/12, I was only 5 mos old! When I was 8 mos old, in May of 2012, my existing rear leg had to be surgically repaired and here I am today at a year and a half old, living the good life, my foster family was so impressed by my spirit and love for life that I was adopted by them! Now I am happy, healthy and hopping on 3 legs! I am so happy that there is going to be  a Tripawd Awareness Day! We are going to show the world that 3 legged dogs ROCK!

Some of the wedding photos!

My 1 year Ampuversary and I am getting married!

Who would have thought that a puppy that nobody wanted because I was born defective would have come so far!

But thanks for the fabulous people in Dog Rescue who can see beyond the imperfection and give dogs like me a 2nd chance and for families that see how truly special we are and for wonderful support groups like Tripawds who give our families the support they need to make it through some really tough times!

I can’t wait to celebrate all of these things on Monday. Can you come celebrate with me?