# Ted is now a tripod



## Capehank (Aug 3, 2005)

My boy Ted had a major surgery yesterday. As you can tell from the title, he had a leg removed. The right front to be exact. He had a tumor in and around the bone. We will know more about the tumor in 2 weeks.

He is resting nicely and is getting around just great. We are very careful when we go outside as it is snowy and icy here. He has to navigate 3 steps when we go out, and is doing nicely. 

Any advice about what he will be able to do and not able to do now would be appreciated.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

I am so sorry this was necessary, but from everything I have read, dogs adjust to being tripods pretty darn well. It's harder on the humans than the dogs.


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## sharlin (Feb 26, 2007)

I'm sure Alan & Tuff will reassure you that NOTHING has to be curtailed at all. TuffDog is a constant blur of motion and fun and GoldenLove. Bless you for taking the tougher road and keeping Ted a part of your love.


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## Capehank (Aug 3, 2005)

Fostermom, you are soooo right. It is harder on us. He is doing very well. I love seeing his tail wag.

Sharlin, thank you. I am assuming I will need to get Ted a life jacket for our summer swimming trips. We would never have let this stop Ted from being in our lives. We can deal with a tripod, I do not think we could deal with losing Ted.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Ted*

Your Ted is just beautiful=I know he will adjust just fine.


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## goldencontriever3 (Nov 7, 2008)

I am sorry Ted had to go through this but so glad to hear he is doing well. I am sure this is just a bump in the road and he will adjust quickly. Give Ted a big hug from us.


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

Animals do very well when losing a limb. I'm sure he'll be acting like normal in no time. He won't even know he only has 3 legs!


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## Capehank (Aug 3, 2005)

Thank you everyone. Just to get this in perspective for all of you. My husband went into the hospital on Jan 14th, had part of his colon removed and came home on Jan 23. We took Ted to our local vet on Mon the 24th, he made the appointment for us at a specialist on the 25th. Ted's surgery was the 26th and now both are home. Whew. What a way to start the new year.

Here is Ted on the pillow, and his sister Izzy close by.


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## goldencontriever3 (Nov 7, 2008)

Capehank said:


> Thank you everyone. Just to get this in perspective for all of you. My husband went into the hospital on Jan 14th, had part of his colon removed and came home on Jan 23. We took Ted to our local vet on Mon the 24th, he made the appointment for us at a specialist on the 25th. Ted's surgery was the 26th and now both are home. Whew. What a way to start the new year.
> 
> Here is Ted on the pillow, and his sister Izzy close by.


 
Wow sounds like you have had your hands full. Hope your husband and Ted heal quickly.


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

awww they are so beautiful <3


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## Capehank (Aug 3, 2005)

goldencontriever3, thank you. Both are where they need to be to heal. Now that Ted is home, I do not plan on leaving the house till Tuesday.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Praying*

Praying for your Hubby and Ted.


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## janine (Aug 8, 2009)

Good thoughts and prayers for Ted and your husband...I hope they are both going to be fine.


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## Capehank (Aug 3, 2005)

*First morning at home*

Today is a new day!!! Ted is doing great. We got up at 3 am, we all went outside while the snow is falling and all went well. Up again at our usual 6:45, outside again. Breakfast was served for the furbies for those who wanted to eat, the rest of us went back to sleep. 7:45 the house woke up. Coffee was made, more breakfast was consumed. Ted is learning to navitage very well. It is hard at times with the snow and ice, but we are doing great.

I could see so much improvement when we all woke up, Ted is already getting back into his routine of prewashing the breakfast dishes. :wavey:

My hubby is doing well too. He is happy to have Ted home as well and to have that stress gone. 

You know it is amazing how life works. My husbands problem started back in December when he was hospitalized with diaverticulitis (sp). During that time I put new tires on my vehicle. The very next day, the weather was horrible and I was glad I had new tires under me. The hospital is about 30 miles away from home. Then in January, he was hospitalized again. Yup you guessed it, snowy weather again. After he was released, we were faced with Ted. To treat Ted, we had to travel 100 miles to the animal hospital. Each trip we had pretty good weather, some snow but not much. Today, the snow is coming down and I bet the travel would have not been very pleasant. There is definitely someone watching out for me, Thank you Dad!!!!


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## mainegirl (May 2, 2005)

Would you please tell your teddy and your dh to please get well, I AM SO SICK OF SNOW, and if they are making this happen............... tell them to knock it off.
I am so sorry you had to go through all of this, make sure you watch out for yourself too, since you are playing nursey to everyone.
beth, moose and angel


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm sorry to hear about all of your tribulations. I wanted to echo what others were saying about how well a dog can take to losing a front leg.

One piece of advice: if Ted is at average or higher weight, try to take a few pounds off of him. I haven't seen a picture, so perhaps he's already ideal, but I thought it was worth mentioning as keeping a dog on the low side of ideal can make it easier and protect the remaining front leg, since it's going to see extra stress from now on. It's also easier for the dog to learn and maintain the new gait if there's less weight to shift around.

If you look at Alan K's Tuff, you'll see that he's kept him beautifully lean.


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## Rob's GRs (Feb 25, 2007)

Here is to hoping that this will be the end of Ted's health issues, and nothing more will be needed to do that tumor, and he can now adjust and happily move on with life.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Today is a new day-that it is.

I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's health problems and about Teddy- sounds like he's doing wonderfully. 

Life is full of challenges-thorugh these challenges we find strength and resilliance that we never knew existed within ourselves.

Teddy will do great in life as a Tripod, he will surprise you and amaze you-he is a very special boy. As you said, life without him would have been so much harder. 

I wish your husband a speedy recovery-take care of yourself, you have them both counting on your strength to get them through.


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## Noey (Feb 26, 2009)

hoping everyone is doing well today. Human and Golden.:wavey:


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## tanianault (Dec 11, 2010)

Sending warm thoughts your way for both your husband's and Teddy's full recovery - extra warm thoughts are in there, too, for you to take care of yourself as well.

- Tania


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## C's Mom (Dec 7, 2009)

Glad to hear that Hubby and Ted are on the mend. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.


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## GoldenCamper (Dec 21, 2009)

I am glad Ted and your husband are doing well. I believe Ted will adjust just fine. One of the regular dog walkers around here has a lab mix named Bailey. She lost her leg at 4yrs of age due to bone cancer and will be celebrating her 12th birthday this year  She has recently slowed down a bit with some arthritis, but when she was younger could keep up with all the other dogs and do all the normal doggie things, no problem. This was taken a little over 2 years ago. She came over to greet me then realized Tucker was trying to mooch some treats from her dad.










She has been wearing a boot to protect her front paw for several years because she tore up her pad once zooming around like a crazy girl.


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## Capehank (Aug 3, 2005)

Thank you all for your words of wisedom. The weight issue is on target. Ted will have to lose some weight, which we will work on. As soon as he is healed we will resume our daily walks. 

Thank you again.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

i was going to post about keeping him as lean as possible to keep as much strdss as possible off his other lleg, but smeone beat me to the punch.

it is amazing how fast they adapt. a few years backi went to my vt to get something for my dogs and i could hear what i knew was either a puppy or small dog back in the icu/work area scaeaming. it was heart breaking. i asked abut it andwanda told me it wa a rottie pup with a crushed leg.

the ownes had lost their lat rottie and had gotten litter mate pups. wer coming in to get i think it was their 3 vax when their suv rolled. it turns out one pup was thrown out and the suv actually rolled on him--they couldn't find him at first. the other pup was shakenm, but not injured. when they did find the 2ed pup one of his legs (i didn't ask which one) wa crushed.

the owners wanted rickey to "fix it" and he told them he didn't think it was possible as it wa so badly damaged, but if they wanted to try to sve the leg take him to a specialist in houston. but they didn't want one other than rickey to work on the pup.

rickty just flat refused. he said in his opinion it would just be putting the pup thru a long hard surgery and it would still end up going into surgery again to have the leg removed. aSo the pup was there in icu waiting for it's owners to decide waht to do.,

i was back in a few weeks later and i aked about the pup. the owners had finally agreed to hae it's leg removed. wanda said that within 3 days it was running around liek it had always only had 3 legs. she said she thinks it had forgotten it had had a 4th leg.

the only other tri=pod i know of is a great dane of a friend. Dandi fell down stairs and killed nerves in rear leg and it had to be amputated. she did great and died of old age.

i am sorry your der one had to hav leg amputated. i had to make that choice back in '97 with my Irish Sette, who was almost 12 1/2 and had arthritis in his shoulders (this was rear leg) and even tho our hearts said amputate, our minds said no, it was not right to do that as his age and with arthritis already set in.

as a side not, my mom had colon surgery back in '85 for tumor and did really great. so prayers for both you hubby and for ted.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

AlanK can answer any question you might have, Tuff dog has three legs and it doesnt slow him down at all. I will keep him and your hubby in my prayers that they continue to improve from their surgeries.


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## AlanK (Jun 28, 2008)

First I hope your husband is doing better and his recovery is quick. Im sorry to hear about Ted losing his leg. I hope that everything associated with the tumors is gone.

I will predict Ted will get used to his 3 legged status quickly and resume most activities as before. He has the Golden Heart and love of life and his family.

My boy Tuff gets around with his 3 as well as most 4 leggers. He is always ready to go for a walk and up for a Jolly Ball session. He can run like the wind. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. 
Here is Tuff waiting for our afternoon walk If you click his pic in my signature he is climbing the rock in our front yard!


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Hope both your hubby and Ted continue to heal well!

Two short stories:

1 - I met a small poodle a few months ago - she came bounding over to me and my dog. I said to her owner, what happened? (Car accident) I said how long ago? THREE MONTHS. This dog was bounding around like she'd always had three legs.

2 - I saw a Lab the other day, went bounding over to my dog, leaping about. Took me fully five minutes to even notice he had only three legs.

It is amazing how well they adapt and get on with the fun that is life.

Good luck to you all!


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## AtticusJordie (Aug 15, 2006)

Hope your hubby and Ted recover quickly.

I did have a suggestion--but having never dealt with this situation, I'm hoping others with a lot more experience would chime in to see if I'm on the right path...

You mentioned that Ted will now have to negotiate 3 steps. Would be easier on his front leg if you included a ramp along one side of the stairs (assuming there is enough room there) so he could use the ramp instead of the stairs. Might be less traumatic on his front leg in the long run?

What does everyone else think?

Good Luck!

Scott J.


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## Jax's Mom (Oct 16, 2009)

Wow, rough start to the new year. Here is hoping that all goes uphill from here! Many well wishes for your husband, Teddy and your whole family!


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## GoldensGirl (Aug 2, 2010)

The good news about a year that starts this way is that you know the rest will be better.

Thank heavens for new tires! Someone was indeed watching over you.

I'm so glad that your husband and Ted have both come through surgery well and are home recovering.

A friend's mother has a three-legged dog and I'm told that he is quite an actor. When he's with family, he can run his four-legged pack-mates ragged. But when there are pitying guests around, he plays quite the cripple and persuades them that a poor handicapped dog must be given special treats and cuddles. 

Healing thoughts and prayers for your husband, Ted and for you.


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

I am so glad Ted is doing so well with three legs. Our Selka had bone cancer in his shoulder and he was 11 with some hind leg issues (neropathy) so amputation was not an option for him. He only lived 7 weeks post diagnosis due to the pain. But I know he wouldn't have been able to get around on three legs due to his weak back legs and they would have had to remove his shoulder also. In a way, it is good Ted is young and healthy otherwise. He will do fine like the other dogs mentioned here.

Sending prayers for your husband too.


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## Mayas way (Jan 23, 2011)

*Bravo!*

Nice goin' all the way around. We had a dog very similar to a prior post (yellow lab mix Bailey) in our local park. First time I saw her my heart sank, kept thinking a doggie bike was in order. Then I unleashed our pups and the tri exploded past everybody, huge smile and just kept on, and on.... She moved later; my loss. ~Dave


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## BajaOklahoma (Sep 27, 2009)

When the surgical site heals, you may want to explore some water therapy. It easily strenghtens muscles, while the excercise can help with weight loss. Win-win.

Best wishes for a quick recovery for both of the guys in your life.


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## MilosMommy (May 24, 2010)

I am just now reading this thread and I really hope Ted recovers quickly! I can only imagine how you are feeling about all of this. It makes me feel so selfish for being so upset about my dogs THR surgery he just had. He's on 3 legs now, but not forever. Sending positive thoughts your way!!!


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## Doreens (Mar 1, 2007)

Im so glad your Ted is doing so well Bless you what a handful you have had on your plate. Sending prayers for your husband as well. So glad everthing with the surgery went well.

Hope everyone gets stronger and stronger.

wishing you all well wishes

hugs from us all


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## Capehank (Aug 3, 2005)

Thank you for all of your kind words. Ted is doing very well navigating the outside stairs, even with the snow and ice. A ramp, we think would not be in his best interest as it would become very slippery with the snow and ice. He is a very strong boy and we are very pleased at his progress. 

This morning he decided that my temporary bed (mattress on the floor in the middle of the livingroom) looked very comfortable. He had confidence in himself and hopped on the mattress. That was 6:45am, it is now 10:30am and Ted is still sleeping comfortably. 

Below is Ted relaxing. His left leg is hidden by the sleeping bag.


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## Capehank (Aug 3, 2005)

I was wondering how Ted was going to handle peanut butter in his bone. Well he figured it out. I am soooo glad.


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## Capehank (Aug 3, 2005)

It has been a week since Ted's surgery. He is doing great. I on the other hand, still get upset when telling others about it. I hope that in natural.

Ted is beginning to roll in the snow and get up without hesitating to shake. He was unsure about his balance at first, but he got the hang of it.

My husband is also doing great. The last stressful day was about how to get supplies that would be covered by our insurance. We found a place and his supplies will be shipped to the house.

Thank you for all or your thoughts.


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## goldencontriever3 (Nov 7, 2008)

So glad to hear Ted and your husband are doing well. Please take care of yourself also. Keeping you all in our prayers.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

Dogs adapt so well to things like this!! Hugs to your sweet tripawd Ted


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

Great news for you that hubby and Ted are on the recovery trail. May they continue to heal rapidly and well!


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

So happy to hear he is progressing well. He certainly looks comfy on your bed! Continuing to send good wishes...


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## Capehank (Aug 3, 2005)

Today Ted decided to lay in the snow and roll around a bit. He must be feeling a lot better. He is also getting into his old routine of laying in the single stall shower while we are gone. Oh yes, he has found the couch too. I am very happy with his progress.

My hubby had his dr. appointment today. All went well, he is on the road to recovery as well.


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## AlanK (Jun 28, 2008)

Capehank said:


> Today Ted decided to lay in the snow and roll around a bit. He must be feeling a lot better. He is also getting into his old routine of laying in the single stall shower while we are gone. Oh yes, he has found the couch too. I am very happy with his progress.
> 
> My hubby had his dr. appointment today. All went well, he is on the road to recovery as well.


It sounds like things are going good for Teddy and your husband! I hope all continues on the good track!


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## Noey (Feb 26, 2009)

Glad to see he is doing well . . . hope your husband is too.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Ted E. Bear*

So glad to hear that your Husband and Ted E. Bear are doing well.
I just love the picture of Ted laying on the mattress!! What a doll!!


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