Tripawds Three Legged Dog & Cat Forum Archives
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Well folks, thought i would update you guys, and maybe get some advice...
Toby healed well from his surgery, he was up and hopping around normally in about 2 weeks. It has been an adjustment but he has been in very good spirits the last couple months - it's really amazing how fast he healed up!
Toby has been through other surgeries, he has had 2 TPLO surgeries (knee replacements), one back when he was about a year old, and the other the next year.
Unfortunately I fear things have taken a turn for the worse for Toby.. he can barely walk or stand on one of his rear legs. This has been happening the last week or so, but now he will only tap it on the ground to keep his balance. Once again, he seems to be in a lot of pain, lucky i still have some pain killers left from the vet.
I think I might have to take him in tomorrow, and I fear it will not be good ... 
First of all, really glad to hear that Toby has been enjoying being Toby and being spoiled and loved! That's why we do what we do!!
Try not to jump to worse case scenario. We see tweaks like this in tripawd happen just as yoi described. Uoj arr soing exactly what needs to be done until you can get him evaluated...pain meds and rest. Do you have a harness or a sling to use in the meantime?
He may have pulled a muscle, stretched a ligament in one of those knees, or it may even be a back or disc issue that shows up as a bad limp.
Do you have access to a Rehab Specialist? They are really good at identifying the exact cause of the toe tapping/limp. It's also possible that a brace may be suggested until his leg has a chance to recover
Do you have any Rimadyl that has been prescribed to Toby in the past?
Keep us posted and update when you can. We're all cheering for Toby! Hes a tough guy and that's a good thing!!
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!
Toby and family,
OK try not to panic. Usually we see a new Tripawd's mobility become compromised when they become too active before their body is ready. I'm glad you are taking him to be evaluated, but for now, tell us more about his mobility: what kind of activity has he been doing? How long are his walks? Does he play with other dogs throughout the day? Think back to what his play sessions have been like: could it be possible he sprained something?
We see this happen a lot. Hopefully this is the case with Toby. Please keep us posted and also, please start a new topic about this issue in "Hopping Around" since Toby has graduated from the diagnosis phase. Thanks!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Toby and family,
Did you have him checked out? Just wondering how you made out and how Toby is.
Jackie and Huck
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
Not quite yet, I gave it a couple days to see if it gets any better and it's really not, he groans and just lays around a lot... I have some gabapentin I have been giving him for pain.
I am taking him in tomorrow and will update.
Glad you have him on some pain meds. And laying around is probably the best thing for him to do right now.
We'll be watching for your update. If it is a cruciate/ligament issue, is is treatable!!
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!
Checking in on Toby and family-----hoping all is well
Fallon 8/28/06--9/6/18. My Heart.
Fallon's left front leg was amputated due to osteosarcoma on 10/11/17.
Nothing But Love in Her Heart - dawn3g.tripawds.com
Toby's vet visit went well, ended up taking him yesterday 1/2/19.
They sedated him and took a few xrays, they found no tumors in his knees. No real hip or back problems, a little disk separation in his lower spine but that does not seem to be bothering him.
So in a nutshell, they really did not know what was wrong with him other than common arthritis pain and some joint discomfort that is common for older dogs, the important thing is that the cancer has not spread his surgery sites. They gave me some more rymadil and gabapentin, charged me 480$
and sent us on our way... pretty damn pricey.
Thing is, Toby is not well, he is barely walking and he could not walk after we got home from the vet, he is constantly moaning and whining and it takes a lot to get him to stand, when he does stand he puts barely any weight on his left rear foot. He also will not eat which is weird for him, I figured yesterday that it is just the anesthesia wearing off but today he is still pretty uncomfortable.
I guess at this point i just need to keep him comfy and hope that he starts to show some signs of improvement over the next couple of weeks.
Thanks for the concern guys, means a lot!
Ok, well .. some of this could be from the sedation. And not knowing if they put him full under or not, even if they gave him mild sedation it can make them kind of loopy.
Also, when positioning for these xrays, sometimes you have to get them into a position that may not be very comfortable. He may be sore. If they had to lay him on his back which is quite common, you have to stretch them out a bit which again can make them sore.
The whining and moaning may just be the sedation. Just like people, animals all react differently to those drugs. Hopefully they will all wear off soon.. and you may see your boy being himself again. Some animals process it slower than others, and this could be why he does not want to eat. Try to spoil him with something good like rotisserie chicken, scrambled eggs.. something he likes a lot.
Make sure to give the medications to him as regimented as possible. If there is no improvement soon, I would call the vet and tell them. I would not be surprised to think he might be a tad worn and sore from the rads. I have taken too many of them to count and if you don't get the angles just the right way they end up getting repeated so most try hard to get them still enough to get a good shot the first time.
If he is not improving over, say 24 hours, then they may give you something additional to help make him comfy.
Keeping fingers and paws crossed that this passes quickly.
Jackie and Huck
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
How is Toby doing today? My dog Remy (see blog Remy's Journey) was diagnosed with OSA of his left front leg as well.
Remy is our 8 year old black lab and we adore him. We were as shocked as you and did not know what to do. We did not want to take away all the fun he has running and swimming and jumping but we were not ready to say goodbye either. Our Vet told us about several dogs that had the same surgery to amputate a leg and were getting along beautifully. It was a very hard decision for us to make. We had the Chest X-ray which did not show that it had spread there. So, we went ahead with the surgery in November. I cannot tell you how glad I am that we did.
Remy is running and jumping and doing almost everything he did when he had 4 legs. He loves life, loves to eat (he is a Lab) and although we have not taken him swimming yet, I have no doubt that he will swim with a life vest on. He is still the sweetest boy.
I am making his food since I have read that we should limit his carbs and also read that the dog food processing can be detrimental to his health. It's actually something that I enjoy making in my crockpot. Once a week I make a batch. We also got in touch with a holistic Vet in North Carolina who has Remy on 3 homeopathic remedies which are easy enough to give to him. We are feeling very optimistic about his health and loving him everyday.
Please let us know how Toby is doing after his surgery.
WE are all here for you and Toby.
Lynn (Mommers)
Remy's Journey
Just to update:
-Toby had his amputation back in Sept of this year, his mobility was just fine for the first few weeks.
-Chest Xrays done in Sept, did not show the cancer metastasizing into his lungs, and a couple weeks ago the vet said that there is no sign of cancer in either of his knees/lower back.
-Toby has had 2 TPLO (knee replacements) surgeries in the past (2013/2014)
Toby seemed to do a little better after the last vet visit once the sedation wore off. The vet also told me I could double up on his gabapentin and rymadil, I also give him CBD dog treats which seem to calm him down a bit.
Recently, this has been giving me a lot of anxiety... Toby wakes me up in the middle of the night whimpering a groaning, he has a very hard time getting up and still will not put any weight on his back left leg. He seems to be breathing funny sometimes and his appetite is not normal at all. It is hard to get him to use the bathroom...it really freakin' sucks, and I am almost at a loss as to what to do, pain meds seem to help but they are only going so far.
I feel like maybe he needs his chest xrayed... and according to the vet the only way to see what is wrong with his rear leg is to see a orthopedic speciali$t...
Or, i hate to say this.. but maybe it is just his time. 
I am so sorry to hear this. I know you have invested a lot of time, love, and money into your furbaby.
It has to be frustrating trying to do the right things and still not getting answers. And many of us have to sit calmly when things are not going well and decide when they need to draw the line.
Right now i guess would be a good time for you to decide how far you can/are able to go with this. If you don't do the xrays on his chest, are you going to be ok with this decision later? These are tough questions that only you can answer, and if that answer is yes then that's what you need to look at. Same for all the other questions you have.
This is never an easy decision to come to, and there's no right or wrong answers. You have done everything in your power to give Toby the best life you could possibly give him. On the other hand, you cannot put yourself in a place where you can't take care of yourself either.
Everything you've done for your boy you've done out of love, don't forget that. And we will be here to support you the whole way.
Hugs,
Jackie and Huck ❤️
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
I'm so sorry Toby is having such a difficult time. Please don't panic, or think the worst. You just haven't found the right practitioner to give you concrete answers and a diagnosis of what's going on.
I would definitely look for a specialist. An ortho vet is a good start but if he were my Wyatt Ray I would head straight to a rehabilitation therapist who can assess his pain levels and how to help him get better and stronger. What you are describing (lack of appetite, vocalizing, etc) bears a resemblance to pain signals and it wouldn't be unusual for a dog to have a setback after surgery, especially when the dog hasn't been to rehab. Please consult our Tripawds Foundation rehab reimbursement post, which is where we talk about how the foundation may pay for your first rehab visit .
P.S. Please start a new topic about this issue in “Hopping Around” since Toby has graduated from the diagnosis phase. His story will be there to help others going through post-amputation mobility challenges. Thanks.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I hear ya but this isn't right after surgery, the surgery was back in Sept... and he was fine for about 3 months, this has been an unfortunate, steady decline...
The only reason I am keeping this thread here going is because of the people in it know his story (thank you so much for the support) and the fact this thread is probably getting close to being done.
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