Last fall, our beloved dog Jerry was diagnosed with bone cancer, had his leg removed and became a tripod dog. The vet told us that he would only survive about 4 months after the surgery. We moved quickly to sell our house and business so we could hit the road and give Jerry the life he always deserved.
This trip was our way of making up for all those long hours we worked, and devoting 100% of our time to playing and romping with him, while he still can. Every day with Jerry is precious to us; we are so grateful that 10 months later, he’s still happy and healthy.
Today was a milestone. We made it to the Atlantic Ocean, at Acadia National Park in Maine, and got to watch Jerry play in the ocean once again, just like he did for so many years at Samoa Beach in our old hometown of Eureka, California. He made it with us, all the way across the country, and dipped his three paws in the Atlantic. What a beautiful day this was.
Laying at my feet this afternoon, tightly banaged and barely awake due to morphine patches… is “Coco” our 9 year old companion, a red haired Chesapeake Bay Retriever…that we simply loved too much to let her go without a struggle.
Bone cancer, the bad one, showed up a few weeks back and we had a decision to make this past thursday night…so as a family we tried to offer up metaphors regarding her leg that was marked for amputation…such as were worried about removing her leg but consider laying her down to rest
In the end, all four of us were united and so yesterday i had the early am drive to the vets office to begin this journey…and it makes you cry doesnt it…take the house and throw the keys to everything else under the door…but we had no idea or warning that the soul mate in our midst was soon to leave us behind. The lump became a bump became a knot became a huge tennis ball leaving her lame in a short period of time…already working on three legs due to the pain
So after lots of reading and generally only a few options to follow, we trusted our vet although we mostly trusted Coco who has so much life yet to live to show us what needed to be done…she trusted us for 9 years surely we could make the right decision at the end of the jounrey…so what if its measured in months as most of us barely get that knowledge to say goodbye to people we love and care about now do we…time is relative to what you do with it
So sitting here, I thought I’d search “tripod dog photos” and yours came up first…seeking to see beyond today…hoping that there is a beyond…past this day of pain and discomfort…beyond this visual of Coco laying here minus her foreleg and so i am pleased to see your friend and companion enjoying life….gives me hope beyond the brightly wrapped bandages
thank you…for your time in sharing your story…made me smile for the moment, made me cry
made me smile…
take care
rodney
Thanks for the comment, Rodney and bless you for taking such good care of Coco! Please consider joining the Tripawd Discussion Forums where you can share your story in detail and get loads of support and advice from our growing community of people who totally understand what you’re going through … because they are too!
As a lover and breeder of dogs myself this article had me in tears as Ive had the same problems, and I know how distressing it can be. Sounds like you had a great dog in Jerry, good luck for the future guys.
Many thanks
best puppy trainer
Aww, such a nice story. Well im glad your all having the best of times and making the most of things. great post!
wish we could go swimming together….
It was great meeting you all today.
What a special dog!
You folks are pretty special too.
Much happiness and prosperity to you.
god bless jerry and god bless the two of you, so much love.
Hey guys – sorry this took so long, but if your still in Maine, go say Hi to my good friend Ginger at Fuji Sushi. Here is her email to me:
“Hopefully your friends are still here in Maine and having a great time. In case they are still in my neck of the woods, the restaurant where I work is called Fuji and the address is 29 Exchange St. It’s right in the heart of the Old Port and because Portland is so tiny it’s pretty easy to find. Also, Mainers are pretty good about giving directions so they can ask anyone on the street.
I don’t have a favorite lobster shack to recommend for lobster rolls (not dogs- but that’s funny!) the closest one to me that I like is Cathy’s on route one between Portland and Freeport but a good rule of thumb for all Maine seafood is to pick a place right on the coast. The more “shack-like” it looks, the better the food, generally. The best lobster rolls I’ve ever had have been further north around Acadia. The road into Bar Harbor has a bunch of seafood places and they’re all good.”
let me know what email you guys are using these days – can I still send to Rat or is that one long gone?
love you and miss you!
sd
I had to go grab a Kleenex after reading your post about
Jerry dipping his three paws in the Atlantic. How very cool.
Congrats to Jerry. Congrats to y’all. I’m going to go home and
hug my dog.
Long live Jerry!! Congratulations to all.