Asia the Amazing Tri-Pawd Potcake

02/02/2022

Since Asia was a rescue, we never really knew her real birthday. After some crude calculations, we decided to celebrate her birthday on Groundhog Day, 😂 easy to remember. This photo was on her 7th birthday. One year later, she would be diagnosed with cancer and become a tri-pawd. Asia would have celebrated her 14th birthday today. Happy Birthday Asia! I miss my beautiful, brave goofball everyday!

08/11/2021

Hi everyone! Thought I’d come on and share a few thoughts. With the cold weather already in full swing in some areas and fast approaching for others, a lot of folks with moderate to severe arthritis are starting to experience an increase in joint pain and achiness. Our older pets and disabled pets are also prone to arthritis and the pain and achiness associated with cold weather. Being a front leg amputee already put a lot of strain on Asia and as she aged and her joints deteriorated, it was imperative for us to keep her pain under control to keep her comfortable and active. Together with Asia’s doctor, we put together a “winter therapy plan”. Along with accupunture, massage and daily pain medication, we started Asia on Adequan injections. Adequan is a type of glucosamine that, among other benefits, helps keep joints lubricated and relives inflammation. It helped Asia tremendously and I would recommend that anyone with a senior and/or disabled canine, talk to your vet about it. It is a bit pricey but if your vet agrees to try it, Adequan can be ordered through Chewy for a decent price. You just go to the website, place the order, give them your vet’s contact info and Chewy will contact your vet for approval. Once approved, it gets shipped to you. Then you just take the medication and your dog to the vet for injection. We are lucky enough to have a vet that trusted us (after a little bit of teaching) to give Asia her injections at home, ourselves. Saved money on office visits. It is FDA approved. I’m including a link that contains a wealth of information.

www.adequancanine.com

03/11/2021

It’s Autumn here in the foothills. Asia’s tree is turning a vibrant yellow! Come next Spring, I hope to share photos of the beautiful blossoms it’ll have! Gotta get through winter first though, UGH!

03/11/2021

Hello Everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for stopping in and “liking” Asia’s page! Whatever you were searching for that led you to look at her page, thanks for taking the time to stop in. I hope that our experience of living with and caring for a tri-pawd has helped anyone facing the same circumstances. It’s been almost 8 months since we said goodbye to Asia. I still think about her everyday, and although I know we did the right thing, releasing her from her pain, it still hurts and I miss her so much. It gives me comfort knowing Asia’s story is still being shared and that our journey may help someone facing life with a tri-pawd. Peace and love to all!

16/08/2021

Hi Everyone! I wanted to come to Asia’s page to share some devastating news BUT at the same time, provide some insight and information that could potentially stop another owner from having to go through what we did this past week.
It is with great sadness that I share news pf the passing of Asia’s “fur sister”, Daisy. Daisy was also a Potcake we adopted from the Turks and Caicos. She was 9 years old, goofy, loving and loyal. Last Tuesday, 8/10, Daisy got up, ate breakfast, normal moring routine but around noon, she puked up breakfast. Didn’t think too much of it as there was some grass in it and I thought maybe she had an upset stomach. She was quiet most of the day. Dinner time rolled around and she didn’t want to eat, again thought maybe an upset stomach, but a little later she did eat some dog treats so we thought she was feeling better. She drank a lot of water and didn’t puke.
On Wednesday, 8/11, Daisy mostly picked at her food, but she did eat some. She spent most of the day either laying around inside or outside in the sun. She seemed unusually quiet but it’s been hotter than hell this summer and no one has wanted to expend too much activity when it’s 100 outside, so again, we weren’t too concerned because she was drinking a lot of water. We did say though, if it kept up another day, we’d call our Vet.
Around 5am on Thursday morning, Daisy woke me up. Thought she needed to go outside, but instead, she went straight to the water bowl and drank half of it. We have a one gallon size water bowl for the dogs and she almost emptied it. She then went outside and prompty puked it all. I noticed she was now really, really not looking or acting like herself at all so I waited and called her Vet first thing at 8am. I was told to bring her in at 11am.
We arrive at the vet and she now has very little energy, has some difficulty walking and has elevated respirations. Bloodwork showed she was having a very serious acute pancreatic attack. The attack had caused her insulin levels to drop dramatically, causing her blood sugar to skyrocket, putting her into ketoacidosis. Her liver enzyme levels were elevated as well. An abdominal x-ray was done that showed some suspicious looking areas in her intestine for potential blockage. A decision was made to take her immediately to surgery for an exploratory laparotomy. No blockages were found but the intestinal lining was severely inflamed and the pancreas as well. She was kept in the hospital for emergency treatment of her high blood sugar.
Friday, 8/13, Daisy remained in the hospital, with Doctors trying to get her blood sugar down. It would go down a little, but then shoot back up again. She was on IV fluids and pain meds. Refused to eat. We went to visit twice and each time she could only muster a tiny tail wag and lift her head.
Saturday, 8/14, Daisy continued to show no improvement. Blood sugar would not respond to insulin at all. She was starting to have difficulty breathing. We went in to visit her mid morning. She barely responded to us talking to her and loving on her. Her doctors had done everything they could at this point but her condition only continued to deteriorate at a rapid pace. At that point, we made the decision to end her suffering. Our second Potcake gone this year. Five months after Asia. We’re still in shock. How could a happy, healthy, active dog, get so sick and die so fast.
Acute pancreatitis. Some attacks are mild and cause a lot of pain, and mild diabetes and of course there are moderate cases but some attacks are severe and cause so much damage that the prognosis is grim. Unfortunately, Daisy’s attack was severe.
Now that I look back though, we did have warning signs but we attributed them to something else. Like, it’s hot out so she was drinking a lot. Throwing up because of maybe something she ate. No appetite because of a sour stomach, and so on. We just didn’t know anything about pancreatitis in dogs.
I’m sure we’ll be shell shocked by Daisy’s sudden death for a long time. I know it’s a horrible experience to have to share and I don’t want anyone else to go though what we’ve had to go through. If your pal is acting wierd, listless, excessive thirst, no appetite even if there’s no vomiting, breathing changes, even if you think it’s just the weather or something they ate, don’t brush it off for something else. I’m attaching a great article about pancreatitis and diabetes in dogs. My hope is no one has to go though the hell of watching your beloved pet suffer and have to make the decision no pet owner wants to make. Peace and love to all. ❤️❤️

08/06/2021

We planted a tree to honor Asia’s memory. The American Fringe tree, also known as Old Man’s Beard tree. Photos added to show what it will look like as it matures. After digging the hole for the tree, I placed a good amount of Asia’s cremains in the hole before backfilling. Her remains will provide nutrition for the tree and she will essentially become part of it. It’s been almost 3 months since her passing and I still miss my shadow.

18/03/2021

It is with great sadness in my heart that I announce the passing of our beautiful Asia. I know it’s been quite some time that I‘ve shared any posts. Our lives became extremely busy and preoccupied in the fall of 2018 when we were blessed with two beautiful grand daughters. Asia was doing wonderfully and responding well to the medication regimen we had started her on. It wasn’t until recently that she began having more issues with pain due to joint deterioration and advancing age. We adjusted her medications and therapies accordingly to no avail. Asia began becoming increasingly sedentary and falling more and more when she did move. This past weekend, we made the heartbreaking decision to end her pain. On Tuesday, March 16th, Asia’s veterinarian came to our home. Asia was surrounded by her family, two legged and four legged, when her beautiful spirit was released from her painful broken body. She’s being cremated and we will be planting a tree at our home where we can bury her ashes and honor her memory. Words cannot express the heartache I feel right now. I know we did what was best for her. She gave us 13 years of joy, companionship and unwavering loyalty. Asia was my shadow, my constant source of comfort. I miss her so much it hurts and I know the heartache will lessen over time, remembering her goofball personality and the strength she showed in her 5 years as a tri pawd brings me comfort. I want to thank each and every person that has followed Asia’s page with us. I hope that Asia’s journey as a tri pawd brought hope and encouragement to anyone who has a pet facing life as a tri pawd. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement.

23/07/2018

On a more Positive note, Asia learned a new trick. She’s figured out how to balance her weight on her hips, and lift her front leg up to beg or get our attention. Not bad for a dog that’s considered to be on hospice care. Thankfully her medication regimen is working very well. I think the warmer summer temperatures are definitely helping a lot also. We’ll have to watch and see what happens when the colder weather sets in this fall and if necessary, modify her treatment plan.

23/07/2018

Hello again! Hope everyone’s summer is going well! We‘ve had an eventful summer. It started with a swollen ear flap. Thought maybe it was a bug bite but after seeing the doctor, turns out it was an aural hematoma. Happens when dogs with floppy ears shake their heads violently or a direct trauma. An accumulation of blood and fluid builds up in the ear flap and we found out it’s a frustrating thing to treat. After trying the conservative approach of trying to needle drain and pressure dressings didn’t work, we jad to have a drain inserted for 3 weeks. It worked but now she has a build up of fibrin scar tissue in the ear flap. Causes no harm but just looks ugly. Poor Asia, it sometimes seems like if she didn’t have bad luck, she’d have no luck at all but she’s our brave little trooper!

24/04/2018

Amputees helping each other. It’s a beautiful thing!
http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/great-dane-from-palm-harbor-in-the-running-for-hero-dog-award

A local pooch could become the next American Humane Hero Dog, an award that recognizes dogs who do amazing things.

02/04/2018

Asia just celebrated her two year mark as a cancer free tri-pawd. She’s doing much better physically with her medication and acupuncture regimen. Her spirit and personality are still in high drive. Last week, she shocked us and jumped up on the couch! She hasn’t done that in months and hasn’t repeated it again but I think it was just her way of saying “quit worrying about me mom, I’m not giving up yet”. She’s still able to go outside through the dog door on her own and loves to lay outside on these sunny warm days. She’ll wander around the yard a little bit and although she tires easily and needs to lay down to take a break, she still manages to get back up and continue on. Although she is doing well, she is still considered under hospice care. There’s nothing that can be done to improve the condition of her hips. All we can do is keep her comfortable for as long as we can and enjoy every day we have with our brave goofball.

12/02/2018

Our appt with the specialist was very surprising. Turns out the difficulty Asia is having with hopping is because of her hips. The x-ray on the top shows normal dog hips. The x-ray on the bottom
is Asia’s. She has significant degenerative joint disease in both hips but moreso on the left (as seen in hip socket on right side of x-ray. The pain in her hips is causing her to shift her weight forward to her front leg and since she only has one front leg, she stumbles due to the increased weight load. Orthopedic surgery really isn’t an option for a 3 legged do so we are going to try medication options and supportive care for now

12/02/2018

It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update on Asia. All has been good and normal until the past few weeks. Asia started having difficulty hopping, acting as though she is in pain. Thought maybe she stumbled and we didn’t see it or maybe the cold winter was bothering her joints. She went in for a visit with her Dr and we decided to try laser therapy to try to stimulate healing and some massage. Unfortunately, her therapy is not working as she continues to have difficulty hopping and is now to the point where she won’t go out to potty. We have an appt this afternoon at an orthopedic specialist in Greenville Hope to get some answers. Will post update when we can.

31/03/2017

Well, today is the one year anniversary of my becoming a tri-pawd. As you can see, I'm doing great!! I love exploring the yard. Especially when mom let's me out of the fence to go see the chickens. I love sitting by the coop and watching them. Mom calls them my "babies". Mom says she can't believe it's been a year already. She's very thankful for all the love and support everyone has given us. I truly am......amazing!!!

25/03/2017

It's a nice spring night to sit out on the back porch and listen to the turkeys gobbling in the woods.

07/01/2017

WOW, I woke up to a new experience today!! I'm not sure what all this white stuff is but it's very cold!! Mom said it's called snow. She said I did great with my first time hopping around in it

15/10/2016

It's a beautiful cool autumn day in SC. Mom is busy planting mums and we're in they yard playing. I'm getting a little better maintaining my balance when jumping around.

22/09/2016

Hello everyone! I've had a lot requests for an update. It makes me happy to know people are interested in seeing my progress! I've been doing great and I'm getting used to our new home. It's a lot different here than our home in FL. As you can see in the video, mom and dad have been working hard at cleaning all the leaves, branches and vegetation out of the front yard so I can have a safe place to explore without tripping. My two legged "brother" Nick Russell was a big help and raked out the majority of the leaves!! That was a big job! The yard here is a little different, it has a slope on one side but I've learned to adjust my gait when I'm wandering around on that side. I'm starting to use my stump a little bit to help me maneuver around when I'm laying down and I'm starting to "rough house" play with my sisters a little bit. Sometimes my little sister Daisy gets a little too rough and I fall down but I get right back up again. Oh!, I made an attempt at digging a hole yesterday, it was tough with just one front leg and it was a sad little hole, a squirrel probably could have made a bigger hole, but I tried and with more practice I'll get better at it. I used to be a professional hole digger and my mom would just shake her head at me but this time she just smiled at me. I think she's just happy to see me getting back to my "old self" again. Me and sisters have to go see our new doctor next month for our checkup and shots. I hope our new doctor is as nice as our old one

30/07/2016

Check me out!! We're getting all moved in to our new home. The front door has two steps which I can navigate with no problems at all. The back steps are a lot bigger. I went down them once when my mom wasn't expecting it. I did really good but my mom says she just about had a heart attack watching me!! As you can see, I have no problem going up. Mom and dad have someone coming to revise the steps to make the platforms bigger so it won't be so steep and I can go down easier. Until then, I have to go out the front door and walk around the house to the back yard fence.

11/07/2016

It's so darn hot down here right now, so I spend a lot of time just lazing around on the deck. My little "sister" Daisy keeps me company.

11/07/2016

Hi everyone!!! Again, sorry it's been a long time since my last update. Mom and dad have been super busy. Our house is changing, there's lots of boxes everywhere and furniture being moved out. It's been kind of scary for me and my sisters as we can't quite figure out what's going on. Mom keeps telling us we're going to have a "big adventure" really soon and we're going to have a new home with all kinds of different things to see, smell and do. In the meantime, we just follow them around, watch what they're doing and sniff everything!! As you can see, I'm doing great. All my hair is now grown back and I have mastered hopping on three legs. I even figured out that I can get on and off the bed in the spare bedroom! It's not very high so I can slide down without too much effort. I went see my Dr for a check up and he says I'm doing fantastic. Mom say she is going to try to take some pictures and videos along our journey to our new home in three weeks.

03/05/2016

Yes, goofball is my middle name!!

03/05/2016

HI Everyone!!! Sorry it's been a while since my last update. Mom and dad have been very busy. Our family is going to be moving and they've been busy getting our home ready for sale. It's been one whole month now that I've been home and I'm doing great! I can hop at a pretty good pace now and I've mastered getting on and off the couch. I'm very afraid of walking on bare floors. They have a nice harness for me that I wear when they know I will have to walk on bare floors. It has a handle on it and they help support me and it makes me feel less afraid. My appetite is back and my incision is completely healed. My hair is coming back slowly. Until it's back in completely, I have to wear a shirt when I go outside in the sun for long stretches so I don't get sunburned. Even though it's only been a month, I've made a lot of progress with adapting to being a tri-pawd!!

25/04/2016

My mom and dad got some very good news. My big "sister" Kyah does not have cancer! The lumps she had on her neck and her leg were lipomas (fatty tumors). Mom says it's going to take till Christmas for the fur to grow back on her neck, hahaha!! Mom also sends a BIG thank you to Auntie Carol Ann for sending Kyah a "get well" gift, venison jerky! Kyah's favorite!! My mom is going to try to take some videos of me to share. Although I get tired out really easy, I can hop pretty fast now!!

20/04/2016

Dr Groves recommended a dietary supplement for me. Since I only have one front leg now, my joints and muscles need more support. He recommended Androitin M for me. A good source of glucosamine, vitamins and minerals and the best part is, it's made in the USA with US sourced ingredients. My mom is happy because I like them and she doesn't have to fight with me to eat them! Just another treat for me, woo hoo! If interested, ask your vet for more info or go to www.vetone.net

19/04/2016

Hi Everyone! I'd like to ask a favor that everyone keep my "big sister", Potcake Princess Kyah, in their thoughts today. Like me, she is having surgery to remove not one but two lumps. She has one on her leg and one on her neck. Our Dr was concerned about the one on her neck as it's very close to the major blood vessels that go to her brain. He is worried that if it got too big, it could put pressure on the blood vessels and hinder the blood flow to her brain. My big sister is almost 10 years old and my mom and dad are very worried about her. I just want her to be okay and come back home with me. Will send out an update later and let everyone know how Kyah does. Thanks!!

18/04/2016

One of my favorite things to do, play in the water!! Now, just have to figure out how to dig holes with only one front leg and I'll be good!!

14/04/2016

Hello everyone! It's been two weeks since my surgery and I'm doing great! Today, mom and dad took me to the Dr's office to have my stitches removed. The veterinary nurse was very nice and gentle with me. Mom and dad also got back the final biopsy report on my leg. It was indeed a fibrosarcoma. It was graded at a level 2 (intermediate) tumor. It started at my "wrist" and had already grown all the way up my "elbow" but did not make it to my shoulder. So essentially, amputating my leg saved my life. The report said there is "a less than 17% chance " of cancer cells popping up somewhere else in my body. I'm very glad my mom and dad promptly took me to the Dr when I started limping, otherwise they would never had known I had cancer. It's a perfect reminder to all pet moms and dads that no matter how innocuous you may think something your pet has, whether it be a lump, or a cough, or a limp or anything else, take your furry friend to the doctor. It could mean the difference between life and death.

11/04/2016

Hi Everyone! I've had a lot of people message and ask me how I'm doing today. I had a little bit of an "off" day today. My legs were a little achy, I probably overdid it yesterday, so my mom made me rest today. I've also been having problems with my appetite. I only eat a little bit at a time and sometimes I don't want to eat at all. I didn't eat all day today but my mom was finally able to tempt me with some boiled chicken and rice. She just has to remember, it's only been a little over a week since my surgery and I'm going to have "up days" and "down days". One day at a time mom, one day at a time. I thought I'd take the time to share a video of another TRULY AMAZING tri-pawd. Her name is Luccca. It's a long video but worth watching. A big thank you for her service to our country!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPZs9EVqNuA

A retired US Marine Corps dog who protected the lives of allied troops in Iraq and Afghanistan has been honoured with the PDSA Dickin Medal – the animal equi...

08/04/2016

I know some people might not want to see this but I'm posting an incision pic for the benefit of any owners out there that may be facing life with a tri-pawd. This is one week post-op. When Asia came home, the area around her incision was very swollen and bruised. It weeped a small amount of pinkish watery drainage for the first few days. I was assured that that was completely normal. As you can tell, the bruising and swelling subsided quickly. She has sutures in her incision that will be removed next week. Some Dr's use sutures, some staples. When Dr Groves (Asia's vet) explained her surgery to us, he said he left the humeral head and a small portion of the humerous intact with a muscle flap over it. At the time, I didn't think to ask why, but after brainstorming with a friend, we thought he may have left it as a spacer and to possibly aid with gait retraining. I'm going to ask for sure at her next appointment but if anyone knows the answer, let me know. She's getting more and more comfortable laying on her surgical side

08/04/2016

Quite an improvement from the scared little girl that didn't even want to stand up her first day home!!

08/04/2016

HI everyone! Yesterday was the one week mark of my becoming a tri-pawd. I'm making great strides, or shall I say, hops, at becoming my old self again. Mom got up this morning and found me in one of my favorite sleeping positions. She just giggled and said "that's my girl"!!!!

06/04/2016

Thank you Auntie Carol for sending me chicken jerky!! I haven't had a good appetite but I gobbled down two of these in seconds!!

06/04/2016

This is my little sister Daisy. She just turned four. She's a Potcake just like me. She misses rough housing with me.