Dozer’s Journey Update!
Well it’s been 25 days since my Dozer became a Tripawd! Thankfully, he is doing so much better now that he is off the pain meds and I feel so much relief in seeing his improvement! I was getting worried about him because at first he was doing well, then about 7-10 days after surgery I noticed he was unsteady, shakey, not eating or drinking, going off by himself alone in another room. I had amputation regret thinking, oh no, what did I do to this poor guy! I was hand feeding him and giving him ice cubes and squeezing water into his mouth because he just didn’t want to get up all the time.
At his two week follow up appointment at Tufts, they told me the cancer was nowhere else, YAY!!!! He was cleared to start his chemo and I was given the OK to stop the pain meds. His incision had healed very nicely, the surgeon at Tufts did an excellent job. I didn’t have any problems with his incision, which was scary to see the first time because his scar was quite large as he is too being a mastiff.
That night even after his 1st round of chemo he ate and drank, it was a relief. I can see him gaining more confidence, we started going for little walks, he wants to keep going but I have to remind him he has to get back home too. Every day we go a tad further and last night I had to walk even faster to keep up with him, being a Tripawd is not slowing him down. So happy I made this decision!
I bought a ramp for him to get in and out of my truck, but of course he has no interest in it. I had a ramp built on my back deck so he doesn’t have to use the stairs, no interest in that one either. But now that his incision is healed I am going to put the Ruffwear WebMaster harness I bought for him on him and try to get him familiar with ramps. I’m hoping the handle on the harness can help me direct him up and down the ramps.
Stay tuned……….
I am so thankful for the Tripawds community, it truly helped me when I was second guessing my decision, having access to read the forums during the middle of the night when the vets are all closed. Such a relief to know what Dozer was going through was normal and eventually things would get better. 
