Stinky Ging

Happy Halloween! Ginger is doing well but itching her ear again, we kept her away. She stayed inside for her leg and because of other dogs, but dressed up as a bow tie monster. It will be two more weeks before we get more news of what cancer she had, but they’ve run more tests and so it far it looks as though it hasn’t spread! Should we start her physical therapy soon?

There isn’t much more to say, she’s been jogging a little and we’ve let her. Is this okay? About what should we be doing at this stage?

Thank you for all your help, happy late Halloween!

Keira

IMG_1957 video here

So, I didn’t keep my promise, but I’m here today! Ginger was positively ecstatic to get her cone off, maybe she was too excited… I noticed when I got home she was scratching her ear earnestly and the whole area was covered in blood. We made her lay on a towel and wiped away most of the blood, but we couldn’t get most of it that was inside the ear. We made her stop scratching and she hasn’t done it since, but the ear worries me. The entire area around it was bloody, but she was mostly scratching inside the ear and she got really deep. We don’t know why she was scratching her ear so furiously or if her ear’s okay. It could have been a bug bite, but we want to be safe. Should we go to the vet about this? If anyone has any tips/info, please put it in the comments!

But otherwise, Ginger is living the life stitch and cone free and hasn’t been messing with her stumpy leg at all! Here’s a photo of her!

She was feeling too lazy to turn around so I could get a picture of her amputation, maybe next time! NO promises on when I’m doing my next post, I’ve learned my lesson (:

Keira

Sorry for not posting on Friday as promised! It got too late and my weekend was crazy. Ginger’s still walking around but we’re enforcing bed rest again. We make sure her walks are very short and keep a close eye on signs of fatigue! She’s getting her stitches and her cone removed tomorrow! It’s a small step, but a step nonetheless. After the first couple days of drowsiness and whining, Ginger has bounced back to her stinky silly self. We heard dogs did very well with this, but we were all amazed at how good she’s doing. Hopefully I keep this new promise and send an update tomorrow on how she’s doing cone- and stitchless. Here’s a video of her walking: 68826458640__599732C3-C923-4D29-8348-64C8772B2B3F

It’s not very clear at the beginning, but you can see her hobble pretty well at the end as she runs back to the carpet to eat her Puperoni, because it’s just not fancy enough to eat it there on the hardfloor 😁

Keira

It’s almost Ginger’s one-week anniversary as a Tripawd! She’s the best pill taker ever, she gobbles up her vitamins and painkillers like treats. I didn’t know she would be this positive; she seems to have no idea her leg is missing at all! She has tried to get at the stitches a couple times, but the cone has done its work, thankfully. I was doing some mental stimulation with her while she was on bed rest; she’s an easily frustrated dog and won’t work too hard, but we did some easy stuff and she was pretty happy. We’ve started going on short walks outside of the backyard and letting her move around whenever she wants. Should we still enforce rest, or is this a good stage to give her a little more freedom? She’s still living off scraps mostly, she’s learned if she makes us pity her we won’t make her eat her kibble, ha ha 😅 She has yet to stumble and is INCREDIBLE at balancing; however, it’s pretty obvious she’s working that remaining left leg. We still don’t know what type of cancer she had, we’re just keeping our fingers crossed she’s okay and it didn’t spread. Ginger can be a drama queen and is super spoiled, she is loving her special sick treatment. I bought my friend with four dogs doggie bow ties for her birthday and kept a couple for Gingy when she gets her cone off, which will also be when I get to start doing her leg exercises with her! If you’ll let me brag for a second, I’m a great dog trainer and Ginger has learned sit, shake, down, up, lay, drop, roll over, and spin (though sometimes drop is a little glitchy… like I mentioned in my last post, cute and stubborn). I looked at some videos, including exercises specially for dogs who have lost hind legs, and I think we’re going to go with up down side to side stretching for core strength, including touching her remaining hind leg and her head, plus weaving cones and repetitive sit-lay commands. Like I said, she’s easily frustrated but if there’s easy treats involved, she’s in. Please put suggestions for more exercises in the comments!

Thank you for your tips and kind words, and I’ll give an update on Stinky soon!

Keira

Ginger has already come so far, and she’s extremely impatient she doesn’t get to show it off! She’s been going out to the backyard with us and walking around a few yards every few hours. She hasn’t stumbled once and has the most incredible balance. On the first day, her only problem was learning how to stand up by herself, but already she’s gotten that down! We’ve still confined her to our renovation living room/bedroom/bathroom/kitchen/storage space, but I’m a little worried about if she sneaks off; there’s plenty of debris and sharp things a new Tripawd would not do good to step on! We’re planning on having mostly hardwood floors in our new house, but lots of rugs, thankfully. We’ll also be getting doggy steps or ramps for our beds once she can use them, but we’re not sure IF she’ll use them, she’s such a stubborn but funny dog and she’s used to hopping up/down wherever she pleases. We spoil her far too much, except when it comes to the tongue… I remain the only family member who’ll let her lick me 😎

I have two brothers, a younger and an older, and the only one not yet to get a birthday pet is my little brother. He’s planning on getting a cat, because whilst Kit Kat, our cat isn’t here right now because of the renovation, she loved loved loved her sister, and Ginger hates other dogs but is so friendly with cats. We’ve been wondering, though, if being a Tripawd will add more suspicion to Ginger… we had no idea she would need an amputation when we were thinking about buying a cat at Christmas, when the renovation will be over. If anyone bought a cat with a Tripaw at home who was already friendly with cats, please comment! That’s absurdly specific and therefore pretty unlikely, but never give up (: Also, I’m still open for any suggestion on her home alone days. Like I mentioned in my last blog, Ginger has been through a lot of setbacks, and this is definitely her most severe, but she always rebounds back with the most positive attitude, if she is frustrated at being bed-zoned. For those that don’t remember, I’m a seventh grader and I have some incorrect information for you, sorry… we’re actually not quite sure what type of cancer she had, it might not have been bone cancer. We’re still waiting for results and hoping it wasn’t a cancer that would have spread from her leg more quickly. But for now she’s her strong, fighting self, and hopefully this amputation is the last we ever see of her cancer!

Keira

P.S. Ginger is a terrier mix of seven breeds, for anyone who was wondering! She’s a little like the unofficial breed Black Mouth, but smaller and less square. I’m in middle school and participate in tons of activities after school, so I may not be able blog in a regular pattern, but I’ll try to get updates in whenever I can!