We are past the one month mark from Yeti’s surgery and every day is a gift. She has already passed the two month mark since diagnosis too! Each day Yeti gets a little stronger, we figure out a little more, and things are feeling good. Man, those first two weeks were SO hard and I am thankful for the ease of forgetting now that things have improved. We have so many good supporters and idea offerers and capable vets (in our family and in our town) that we are trying to figure out what works for our dog, who can be willful, lazy, adventurous, athletic, and sensitive sometimes all at once… Here are some things that we are doing with the sheepdog that I thought I would share… She is still on Gabapentin as her only pain medication and we are slowly weening her off of this as it is kind of intense on the system and shouldn’t be quit cold turkey – glad I had done some reading on that one before making our own decision because it sounds like effects of withdrawal can be pretty awful. Because she has been acting so perky (the colder weather definitely has something to do with it) the vet encouraged us to try a slow taper off the med but to keep pain meds around in case she has a down day. She is also taking some chinese herbs called Wei Chi Booster in addition to the kelp powder, turmeric, and fish oil supplements she started taking at diagnosis in August. Easy cheese and/or peanut butter have been pill vessels of choice for the beast; otherwise she snubs our offers… We also started taking her to our vet 1x or 2x a week for underwater treadmill sessions to help her figure out a more efficient gait and to build some muscles. We have noticed that she can walk farther between rests and seems more stable while on the move. She can run for a bit too, which gives us as much of a rush as it must give her. We are not talking about “going for a run” which the Yeti has long considered unwarranted torture – why go so fast when there is so much to observe? We’re talking a 15 yard run to see what the neighbor cat is doing – short but amazing nonetheless. Here’s to all of the other tripawds and their people who are healing, sleeping, dreaming, transitioning, and preparing for another day of play. After all, it is Saint Jerry’s Day and we owe a lot to him and his people for pioneering this tripawd journey online for others to learn from and grow.