This is the first blog I have ever visited let alone participated in. It is also the first time I have ever had a dog with an amputated leg. I am lightened after coming upon Jerry’s site and amazed at our human capacity for the love of our canines.
Lord Finnigan is the first dog I have ever had from a puppy , he is a great pyrenesse/sherperd cross. He has a very large brain and an equally large heart. At present he is resting contently in the great hall, looking my way every now and then. I am glad to see him settled, as yesterday he was quite restless with much panting and shivering.
It is now this fifth day with 3 legs. His first two days he easily went for small walks and enjoyed watching us working outdoors while he laid in the garden, then on his bed in the fresh air. I think that now as the severed nerves start to heal and contract that it is causing sharp and sudden pain which scares him, which in turn gives him phycological stess. He also had a good appetite the first couple of days, so far today and yesterday he has not wanted to eat. We will go on a short walk to the creek later as he loves to drink from the creek and watch over his farm.
So often my ego wants to delve into the past or the future which threatens to bring a flood of tears. Going within and calling on inner strength I instead choose to be in the now and send from my heart to Finnigan’s heart my great love of him. I feel what it is like for us to play the stick game, to walk to the creek, to catch snowballs and play in the sprinkler. This takes deep breathing, trust and faith. Reading these posts helps. This experience and all the others I have now heard about is a deep lesson in how to love without attachment.
Love to all.
Finnigan, welcome to our family! We know you’re going to do pawesomely wonderful. Did you know that another Finnegan has been a part of Tripawds before? Check him out, I think you’ll be inspired:
Finnegan and Jerry Six-Legged Play Date Video
Lotsa love and healing thoughts coming your way my friend. Looking forward to getting to know ya.
Sounds like your pack is going through the typical ups and downs for the first week after surgery. Just try to follow Finngan’s lead and live in the now. Forget the past, and don’t fear the future.
You’ll find many questions and concerns have been answered in the discussion forums too. Thanks for joining, we look forward to following Finngan’s progress.
Hi Finnegan! I am also a newcomer here and recently adopted a tripawd Great PyreneesXSamoyed, named Sully. It’s great to have you with us. If you want to check out our blog, it’s at
http://whitebearblog.tripawds.com/
Patrick, Sully and the pack
Welcome to the Tripawds family!! Tell us more about Finnegan. Why did he have his leg amputated? Cancer or an accident? Post some pictures when you get a chance… We would love to see him!!!
What is Finnegan eating now, and are you trying to add anything to get his appetite stimulated? Is he on any pain meds, antibiotics, etc? That may make him loose his appetite, thought it sure didn’t do that with Jake. Except for yesterday, when he left a little bit of food in his dish, he’s been eating like a pig the whole time.
Jake’s Mom
Wow, what a beautiful dog!
You have tapped into a very wonderful family, Welcome!
Let us know how everything is going and post lots of pictures!
Thank you for your thoughts, I would love to add photos as soon as I can figure out how to do so. Any tips?
Thank you for submitting the videos of Jake’s progress. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them and only yesterday my niece and I were wondering if Fin would be able to swim again. Fin had bone cancer and it progressed very quickly, only about 2 mths from the first sign of a limp to the surgery. His diet is a high quality dry dog kibble, dressed with meat of various sorts (chicken, elk, wild duck, cow and we have a wild hare that Steve got the other day but it has not been cut up yet, he did show quite an interest in the whole furred carcus) Today I have warmed all of his favorite treats to see if that would stimulate his appetite but he just looks away, later I will see if he is interested in his #1 favorite treat – bone marrow.
Tomorrow he goes to the vet again to have his bandage (not staples yet) removed, I am hoping that this will help him feel better. He is on meds- both for pain and antibiotics. I also started to give him a product I recently discovered called Recovery SA, it is primarily green tea and grape seed with vit C & E, glucosamine, magnesium and l-lysine, he readily chewed down the tablets the first 3 days but now is off of them. Maybe a day of fasting is what he needs right now, his system may know more than we do.
I will post photos as soon as I can figure out how to do so. Bigs pats to Jake and his big shepherd friend.
“…..Going within and calling on inner strength I instead choose to be in the now and send from my heart to Finnigan’s heart my great love of him. I feel what it is like for us to play the stick game, to walk to the creek, to catch snowballs and play in the sprinkler. This takes deep breathing, trust and faith…….”
What a beautiful dog and what beautiful prose. It reaches deep into my heart. Thank you for posting!