Front leg Tripawd Mulan benefits from free canine rehab evaluation and at-home therapy thanks to Tripawds Foundation Rehab Grant #183. The consultation, and rehab exercises help Mulan 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 Front Leg Tripawd Mulan
Hello! My name is Mulan Song and I am 10 and a half years young. I’m a mix of Labrador and pitbull which explains why I love food soooo much and why I’m very protective of my family. Both of my parents are veterinarians (my dad adopted me when he was a first year vet student and I was just 6 months old).
In 2020, I was diagnosed with a hemangiopericytoma, it’s a type of blood vessel tumor that tend to be very stubborn on my distal left forelimb. My mom and dad surgically removed the tumor twice with clean margins both times, but it just kept coming back! The mass kept growing bigger and it was bothering me, so we decided that I was a strong dog and to keep up with my active Colorado lifestyle, the best option was to remove my leg and get that horrible tumor off of my body for good. I am now an active front leg Tripawd.
How Canine Rehab Helps Mulan
My mom has a vet school classmate who specializes in canine rehab in Castle Rock named Anna Pedroni. She’s so nice and she gave me lots of delicious treats and let me run around her property and say hi to her goats! Anna told my mom about Tripawds, she also taught my mom and dad how to massage me, an iliopsoas stretch, massages to prevent “sticky points” in the facia of my scar, bicep and tricep stretches and even ab workouts! Anna said that keeping my core strong will help me with balance and that my biceps and triceps of my remaining arm are really tight because that’s where I am balancing so much of my weight. Keeping those muscles loose will allow me to stay active for many more years.
My back massages are my favorite. Mom runs her hands down my back and makes a “waterfall” out of my skin, it feels so nice. My stretches are a little tougher because my strong muscles are so tight- my iliopsoas stretch happens when Mom stretches my back legs out one at a time and then turns them in medially and my bicep and tricep stretches feel nice when my mom stretches my right arm way out cranially and then does the opposite, bringing my right arm caudally, then running my arm through passive range of motion.
I also do a “cookie stretch” where Mom brings a cookie behind me and I become a crescent moon shape to stretch my back. My core exercises are fun because I always get a treat when I do them, one I have to stretch out really far cranially to reach a treat, but not step forward. Another happens when I’m laying in lateral and I have to do a sit-up to reach the treat. I can feel myself getting stronger! Mom does these exercises with me once daily and Mom says that she’s so happy to learn the benefits of massage and keeping my muscles loose, just like in human athletes!
I am so glad to be on this healing journey with my family and I am finding cadence with my new lifestyle and loving the Tripawd life more than I ever thought I could!
~ Maddie and Mulan
How to Find a Rehab Therapy for Tripawd Dogs and Cats
At Home Front Limb Tripawd Rehab Program