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Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

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Just came home....I'm pretty scared
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Member Since:
21 July 2018
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10 August 2018 - 2:54 pm
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18th July 1 day after surgery I slept downstairs with her for the first week so I could keep an extra eye on her. Bad timing for me as all my family had gone way I was an emotional wreak but good for poppy so she could rest up properly she ended up sleeping on my bed on the floor and me on the sofa or on the floor with poppy when she needed comfort 

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10 August 2018 - 3:01 pm
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26th July I will get a new one tomorrow now the fur is growing back and all stitches have been removed

Virginia







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22 February 2013
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11 August 2018 - 12:46 am
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Awwww Poppy.  You are a beautiful gal, even with that cone!

And you look so adorable  and so relaxed in that second  photo!😎

Hugs 

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!

On The Road


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11 August 2018 - 2:15 pm
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Really, really cute photos! I snuck one of them into our Tripawds photo gallery, hope you don't mind.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Member Since:
3 August 2018
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15 August 2018 - 11:50 pm
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How’s Nilla doing??  We just brought our girl home tonight (front right leg amp)!  Hope all is well heart

Member Since:
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22 August 2018 - 10:49 am
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So sorry I have not written in over a week.  My husband an I were on vacation in Ireland.  Bad timing with everything going on with Nilla, but we're glad we went.  Beautiful country, wonderful people, food, music, and drink.  I highly recommend a visit to the Emerald Isle.  

Things with Nilla are not so great, and we opted to make some medical decisions that may have been made out of our own selfishness for wanting to keep her around.  Right before we left for Ireland we had an appointment with the oncologist, at which time Nilla had completely stopped eating for 5 days.  Because Nilla had had a history of inappetance prior to the MCT and amputation, the vet suspected something else going on, and possibly the MCT having spread.  We could not start Nilla on steroids at that time because her open stitch wound had not yet completely healed.  We explored all of our option, and ultimately we chose to do an endoscopy, a colonoscopy, a liver biopsy, and to have a feeding tube inserted.  Nilla was discharged to us one day before we were scheduled to leave for Ireland, and if I had purchased trip insurance, I am certain I would have cancelled the trip.  

In the end, my sister-in-law, who had so lovingly volunteered to watch Nilla while we were away, ended up bringing her back to Cornell on the second day of our trip because she just could not handle the round-the-clock care Nilla needed.  Nilla ended up being medically boarded at Cornell during for the duration of our vacation.  Expensive, but at least she was in good hands  

The positive outcome to the testing is that no signs of cancer were found!!!  Nilla was found to have a moderate case of Irritable Bowel Disease in her intestines, gastritis in her stomach, and abnormalities in her liver which appear to be medication and age related.  She was started on steroids about 6 days ago, and is expected to remain on them for at least one month.  With the feeding tube, we are able to insert pureed dog food and medication, so she is getting calories and nutrition.  She is still able to eat on her own if she chooses to, and 6 days into the steroid meds, Nilla is opting to eat a little bit of kibble during the day (between 3/4 - 1 1/4 cups total), but I am having to continue to supplement with the tube feedings.  Caring for Nilla these days is like caring for my children when they were babies -- timed feedings, having to prepare the syringes (they are 2 oz syringes and she is taking up to 8 1/2 oz per feeding), warming up the pre-pureed dog food, sanitizing the syringes after each use, etc. etc. etc.  The ultimate goal is to have Nilla eating on her own again, but there is the chance that she will not, in which case she will be dependent on us for nutrition for the remainder of her life, however long that may be.  We fluctuate between thinking we did the right thing and thinking we made a selfish decision.  But we had no way of knowing that after amputation she would stop eating, and we just didn't think it was right to have beat cancer and then let her starve to death. 

One of the negative side effects of the steroid medication is that it can cause muscle weakness.  Since being on the steroids, although she is now eating a little, we are also seeing times that her rear leg is weak and cannot hold her up straight, while there are other times that she seems strong and hops around without a problem.  Stairs are still really hard for her, especially full staircases that contain 12 or so stairs.  There are times that it seems more humane to carry her up and down stairs, rather than make her exert herself to hop up or down.  

Luckily this week and next week I am able to bring her to work with me (I am an administrator at a school and the students don't return until after Labor Day).  What has been great about this is that I am able to see her interact with strangers and explore new spaces; while she is doing that I sit back and see my old curious, social, playful, and problem-solving dog and think YES, we did the right thing.  But then we get to my office and she rejects water and food, and starts to show all of these medication side effects (trembling, agitation, jaw smacking), and I wonder if her quality of life will ever improve.  

If you're still with me, thank you for reading and letting me get my thoughts and feelings down.  I have obviously become completely self-obsessed with Nilla these days, and I think my friends and co-workers are tired of listening to my Nilla woes, anxieties, and little successes.  

heartJill

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22 August 2018 - 11:22 am
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Jill you are doing all the right things! Stay strong for Nilla, we are here so vent away!  Healing takes time and some longer than others all you can do is take it one day, one hour at a time.  You can do this!  Maybe look in to some supplements to start adding in with daily meds and a good massage by mama on those hips and spine are good too.  Sending lots of strength to you both! heart

Green Bay, WI


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22 August 2018 - 12:06 pm
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Wow! You sure have your hands full! Kudos for all your excellent care of her. I think all of us at some point in this journey have questioned our motives and decisions. I do know all you have done has been done out of love for Nilla - no one can fault you for that. I hope that with time she begins to eat on her own, and you can discontinue the feeding tube. If not, you will handle that too. We are always here for you to vent, or obsess, or whatever......talking about our dogs is what we do best! Keep in touch, paws crossed there are better days ahead.

Paula and Warrior Angel Nitro

Nitro 11 1/2  yr old Doberman; right front amp June 2014. Had 6 doses carboplatin, followed by metronomic therapy. Rocked it on 3 legs for over 3 years! My Warrior beat cancer, but couldn't beat old age. He crossed the Bridge peacefully on July 25, 2017, with dignity and on his terms.  Follow his blog entitled "Doberman's journey"

http://nitro.tripawds.com

"Be good, mama loves you".....run free my beautiful Warrior

Virginia







Member Since:
22 February 2013
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22 August 2018 - 4:37 pm
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We are absolutely  still with you,  in every sense of the word!!

I agree that you absolutely  did the right thing and, all your stella care is giving  Nila a chance to recover! She's  just jad majpr surgery.  She had stitch issues.  She has been on a pretty big variety of meds, many of which can cause tumny  upsets all on their own, much less mixed in with each other.  Add "maturity " into the equation and, as an outsider looking in, its's easy to see why she's  having some "hurdles".  Jist loke matire humans, recovery from anything takes longer, whether it's a cold, a splinter, surgery,  or a stubbed toe...healing just takes longer!!  Add in that she just spent a week at  Cornell....yeah..of course she's not in top top shape yet!!  

I .applaud  you and your Vet for being so proadtive in helping Nila turn around and move past these hurdles. 

Several things in your update stood out to me in your post that were very pawsitive!  Nila is eating on her own! 😎 And that's  a pretty good amount she's  eating too!! 😎  I'm  guessing the tube feeding can make her feel fairly satisfied and not too hungry.

And one of the brightest  part of your update was how engaged Nila is when she's on her "adventure" at school! She's  stimulated  by her new surroundings  and new people.  To me, that shows that Nila still has a strong Spirit!!😎

Hearing all the effort she puts into climbing  those stairs exhausts me just reading about it,,  so I can only imagine how tired she feels after doing that!!  Just my two cents....I would continue  to carry her and eliminate  that stair climbing models.  I know she hates being  carried and I know you have to be real careful with the tube, but, relatively  speaking, I think overall this would be  better for her.

So keep doing what you're  doing, TRY and be patient,  and celebrate  the victories she IS having!

Oh, one other thing.  Maybe while Nila is at school  visiting  with everyone, have one of them try and feed her a cheeseburger, or some Arby's Roast Beef.  And you just stay in the background 

Extra hugs

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!

Member Since:
21 July 2018
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24 August 2018 - 9:13 am
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Thank you all for your support and kind words.  We see improvement in Nilla each day.  Yesterday she actually ate two kibble meals and I did not need to give her an evening tube feeding!!  She also shocked/scared me when I returned to my office after a meeting and could not find her anywhere!!  My office is on the second floor of my school.  I ran in and out of empty classrooms looking for her, until I finally went to the ground floor and found her happily sprawled out in the lobby.  She actually went down two flights of slippery non-carpeted stairs completely on her own!!!  The little pup has been holding out on me!  At the end of the day when it was time to go home I did not even hold her harness handle to assist her down the stairs.  Now that I know she can do them, I just walked on ahead of her and verbally encouraged her to join me at the bottom.  And she did!!  I was one proud mommy.

I've been taking advantage of Nilla's tripawdness and the fact that she has a feeding tube sticking out of her side and a brightly colored bandage wrapped around her lower quarter to keep the tube in place.  I had some errands to run on my way home from work, and rather than leave her in a hot car with windows open, or leave the car running for her, I opted to take her into some stores with me.  Granted, they were local mom-and-pop shops (a fish market, a vacuum cleaner repair store), but when they took one look at my three-legged dog with tubes sticking out of her, they couldn't refuse letting me bring her in.  Tee hee!! As Nilla (and my other dog Eileen) are former breeding dogs for a Guiding Eyes for the Blind Agency, I have always been very protective of the term "Therapy Dog" or "Working Dog", and I personally find it in poor taste when people write away online to get permission to have their dog deemed a therapy dog in order to take them places with them.  Dogs that truly earn the vest have gone through tremendous training and serve a life-line purpose, so I would never take advantage of the title of therapy dog in order to have my dogs come places with me.  Nevertheless, I was very appreciative of the store owners who let me bring my obviously "handicapped" dog into their stores, and of course they showered Nilla with tons of praise and attention (she is very well trained and very well behaved in public).  

We see the internal medicine doctor today and hopefully she will be pleased with the progression of Nilla's healing and eating.  

Jill

Virginia







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22 February 2013
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24 August 2018 - 9:42 am
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YAAAAAAAAY!! SO HAPPY TO READ THIS UPDATE!!!!   We knew she'd  get better.  Your EXPERT care and time did it!😁

I think it's  great that Nila was so well received  at various establishments.   And your decision  to take her in with you and not leave her in a car was spot on.

Slippery non carpeted stairs are scary!  I know you were careful with her though.  It does look like she handled  them just fine though all by herself on her escape run!  You can check into PAWZ .  Very inexpensive  rubber balloon  looking things uou slip on over their feet for traction   and for short term use.

YAAAAAAAAY FOR  EARING ON HER OWN!! SPECTACULAR!!!😁

Keep these great updates coming😁

Hugs

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!

Green Bay, WI


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18 May 2014
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24 August 2018 - 9:54 am
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What fabulous news Jill! Doing the happy dance at our house for you both! Yes, slippery floors are a Tripawd's worst enemy; glad she navigated them safely. The PAWZ boots that Sally mentioned are really good for those floors; but be careful not to leave them on too long if you get some. I had some for Nitro, and left them on when I went to work...when I got home, his foot was swollen to 3x its normal size!

I say play the Tripawd card to the max, and take her everywhere with you! They don't have to know that being a Tripawd isn't really a handicap. She will love the attention, and you can educate others that dogs DO GREAT on 3 legs! 

Yay for eating kibble! Some dogs take longer to recover, they all do it at their own pace. Keep up the good work Nilla - we're cheering for you!

Paula and Warrior Angel Nitro

Nitro 11 1/2  yr old Doberman; right front amp June 2014. Had 6 doses carboplatin, followed by metronomic therapy. Rocked it on 3 legs for over 3 years! My Warrior beat cancer, but couldn't beat old age. He crossed the Bridge peacefully on July 25, 2017, with dignity and on his terms.  Follow his blog entitled "Doberman's journey"

http://nitro.tripawds.com

"Be good, mama loves you".....run free my beautiful Warrior



Member Since:
21 May 2016
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24 August 2018 - 2:20 pm
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SO happy to hear how well your girl is doing, this is fantastic progress and Nila is having a lovely time 🐾💕

Can you not continue to take her with you when students are back?

I am fortunate to live in France where dogs are welcome everywhere but when I was living in the UK it was like the US, dogs are not allowed in shops, restaurants, etc really sad ...

Cheering for your baby and you, cannot tell you how a wonderful update like this lifts my spirit and makes my  day 🎊

Hugs and cuddles 😘🐮💫✨🌟🌹

Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-) 

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