Hi,

This is my first post on the tripaws website, but my Golden Emma recently had her back leg amputated on Tuesday. She is a bigger girl weighing 92 lbs before amputation. She has no previous problems with her hips or arthritis.

They have kept her at the animal hospital because she has been putting her other back leg out to the side instead of under her trying to compensate for the missing back leg. When she is in the sling she gets along great. We thought we would be able to take her home today but the vet thinks it would be better to keep her at the hospital over the weekend to make sure she doesn't fall and hurt her incision and keep on working with her. Someone mentioned they are trying to get more money but I seriously doubt that. This is a highly prestigious hospital and they have staff there 24 hours a day.

Everything I have read said their dogs came home 1,2, or 3 days after the surgery. My vet said he has never had a dog that could not walk on 3 legs but I am worried because I don't want to have to use the sling forever. I knew it might be something we would use during her recovery, perhaps until her stitches are removed.

I am discouraged but one hand I think she might do better at home, but then what if she falls and hurts herself?

Emma what a sweet face!  I'm sorry you're having a time of it trying to figure out your balance.  Daisy is a front amp.  Hopefully Emma is just loopy from the pain meds.  She is still in the very early stages of recovery from major surgery.

Fingers and paws crossed that Emma is up and about on her own in no time!  Keep us updated.

Marla and Daisy

Welcome!  Sorry Emma is progressing slower than expected, but try not to worry too much yet.  I totally agree with Charon that seeing you might make her more motivated to move around.  A visit might be just what she needs!

By the way, we recently met a new amputee mom here in our town (that we, of course, referred to this site).  Embarrassingly, I can't remember her name and checked your profile to see if it was her that signed-up.  I saw that you are from Greenville, SC, which is my hometown!  Nice to see you here.  It is a GREAT group of people and they will be immeasurably helpful to you in the coming weeks!

Good luck!

Lisa

Welcome to Tripawds! I think it is very normal for Emma to not be able to walk on her own quite yet. She will have to learn a new way of balancing herself and build up her muscles to be strong enough to hold her self up. My Dog Valentina had a hard time at first. She was quite big because she was a Great Dane and 150lbs. The vet kept her a couple of extra days also. She was there about 5 days I think. They said that she was having trouble learning to balance too and they wanted to make sure she could walk a little better before I took her home because of her being so big. My husband is gone alot and I had to be the one to take her outside and I weigh 110 lbs so we really needed to make sure she could walk good enough for me to be able to handle her on my own. Even after I brought her home she still needed my assistance with a sheet that I used as a sling for about another week. Being on the pain meds does make them weak and tired and they are somewhat disoriented at first too. Each day will get a bit better. She will likely sleep, sleep, sleep and sleep some more. Valentina slept so much and when it was time for her to go outside I really had to coax her to get up. She really didn't want to. Valentina was a front amp and I have heard that the rear amps can take a little longer to get adjusted. I think everything will work out just fine. It just takes time. It's still very early. There are some stories on here about Dogs that are up and running around right away but it wasn't like that for me so don't think that something is wrong if Emma takes her time to get used to things. Praying for Emma"s full recovery so the two of you can get back to enjoying each other.

Welcome Emma and humans!   Baby (my 155lb mastiff) stayed in the hospital for almost 5 days.  She just wasn't interested in doing anything for the vet or techs that were working with her.  They kept her because they thought she wasn't thriving if she didn't get up for them. They gave her lots of attention, but she only really responded when we took her home. When we got home and took her out to the front grass (trying to help with the sling, of course) she just sat down and looked at us.  When we let go, she trotted (hopped) off and did her own thing just fine.  Some dogs really prefer to do things themselves.  I have no idea if Emma will react that way… but it's possible.  If not, the rest and love you give her will let her find her strength and balance when she's ready.  We worry much more than our dogs do.  They just take it a moment at a time.  Chicken..yummm!

Wishing you all the best

Judy and Baby