NAKED BOY

     This is Charlie 3 weeks post opt and let me tell you he is doing so good!! He has tough days still and some scary moments but he is so strong and willing to do anything to be happy. He is awesome!! He’s been wearing my under armor shirt the past few weeks to stay warm (Yup, we wear the same size lol) and last night we took it off. The second the shirt his the floor he RAN, yes ran, out of the room leap and barking as if to say ” I’m Free I’m FREEEEEE”
     The past 3 weeks have literally been the LONGEST 3 weeks of my life.  My hope is that someone who is new to tripawds will read this and know its going to be ok because I sure didn’t and I would never imagine that Charlie would go from crying in pain and not being able to move to this little show off in just 2 weeks. I thought things would never change and that we made a mistake but you have to go through all those emotions to understand and be able to appreciate the entire journey.
     Charlie is 12 years old and most people said that since he’s so old we should just put him down and he wouldnt be in pain anymore but honestly look at the face and tell me we didnt do the right thing. Just because he has cancer doesnt mean his life is over. All it means is that he has a new beginning and a new adventure to take on!!!
    So for all you new members and Pawrents that are just starting your journey just know this….Like everything in life: It gets better!!! <3 Take the time to appreciate and love your little one and know that this is going to be a great adventure for the entire family!

   A week ago yesterday Charlie our 12 year old black lab went in for surgery. They rook his left arm and shoulder.  This has been the longest week of our lives. It was so gut wrenchingly horrible to see him in such pain the first few days. We stayed up with him all night just to make sure he was comfortable.  We carried him up and down stairs just to see if want to go potty (not easy with a 80 lb lab and a fiance that just had major back surgery). 

     I have to admit I have been a little jealous of some of the new tripawds I’ve seen on Facebook that are up and walking already. Our Charlie has basically just slept the past week and could barely hold his head up.  We have tried everything to help him move however I think he has been on so much medication that he couldn’t function. We decided to wean him off of so many pills (with vet consent) and low and behold this morning he was awake and ready for the day!!

     We are having some trouble with him sitting  flat on his booty when he sits with his back legs sticking straight out but with a little push he is standing and we are doing practice laps around the living every few hours just to get him up and moving.

     We also got him a harness from the tripawd website before his surgery and anytime we attempt to put it on him we cant get it to adjust right and not slide up. If you  have any thoughts on what we can do to help him steady his legs better and how to get the harness to stay put it would be a tremendous help. Also any advice on how to encourage him to get up and move more on his own would be great!!