animal kingdom

unsuccessful

feeling blue

This morning, my sister and I took Tripper in to have his surgery. After he was prepped, they took several x-rays of his knees and decided that the damage was too bad to operate. The veterinarian called it one of the worst cases he has ever seen.

So he's back with us tonight, with a giant bag full of pills and meds disguised as beefy-flavored dog treats. We'll attempt to help him manage pain and try to repair as much of his damaged cartilage as we can with these medications.

We're unsure what the future holds. In my heart, I think I knew that this was going to happen, even before we got here. I had a feeling it was worse than everyone expected, but I was still holding on to the hope that this would be the miracle fix that would reverse his lameness.

I feel sad for his unknown future.

They say it takes four years for a Labrador Retriever to settle down and really become the dog that was the reason you bought a Lab in the first place–the dog that lets your kids climb all over him, tug on his ears and lift his sloppy lips to look at his teeth. The dog that lazily follows you into the kitchen and sits in your working path, or trails you out to the garden and finds a cool spot in the soil, or rests his chin on the tray of the highchair waiting for a juicy morsel to be passed to his drooling lips. Tripper is five, but I'm thankful that we enjoyed many of these "good years" already.

We're not giving up. But we're not in as good a place as we'd hoped.

I was going to share a recipe today, but it seems kind of silly to tack that on to this post.

Moving on tomorrow……

xo.
m.

feeling blue

This morning, my sister and I took Tripper in to have his surgery. After he was prepped, they took several x-rays of his knees and decided that the damage was too bad to operate. The veterinarian called it one of the worst cases he has ever seen.

So he's back with us tonight, with a giant bag full of pills and meds disguised as beefy-flavored dog treats. We'll attempt to help him manage pain and try to repair as much of his damaged cartilage as we can with these medications.

We're unsure what the future holds. In my heart, I think I knew that this was going to happen, even before we got here. I had a feeling it was worse than everyone expected, but I was still holding on to the hope that this would be the miracle fix that would reverse his lameness.

I feel sad for his unknown future.

They say it takes four years for a Labrador Retriever to settle down and really become the dog that was the reason you bought a Lab in the first place–the dog that lets your kids climb all over him, tug on his ears and lift his sloppy lips to look at his teeth. The dog that lazily follows you into the kitchen and sits in your working path, or trails you out to the garden and finds a cool spot in the soil, or rests his chin on the tray of the highchair waiting for a juicy morsel to be passed to his drooling lips. Tripper is five, but I'm thankful that we enjoyed many of these "good years" already.

We're not giving up. But we're not in as good a place as we'd hoped.

I was going to share a recipe today, but it seems kind of silly to tack that on to this post.

Moving on tomorrow……

xo.
m.

29 comments on “unsuccessful”

  1. Aw, poor guy!We had two black labs. We got them even before we had children. They were our first babies, really. So I can imagine how tough it must be to watch your fella struggle.Here’s hoping those meds do their job!

  2. Oh Molly, I am so sorry to read about Tripper. I know what you mean about hoping for those miracles.

    I don’t know if you’ve considered natural alternatives as a form of palliative care. I found this site http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/ACL.HTM of course it involves the raw food diet and I sure don’t have time to make up another dinner for my dog. Remember I am in California, dogs do acupuncture over here.

    Keep on keeping strong Tripper.

  3. I’m very sorry, Molly. It’s hard to read of such a sweet person going through something life this. I will pray for your Lab, and for your trip home. Hugs.

  4. thinking of you. i know just how you feel. our rilke is struggling even after his surgery. i’m hoping for the best for you and tripper.

  5. I’m very sorry to hear about Tripper. Our lab is 1 and a half, and we’re hoping for those good years to start any time now! I also just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your writing each day. Thankyou!

  6. Oh I’m so sorry.We are currently playing the waiting game with Rupert,my Dads Lab.He has a tumour in between his lungs and is slowly suffocating but the lovely boy ,who the vet said would be gone by the end of February, is still here slobbering over everyone he loves. Miracles happen and the heart is a fierce thing.Tripper may just show you some magic yet.Fingers crossed.x

  7. I am so sorry Molly. My heart breaks for you and your family. I’m glad you’re not giving up yet and I hope with all my heart that you can find a treatment that helps your friend Tripper.

  8. My brothers Golden Retriever has suffered so much in her short 2 years too.Bad breeding practice.She’s already had one lot of surgery and will need more.Eventually she will need hip and elbow surgery on all legs.She is such a beautiful nature though and even now is the dog that you can do anything to.I really hope the medication works for Tripper and you get lot more time together.

  9. Oh, geez, I’m really sorry to hear that Tripper wasn’t a candidate for surgery. He must have a lot of arthritic damage. Our big lab mix tore her ACL when she was 2- we had to go deep into debt to get her a TPLO (crazy surgery to fix the knees of big dogs). She was completely lame, unable to bear weight on the leg so surgery was necessary immediately. She is 9 now and doing great. I think that glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin supplements post surgery were very helpful in repairing joint tissue – we have kept her on it in the longterm.I hope those supps and some other drugs can keep Tripper comfortable for a few more years to come.

  10. oh, so sorry!! he looks like such a love. I just got my kids their first dog from a shelter, 2 years old, exactly for that reason–and it has been wonderful, a german pointer. Would have loved a Lab, but there were none and I knew a puppy was out of the question….I’ll be sending all my good get well thoughts your way and think about acupuncture. I’ve heard it works wonders for animals–also Bach’s Flower Remedies (i know this sounds really wierd at all but I’ve also heard this works for pets-and it’s not too pricey).

  11. I am so, so sorry. We’ve been through some similar things with our dog, who is 8, and whose lifespan we know will be shorter than other dogs of the same breed. It’s really sad stuff to deal with. xo

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