Gemma talks about her tripaw dog Archie.

Working cocker spaniel Archie injured his elbow on a walk, leading to its eventual amputation. He moves so fast you don't notice he has three paws and not four.

When photographer Sarah Loveland learned her beloved thirteen year old dog, Roobi, had a bone tumour in her leg, she was deeply shocked. The vet recommended amputation, but initially, Sarah was unsure.
“I had never met a dog that had three legs,” Sarah revealed. “Having never known anybody that had been through it, I had a good old Google, getting as much info as I could.”
Amputating the leg would probably gain Roobi four months of life. Though that extra time would be pain free, would Roobi adapt to life as a Tripawd?
In online Facebook groups, Sarah saw reassuring videos of tripawd dogs, “There were videos of dogs running, and playing, and doing all of these amazing things. I was like, ‘Wow!’ I didn’t think there were that many three-legged dogs out there – that this was more of a normal thing than I was aware of. And what the dogs were able to do, and it was so positive in these groups and that made me aware that lots of people had been through this and their dogs were living their lives to the full!”
Roobi coped well with the loss of her leg, even walking – “hopping” – out of the vet’s surgery on the first day. Within days, Roobi was back to her bouncy, enthusiastic, tail wagging self. Sarah was delighted, and the more she saw of her own and other dogs, living their best lives on three legs, the more she wanted to celebrate them.
As a photographer, the natural way for Sarah to do that was by taking photographs, and thus Tripawd Superdogs was born. Connecting with other tripawd owners online, Sarah arranged photo shoots, during which she captured beautiful portraits of the dogs participating in their favourite activities.
“One of the photoshoots, with Bella, was at the beach, where she loves to go,” Sarah recalled. “It was her first visit back to the beach after her amputation, and that was an incredible moment to capture!”
Labrador Bella had lost a leg due to osteosarcoma, and the six dogs featured alongside Roobi and Bella had lost a leg due to various circumstances. Working Cocker Spaniel, Archie, injured his leg on a walk, while Belgian Malinois cross, Nzuri, and Chihuahua Kaia had accidents in their own gardens. Harry and Prinny were tripawds when they were adopted, and high energy, agility dog, Mayhem developed a very rare bone cyst.
Sarah collaborated with long time friend and podcast host Julie Hill to record every dog’s story.
“I was so honoured when Sarah asked me to join in the Tripawd Superdogs project,” Julie said. “It’s been fascinating and inspiring to hear about the experiences. The dogs are incredibly resilient, and their owners are loving and supportive.”
The Tripawd Superdogs’ portraits, showing how amazing dogs are despite the curve balls that life has thrown at them, can be seen at SarahLoveland.com. They will be on display in a celebratory exhibition at the Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton Mill, NE21 6RU July/August. The interviews with their owners are available online at DogCastRadio,com.
Roobi, the dog who inspired the whole initiative, enjoyed nine extra months of life thanks to her amputation, and retained her love of a tennis ball and chasing her pals throughout her life.
Sarah said, “Things happen for a reason, and our dogs come into our lives to make them better; certainly we’ve had a lot more laughter and love as a result of having Roobi in our lives.”