Golden Retirever Tripawd Remy benefits from canine rehab therapy thanks to Tripawds Foundation Rehab Grant #170. The free consultation and at-home rehab exercises help Remy regain strength and stay strong to love life on three legs. Read his story, and learn how you can get a free veterinary rehab evaluation for your dog or cat.
Yes! Tri-kitties qualify for free feline rehab too. See all Tripawds who have received free rehab sessions thanks to your support.
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Meet Golden Retriever Tripawd Remy
Remy is a 4 year old Golden Retriever Tripawd Rescue who my husband and I adopted through Golden Rescue based in Ontario Canada. He came to us via Golden Rescue through a rescue in Istanbul, Turkey. Remy had an owner in Turkey who was a street vendor. At some point Remy was hit by a taxi cab and suffered significant injury to his left front leg leaving it unusable. His owner eventually surrendered Remy to the Istanbul rescue where they ensured he received medical care resulting in his leg being amputated. Shortly after surgery they coordinated with Golden Rescue to help find Remy a home in Canada given the prospects for a tripawd in Turkey were not great.
Remy came to Canada September 2022 to join our family. He has had a lot of changes to his life during this past year with the surgery and then finding himself with a new family in a new country living in Northern Ontario. He is a very laid back boy and has adapted well to being a tripawd and his new family which includes two other golden retrievers. We have noticed that over this summer Remy has become stronger and we were hoping he would be able to attempt swimming with his fur siblings. But noticed some restrictions in movement, especially in his neck, that are holding him back so we went searching for information to help.
We came across a Facebook group “Living with Dogs with Disabilities” supported by Sarah MacKeigan, a canine rehab therapist. And interestingly Sarah interviewed Jim and Rene about their dog Jerry and what they learned navigating his amputation due to cancer and how Tripawds Foundation came about. In the interview they talked about one of the most important things you can do for your Tripawd is have them assessed to see how best to help them with physio, exercises, etc.
Rehab Regimen for Golden Retriever Tripawd Remy
We got our vet to do a referral to a rehab clinic and off we went to get Remy assessed and start on the path to getting him stronger so he can be more active safely. We went to Touch Animal Rehabilitation in North Bay ON Canada where we had Kaitlyn Humphries, a CCRP do an initial assessment of Remy. Unfortunately the rehab clinic is a 4 hour drive away but they are willing to work with us and hopefully through email and virtual chats and some trips to see them we will be able to help Remy.
Remy’s At-home Rehab Exercise Plan
The initial exercises/treatments they prescribed are as follows:
1) Cookie to Rib stretches – To start Remy was in a seated position to do these stretches. Using a treat, move it to get Remy to bend his head and neck toward the ribs. We have now graduated to having Remy in a standing position to do these stretches.
- 4 reps per side with 2 sets 3 – 4 times per week.These stretches will help with spinal flexibility.
2) Stabilized weight shifting –
Place Remy dog in a square standing position while supporting him to keep it from falling. With one hand supporting under the Pelvis, we want to slightly sway the dog to the side watching for the muscles to engage working one side at a time. This will help strengthen Remy’s hind legs.
- 10-15reps each direction/ with 2 sets – 3-4 times per week
3) Getting him to work on a square sit at home on a small platform or against the wall to encourage a square sit. During assessment it was noted that Remy’s right leg can splay out or be sloppy so we need to help strengthen that leg.
- 3-4 reps – 2 sets 3 times per week.
4) While this is not exercise it is just as important for Remy as a Tripawd, massage. In his assessment they found his neck muscles to be very tight which we already suspected. Kaitlyn recommended doing a neck massage at least 3 times per week.
Massage and More Exercise Helps Remy
They also recommended initially to do a general massage once a week. I have taken an online massage course through Touch Animal Rehab as well. We also watched videos showing techniques to use to ensure I am performing the massages correctly. This maximizes the benefit to Golden Retriever Tripawd Remy and for the various exercises and passive exercises to help as we progress. In typical
We have already started to notice small improvements in strength in the short time of doing exercises and massage. Kaitlyn at Touch Animal Rehab contacted us to let us know about the rehab reimbursement program offered through Tripawds.
The most important thing from talking with Kaitlyn and asking her lots of questions, there is lots we can do to help Remy get stronger. And we now have a really good resource for our questions or concerns and help us determine when Remy is ready to move to new exercises. Trying to do the research on our own was very overwhelming and left us unsure where to start and not wanting to overwhelm his body as well.
Thank you so much and I look forward to exploring the Tripawds website and learning more about how to help our sweet boy.
~ Laurie & Remy