I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve posted here. Life for Dieter as a Tripawd was just so…normal. A big part of me didn’t want to share what was going on, because I didn’t want to make it worse for people struggling with the harshest of realities of living with a Tripawd and canine osteosarcoma. I can’t say if that sentiment was right or wrong.
This year, on January 9th, Dieter passed away. Otto had passed away in May of 2022, and Greta joined the pack in May 2015. Dieter and Greta were instant friends, and inseparable all those years.
Dieter and Greta had just come in from their morning romp in the yard, and a minute or two later, he collapsed. I called a friend and we took him to the vet. He ended up crashing early that afternoon. A non-cancerous mass had been growing in his body and had gotten large enough to constrict some of his major organs. I had no idea, he showed no signs of discomfort and everything else appeared to be working fine. It all happened very fast. It’s been almost a year and I am still not over it.
My last post on this blog was in November of 2014. Dieter lived 11 years after his amputation and 12 years in total. He lived a rich, happy life. His life wasn’t that much shorter than average for a big Lab.
People over the years praised me for being such an amazing Dog Mom. I never really put a lot of stock in that, but I did do things that some people have a hard time with, and I think some of those things made a difference. I think the one main thing that I did that made a difference was to have his leg amputated as quickly as possible. It was less than a week from the biopsy results to the amputation.
At the time, a lot of people around me were taken aback by that, but I don’t think they were thinking about it the right way. The biopsy was positive, his lungs were clear. No reason to hesitate. It’s not cruel to amputate a dog’s leg under those conditions.
I did the best I could – paid attention to his diet, took him for regular lung images (until the vet said he didn’t need them anymore), took him for rehabilitation when I moved and found a vet that could do it, exercised him just enough to keep him trim and healthy but not so much that he was overworked, helped him develop a positive social life.
He had a bleeding ulcer for a while. He also got into a nasty fight with Greta once. He was a world-class snuggler and defender of the house. Sometimes he would curl up in a ball so small that I couldn’t figure out how he did it. He and Greta (a Staffie) would sleep together on a dog bed meant for one medium-sized dog. His ears were soft as velvet.
Could I have done more? Better? No question. But I did the best I could and he did the best he could. In the end, he did in fact beat it, just like one of his vets said he would. The experience I had with Dieter was a roller coaster, but I would not trade one minute of it. I miss him terribly.
