Tripawds Three Legged Dog & Cat Forum Archives
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9:53 pm
24 September 2009
Offline
Hi, my name is Gerry and my best friend is a Siberian Husky named Dakota that just turned 11. We live just north of Boston. On September 14’th Dakota came in from going pee and within minutes began crying out in pain like I have never heard and holding his paw off the ground – it lasted for what seemed an eternity while I tried to comfort him and call the vet to tell them I was coming in. My local vet started with thinking lime disease and prescribed mega doses of doxycycline & anti-inflammatory. Over the next few days, and after ruling out lime disease, she seemed to be trying different things and saying it may be severe arthritis. After switching meds a couple times Dakota could not keep food down and was not getting better - the vet said to stop all meds for 2 days and then start again. I trust my vet but my best friend comes first so I called the best place I could think of, Angel memorial hospital in Boston.
Today is September 25, 2009 and we just got back from Angel Memorial hospital in Boston this afternoon with an initial diagnosis of a cancer in the nerve tissue under Dakota’s armpit. The orthopedic surgeon that saw Dakota said that this is the cause of the limp and will continue to get worse and is very painful. The options presented to me are to put my best friend down or amputate the leg. They suggested an MRI to confirm the initial diagnosis – I said to schedule it asap. Right now I am simply devastated and spent the afternoon by Dakota’s side – confused, shocked and just a complete mess.
I stumbled upon this website and am simply amazed that there are people out there that are facing similar challenges and decisions like I am now facing – I feel very fortunate to have found you all. It seems that most of the posters on this website are struggling with bone cancer – but this is not the same thing from what I can understand. I am not even sure what she called the cancer because when she told me the options I had I immediately fell into a state of shock and everything else turned into a blur.
I am posting this now in hopes that someone could give me some advice, information or thoughts on what I should do? I obviously love my best friend and the last thing in the world I want is to cause him any more pain. I am struggling with the thought of amputating his front leg and causing him to have a difficult life ahead – am I being selfish? Any information or thoughts would be MOST appreciated as I try to understand what is happening and work through this to make the right decision. What are the questions I need answered from the doctor? Please help!?
3:01 am
14 June 2009
Offline
Hi Gerry,
Glad you found us, so sorry you needed to! And way to go getting the second opinion!! It's sadly very common for limps caused by cancer to go undiagnosed for a long while as the vets try treating arthritis or tendonitis or any number of things - so way to be proactive.
Results vary, but if other health issues don't get in the way, going by reading the experiences of others here for months now, and my own experience wth my best buddy, Yoda, amputation will not prevent your dog from living a happy, full, pain-free life. It shoud, rather, make it possible for him to do so again.
Now, I don't know anything about the cancer Dakota has (I feel like I barely know anything about the cancer Yoda has), but maybe factors you'll want to find out/consider are survival time statistics and whether more painful tumors are likely. With osteosarcoma (bone cancer), it's pretty rare for another tumor to grow in the bone elsewhere after the primary tumor is removed - usually the next phase is that it goes to the lungs, though that can usually be delayed a good long while with chemo or even slowed down after they appear with various treatments. So you'll probably want to ask about what's recommended after amputation in Dakota's case. Also, if Dakota has any pre-existing health issues, ask if and how those might complicate having the amputation. Those are the questions that first came to my mind after reading your post. I'm sure you'll get other good suggestions from other people.
The three weeks after the amputation are pretty intense, but more manageable than I expected. But then Yoda didn't have any complications, such as an infection. But infections are treatable. Certainly try to get as much time off of work as you can for the first two weeks, but Dakota will do a lot of sleeping, so it's very okay if you can't be with him 24/7. The tricky part about being gone can just be making sure he's not going to be able to mess with his incision site, but there are many ways to deal with that which people here will share. And your vet should advise you on that as well.
What people often report after amputation is that their dog is fairly active the first day or two home from the hospital (most vets will keep them two or three days, I think) - to the point of being troublemakers, some of them - and then crash and act more like dogs who have just had major surgery should and do a lot of sleeping. It seems to be that the heavy-duty painkillers they get initially often keep them fairly anxious for a few days, but they wear off and they're able to catch up on sleeping and healing then (and the pain should be manageable on less meds, like Tramadol or Rimadyl). Yoda did a lot of vocalizing (crying/whining) for the first couple days he was home (and the two days he was with the vet), which he never does, because of the pain meds he had. When those faded, his vocalizing stopped (though staring into space and turning in circles lasted another couple days). It's hard not to worry in those cases that they're not crying from pain, but Yoda's surgeon showed me how to gently pat Yoda's incision site and if he didn't react and his heart rate didn't go up, he said I could trust that Yoda wasn't in need of more painkillers. Constipation is often an issue after an amputation, but your vet can recommend solutions such as feeding Dakota pumpkin, or chicken with rice, etc. Yoda's surgeon ordered that Yoda be in a furniture-less room, or crated (but Yoda wasn't crate-trained), for the first two weeks to minimize the chances of him tearing his incision by getting on furniture or otherwise being too active. Had to stay with my parents for those two weeks in order to have a room like that, but they were willing and it was a great comfort that Yoda wouldn't be alone as long when I had to go to work. The first two weeks, going out to the bathroom and coming back in will probably be the extent of Dakota's exercise - though sometimes they'll push you pretty hard to let them do more! Yoda's surgeon recommended just out to the bathroom and back in for the first two weeks and then a very gradual increase of walking time, but Yoda fought me pretty hard to go further faster. This, however, resulted in very short walks (two to three houses away) that took a very long time, because on the way back it would be evident that I let him go to far and we would need to take 4 or 5 rests on the way back.
So those are the highlights of what I remember from Yoda's recovery period - to give you an idea what to expect. Now for the fun part, telling you what I got to see after Yoda recovered! Yoda was back at the dog park a month after his amputation. Unfortunately, on his very first trip back he confirmed for me that, yes, he would still be able to mount other dogs, at least if they were very low to the ground - congratulations Yoda, you can still embarrass your mom at the park! He played chase with other dogs that first day without any hesitation and we have had excellent, regular trips to the dog parks in our area ever since. Yoda also became suddenly much better at catching tennis balls in the air - an unexpected post-amp talent. He lost his hesitation about getting in the car, which inexplicably began over a year ago (guess he felt the tumor well before the limp began). And, on our walks through the neighborhood, Yoda was suddenly dragging me over to visit with any neighbors who were out and about, rather than the other way around. So in some ways, I can argue that Yoda is living an even fuller life since his amputation than he was before.
Yoda re-mastered just about every physical activity (stairs, running, etc.) in less than two months (I think it was like a month and a half). The only thing that took him longer was chasing his tail - for some reason that took him three months on the dot. He hasn't caught a rabbit in the yard (he has caught 4 or more in the 3 years I've had him), but I actively thwart his efforts, and he has come very close even then, so I am going to assume he could still do that too. Yoda does seem to have been above the average as far as activity/exercise level post-amputation from what others have said. He's always been a skinny, athletic boy, which the vet said would make him a good candidate for adjusting quickly and he certainly did.
I am so so so so glad that Yoda had his amputation. It was such a rotten couple of months that he limped and limped and the vet couldn't figure out why and I had to keep him from playing and running, so being able to have these past 3 1/2 months of Yoda being able to be active and do all his favorite things again has been such a gift!
Good luck with your decision. It's clear you love Dakota dearly, so you'll do the best you possibly can for him, whatever that may be.
I hope my response wasn't too jumbled or rambly. Yoda's not doing so great tonight, so, rather than sleeping, I'm up keeping watch per the ER vet's instructions, to see if he needs to go in for emergency care or if he's going to be able to get some sleep at home tonight first and then we can have him seen by oncology when they get in in the morning. So far, it looks like waiting til morning was the right choice, he's sleeping now. I realize though, that I may not be fully coherent.
Yoda&Mom united: 9/5/06 …….… Yoda&Leg separated: 6/5/09……… Yoda&Leg reunited: 10/14/09 ……… ……………….………….………….……. Yoda&Mom NEVER separated! …………………….….……....….…… Though Spirit Yoda currently free-lances as a rabbit hunting instructor for tripawds nationwide
Gerry:
Welcome to the group. I'm so sorry you have to meet everybody this way. I have an Alaskan Malamute with OSA, rear leg amputation. (Yay, artic dogs!) She does extremely well. We were very lucky, after we got through the initial few weeks, Tika did incredible and we do not regret amputation at all. I was very scared to go through with it, but this site helped me realized that I am making Tika's life better.
My vet told me, dogs are on/off switches, it's all about being in pain, or not. If they are not in pain anymore, they aren't going to worry too much about a missing appendage, they get around just fine.
Nowadays, it's funny to see how many people don't notice that she's an amputee! They always ask why she's limping or if she's hurt. Then we gently point out that she's a TriPawd and they gasp and say, BUT SHE DOES SO WELL! We humans, we just don't get it. I guess it's because we are mere mortals who are relegated to wandering around on two legs.
I'm sure you are tearing up the internet like all of us do. That will probably help you develop your questions. Ours was mainly post-operative care and fighting the spread of the cancer. It's a very scary time for you, I know, but these babies of ours just will amaze you with their resiliance and strength.
As for questions:
1. Will Dakota need any chemotherapy? (most dogs take it really well)
2. What are the chances of the cancer spreading? What can be done to slow the chances?
3. Is the tumor benign or malignant? (that's usually found out post-op biopsy)
Take a moment to look at the videos of the tripawds, they are a pretty happy crew! Also, if you can search for the story of Calpurnia the wonder sled dog on this site, you'll find she's an inspiration.
Good luck! Tika sends a malamute roo out to Dakota.
--Kim and Tika
Kim and Spirit Tika http://www.tika.....ogspot.com
8:39 am
Team Tripawds
Administrators
25 September 2009
Offline
Hello Gerry. We feel for you and Dakota, but are glad you found us here in Tripawds Community.
There is plenty of discussion throughout these forums of synovial cell sarcoma, spindle cell, hemangio sarcoma, and nerve sheath tumor, among others. Any of those sound familiar? Try the search function if you can remember what the vet called Dakota's daignosis.
You may also find Jerry's posts answering top dog cancer amputation questions helpful. And many have found relief from angst about such difficult decisions about amputation in the book <a title="Without Regret: A Handbook for Owners of Canine Amputees" href="