The Puppy Up Foundation and Tripawds have a long standing friendship. When Luke Robinson set out from Austin to Boston with his four legged companions, Murphy and Hudson, to travel across the country telling people about canine cancer and comparative oncology, Tripawds gave support and encouragement. Back then, little was being done to raise awareness about the crisis of canine cancer, and it was Luke’s mission to inform, educate, and ultimately form a foundation to delve into canine cancer research.
Luke’s inspiration, Malcolm, a beautiful Great Pyrenees, had become a Tripaw when he was stricken with osteosarcoma, losing a leg to the disease, and later passing when the cancer metastasized. Malcolm’s tragic loss brought Luke – who is the founder of the Puppy Up Foundation — and Jim and René — who founded Tripawds for their beautiful German Shepherd, Jerry — together. (Please read about Jerry here.) While each organization has followed different paths to achieving their goals, both the Puppy Up Foundation and Tripawds are dedicated to helping our companion animals with cancer. Tripawds is a great resource for both tripawed pets and their people. Please check them out here.
Tripawds event raises awareness about pet cancer, celebrate three-legged friends
From Richmond Mag
by Ashley Luck
May 26, 2017
When Powhatan County resident Sally Holladay’s bullmastiff, Hannah, needed to have a leg amputated because of cancer, Holladay found a supportive community online through the Texas-based Tripawds organization.
“Dogs and cats can thrive on three legs and it is not a death sentence,” says Holladay, the Richmond Tripawds coordinator. “Most of all, we want everyone to know that they are not alone. We are all here to support them and provide cutting-edge information.”
She says her veterinarian discovered Hannah had osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in February 2013 after the bullmastiff began limping. “It became clear that I would need to pursue the amputation and give her a chance, or else it would just be a matter of weeks before the pain could no longer be managed, plus there was always a risk of fracture,” Holladay says. When she went to pick up Hannah after the amputation, “she was wagging and hopping around on three legs as if she always had been.” Although the first two weeks of recovery were challenging, Holladay says, Hannah “continued living life to the fullest every single moment” for another 14 months.”
More than two dozen Tripawd members were expected to attend the event, traveling from places such as Colorado, California, Germany and England to celebrate their pets and raise awareness about pet cancer.
Jim Nelson and Rene Agredano created the Tripawds website in 2006, after their dog lost a limb to osteosarcoma. The site offers resources, discussion forums, a chat room and more than 1,000 free three-legged dog and cat blogs with more than 14,000 members registered.
They formed the Tripawds Foundation in 2014 to help families with three-legged pets and pets with cancer. Tripawds provides a toll-free phone number to help pet owners that face a limb cancer diagnosis or amputation for their pets and free outreach materials to veterinary clinics. The foundation also provides veterinary financial aid, free assistive devices and reimbursements for veterinary rehabilitation services. Nelson and Agredano travel around the country attending Tripawds events with “spokesdog” Wyatt Ray, a three-legged German Shepherd who lost his leg as a puppy due to neglect.
“For many of these animals, limb amputation is the best way to alleviate pain associated with limb cancer and it can provide a good quality of life,” says Agredano. “This comes as a terrible shock to pet parents. Tripawds is here to show parents that their dog or cat’s life on three legs can be great, even while coping with cancer.”
It is both uplifting and disturbing to see how large Tripawds has grown over the years, says Nelson.
“No animal should suffer when losing a limb,” he says. “We are honored to now have a global support community for their people, since they tend to need more help during recovery than the dogs and cats do.”
Adds Agredano, “We are passionate about increasing pet cancer awareness, as half of all pets will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives.”
