Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Oh it is so nice to hear from you! I am relieved to find out your Roxy girlie is doing well. What happened to you is not really unusual at all, it has happened to a lot of people. Seems even moreso with the larger dogs, but once the incision is all healed and her sutures are out it will make a big difference! It is really good that she is doing rest and potty breaks, that's just what she needs right now.
I can't tell you how good it is to hear that you are all well. Please stay in touch and let us know how she progresses.
Jackie and Huckleberry 
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
roxycorbin said
It hasn't been easy, but when she's looking at you and wagging her tail, you know you made the right decision. She also isn't in pain like she was the days before amputation. The leg severely hurt her. She doesn't have the freedom she once had, but she's a Mastiff all she wants to do is lay in the grass sniff the air and then come inside and sit on you.
OVER THE MOON HAPPY TO HEAR FROM YOI!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Sometimes when we don't hear back on surgery day....well....let's just say it's not aways could and we worry greatly for our friends.
YES, wagging tails, sniffing the scents in the breeze, being your side,that's pure bliss to Roxy!!You've nailed what's important!
Sorry you've been on such roller coaster. And as Jackie said, we do see this type of thing and it is just a temporary "challenge" that is fixable. And yeah, as Paula said, delays in chemo also happen. And Paul's Nitro whipped butt for over three years before old age took him to the Bridge.
Thanks again for the update!! Need no worry about being in the site. The important thing is to be enjoying each and glorious moment with magnifcent Roxy! Give her a couple of extra treats from us.....And a scoop of ice cream too! Mastiffs deserve a scoop of ice cream! 🙂
Large 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!
So good to hear from you both 🌷💕
As others said, you don’t need to worry about chemo, Roxy will start when she is ready, no problem 🐾
Keep up the good work, you’ve got millions of sweet times ahead with your baby girl 🎀
Some pictures would be lovely ... wink wink ...
😘😘🐮💫✨🌟🌹
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 :-)
We all go through the same thought process. Oh My what have I done. Well you have taken away the source of pain and given your fur baby a chance at some quality extra time.
Me and my Cookie are 2 months post op and her quality of life seems very good. We have had 2 chemos which she tolerates well and although with osteosarcoma we cannot know how much time they have left, we get good quality time together and I'm glad we went through with treatment.
My original vet gave no treatment options at all. Just here are some pain meds, and she has 1 or 2 months ?
WRONG ANSWER, and I discovered this through Tri Pawds!! Who knows Maybe she will have clear rads after her chemo and then I get her on the Vaccine.
I remain positive and hopefull and the tail wags confirm we chose the right option by giving her treatment
I would never forgive myself had I let the disease take its course untreated, and she probably would no longer be with me.
So after Roxy's re-switching last week, we got two new medications to fight the infections. The problem is now she wont eat. Everything she was eating she eventually stops. We are at the point of using a syringe to shoot baby food down her throat. Even water is starting to become a chore. She was just at the vet two days ago to get the pump removed and they said everything looks good and to start chemo on Saturday. She is still leaking a little fluid, but the major issue is her not eating. I honestly feel like we are torturing her at this point. I feel like she is just starving away. I don't know what we're doing anymore.
I don't have answers to the not eating problem. You have to go with your heart. Do your best. When you are sick, and I mean you personally, eating is not a priority. Probably same with Roxy.
It's tough but you are not alone here. I wish you the strength to carry on and the best for your efforts.
I saw some news footage from a speech that Barbara Busch gave to a graduating class. Not an exact quote but the ghist of it was you will not miss a lost business deal, a sports game u didn't attend etc., but you will miss the time not spent with those you love. I wish I had more time with my Charlie, but that is water under the bridge now. So you fight the hard fight, do what you can and you won't regret it.
My best to you.
After my dobe' amp, he wouldn't eat for 7 days. We spooned yogurt down his throat to get his meds in him. Eventually we offered him his very favorite jerky treat and he started eating. Good luck
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"
"Be good, mama loves you".....run free my beautiful Warrior
I'm sorry Roxy isn't eating well. There are a few antibiotics that can irritate the stomach. Hills Prescription a/d is a high nutrient high calorie good meant for post operative and debilitated animals. It has a really smooth consistency and you could syringe feed it if necessary although I haven't seen a lot turn their noses to it. You might try to see if you can get some from her vet. Hamburger, rotisserie chicken, sweet potatoes, any thing that she will eat. Scrambled eggs too.
If her appetite doesn't get better you can speak with your vet. They might want to change some of her meds, and they may want to give her some sub q fluids. Make sure they know she's not eating.
Hopefully this is just temporary and she'll start eating. There is also a medicine called Mirtazapine that is an appetite stimulant. I don't know if they will recommend for or against depending on if they feel it's a good idea in her situation, but it's worth at least asking about.
Fingers and paws crossed for you.
Big hugs,
Jackie and Huck ❤️
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
Okay, deep breath.....really.....deep breath......breathe.......breathe........breathe......you and Roxy have been through a lot!! The stress of getting to this point....MAJOR SURGERY. ...drains....infections....a SECOND SURGERY FOR RESTITCHING.....heavy antibiotics .......it is NO surprise she doesn't feel like eating.
Did the Vet do a culture to see what antibiotics were best suited for the infection?? Some infections like MRSA require very specific antibiotics.
And yes, a dose of subsQ fluids can do wonders sometimes to stimulate the appetite. Forget her regular dog food at this point, try cheeseburgers, stinky liverwurst, cheese pizza, all the other suggestions, etc. And get the prescription diet mentioned.
As far as starting the chemo Saturday, that is YOUR decision to proceed or not Saturday. .YOU are Roxy's advocate. You know Roxy best and you live with her 24/7!! It IS important to have her in good shape in order to proceed. Many of us delayed chemo because our dogs were having a rough recovery, or infections, or not eating, etc. My Happy Hannah didn't have her first carboplatin until after the third week because I didn't feel she was strong enough until then. If I recall, Paula's NITRO delayed his chemo for five weeks .
So try not to add the stress of feeling like you need to start chemo Saturday to everything you are dealing with. Not a Vet and not giving Vet advice, but, like I said, MANY delayed chemo beyond the two week or three week mark...and into the fifth and sometimes sixth week.
So see if the culture was checked for MRSA
Ask about Sub Q fluids.
Ask about a couple of cans of prescription dog food.
Continue to try any yummy human food you can think of.....or stinky food.
Keep us updated and hang onto us. Roxy will get through this.
Lots of 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!
We haven't even tried dog food. Everything we could think of at the food store we have bought and tried. She smells it and looks like she's going to eat it but turns away at the last second. She still seems strong, and doesn't even seem weak. She does look skinnier though. It's yogurt for now delivered through a syringe. The vets who include a vet, the surgeon and oncologist say we need to try different things to get her to eat. She has three types of bacterial infections. They want to take more bloodwork tomorrow. She doesn't have a fever, and besides drinking less and not eating, she seems to be doing well. The vet strongly wants to start chemo tomorrow. It seems they don't want to put it off. I have to trust them with this. They know cancer in dogs and amputations. Why would they do harm to a dog. That's what I keep telling myself. I guess I will see what happens tomorrow. Our appointment is 830 tomorrow morning. Thanks again for all of your responses. They are not only informative, but they also give me hope during some tough times.
Roxy has THREE bacteria infections??? Geez Roxy!! You like to be really...er....unique" with your recovery! And then not eating or deinking very well, you are something else kiddo!! Just eating yogurt with a syringe ??? Yep, quite a "unique" gal!!!
Have the Vets offered anything for nausea , or an appetite stmulant, or the special diet food sold by the Vet?
I certainly don't blame you at all for questioning about proceeding with chemo tomorrow!! So don't think you're whacko for being concerned!
Sometimes we just have to listen to what our gut tells us and trust that "inner voice" Roxy's system is on overload trying to recover from surgery and fight off three bacterial infections, all while not getting any good nutrition.
Continue to ask questions tomorrow and express your concerns. Whether you pursue chemo tomorrow or wait six or seven days, what is their plan for increasing her appetite beyond syringe feeeing yogurt. Plans for increasing water jntake (fluids?) Ask more particulars about the bacterial, infections and causes. Some of the side effects from chemo can be lack of appetite (ugh), nausea and sometimes diarrhea . Ask what their plan of action would be to address those issues should they occur..
Certainly your Vets want to do what's best for Roxy. Absolutely That goes without saying. And ideally, the "tneories" back in my Happy Hannah's day were to start chemo within a two to three week window on a dog who has no recovery issues. But as I mentioned in a previous post, sometimes treatments don't start until further out due to recovery challenges that take longer to clear up. Not uncommon at all.
Get your questions answered and just do what feels right in your gut! Update us when you can. And stop fpr a cheeseburger at drive thru for Roxy. Maybe... .,just maybe she'll eat it.
Lots of 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!
It is a MRSA type infection. She's had it before with her toes we have had removed due to little tumors through out her life. We are going to drop all the meds but the ramfadan?, and a anti nausea med. The dr said everything looked good, and was confident the infection looked good. They were very happy on how everything looked. Starting chemo right now, and will have her back in an hour.
I wish you both good luck in the treatment. I hope it all goes smoothly for you. 💖
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
Keeping fingers & paws crossed that today goes well, let us know OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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