Senior Tripawd Doodle Sadie benefits from free canine rehab evaluation and treatment thanks to Tripawds Foundation Rehab Grant #180. The free consultation, acupuncture, hydrotherapy, and at-home rehab exercises help Sadie stay strong and love life on three legs. Read her 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 Senior Tripawd Doodle Sadie
Sadie is an 11-year-old Goldendoodle. She was previously owned by my late mother, who died in 2019. At 6 months of age, it was determined that Sadie had a birth defect in her left front elbow; in fact, her bones were growing around her elbow instead of straight down. After consulting with multiple reputable surgeons, it was decided that a series of operations could be attempted to repair the defect, or she could have an amputation performed. Due to the surgeries not being guaranteed to help, the amputation was the best option.
Sadie spent her whole life being extremely active, running, jumping, playing ball, and swimming in Lake Erie daily. In 2022, while living with my sister, Sadie had a splenectomy due to Hemangiosarcoma. In January 2023, Sadie came to live with Marc, myself, her Doodle pal Annie, Lemmy the Corgi, and Ozzy the Beagle. We started Sadie on Chinese herbs such as Yunnan Baiyao and Turkey Tail Mushroom, along with Honest Kitchen food. She has long outlived her original life expectancy with the cancer. She also has epilepsy and takes Phenobarbital for it, and her seizures are controlled.
On February 2nd, Sadie couldn’t use her right back leg. She couldn’t walk and would fall when she tried to get up. Being a Tripawd, this was problematic if she could only use one front and one back leg to walk. Marc started carrying her outside to potty; otherwise, she only laid on her dog bed. We saw our local vet the next morning, and we decided to start with a dose of Adequan and laser therapy. She didn’t improve, and we then weaned her off Carprofen, which she had been on for years for arthritis, and started her on Prednisone. The Prednisone got her up and walking.
How Rehab Helps Sadie
At that point, we called Balance Vet Rehab in Girard, PA. Dr. Nestor saw her on February 21st for a consultation. Our sweet senior Tripawd Doodle Sadie was hopping somewhat at that point. Dr. Nestor did a full assessment of her joints, range of motion, and movement, and we decided to try medications first and then in a month start water therapy. At that visit, Sadie got her first injection of Librela and Adequan and a laser treatment. I have continued Adequan at home for the last month. Sadie has improved quite a bit with her movement and is walking outside to go potty on her own and is now back to sleeping in the bedroom, which is a decent walk across the house.
On March 18th, Sadie went to her first water therapy session and got her second Librela injection. At water therapy, Sadie wore a life jacket in the treadmill tank. They slowly filled the tank and gave her cheese treats to distract her. Sadie loves swimming, so she was more interested at first in swimming versus walking. They lowered the water some so she could just walk. They aimed for 10 minutes, but today Sadie got tired after 8 minutes of walking, which is normal but very good for her condition.
Sadie was given water therapy with the treadmill because it would make her weightless, and she would be able to extend her legs fully in the water versus walking on land. We will attend Balance Rehab with Sadie for water therapy every Monday.
Lessons Learned for Sadie
From this experience, I learned that rehab treatments aren’t one-size-fits-all. They offer laser, acupuncture, massage, physical therapy, and water treadmill at this location. Every dog has a different mix of needs, and some modes of treatment will or won’t benefit each dog. I learned about Tripawds in a Tripawd Facebook group called Tripawds – Three-Legged Dogs. A dog owner posted asking about therapy costs, and another owner commented your link, and I happened to find it. At that time, I was distraught trying to figure out if we could afford for Sadie to go to rehab, and having the opportunity for the consultation to be reimbursed gave me hope.
~ Erin & Sadie
How to Find a Rehab Therapy for Tripawd Dogs and Cats
At Home Front Limb Tripawd Rehab Program