Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
Hello. I am new to this website, wish I did not have to visit it, but so glad it exists. Two weeks ago we discovered a hard lump on the back leg of our 7 year old, 70 pound, otherwise healthy black lab. After an initial visit to our regular veterinarian, who thought it may be blastomycosis, which came back negative, we took Izzy to a veterinary oncologist. Her blood work came back fine, as well as her chest xrays, but additional xrays of her leg showed what they think could be hystiocytic sarcoma (maybe synovial sarcoma?). They did a biopsy and we are waiting for the results of that to see what type of cancer we are dealing with. After those results, we have an appointment for an ultrasound to see if the cancer has spread to any of her organs. Aside from this lump on her leg, and now some slight limping after the biopsy, you would never know she could be sick.....she is happy, still wants to eat all the time, begging for treats, playing, etc. We are still praying for a miracle, that it's not hystiocytic sarcoma and just some rare form on non-malignant cancer, but trying to be realistic. Can anyone tell me if they have dealt/are dealing with hystiocytic sarcoma or synovial sarcoma and what your experience has been? Did you amputate? Chemotherapy? My husband is very much against amputation as he thinks she would not have the same quality of life and we'd only be doing it for us, not for her. Thank you.
Hi Izzyben, welcome. We always say this is the club that nobody wants to join, but we're glad you're here.
Sorry to hear about the possible diagnosis. I know it's not easy to envision your dog as a Tripawd, there isn't a single person here who didn't wrestle with the decision. And for some dogs, amputation isn't an option. But for your dog, as long as your vets agree that she is a good candidate, there's no reason why she can't have a great quality of life. Has your husband been here and watched our videos or scrolled through our blogs? That's a great place to start.
There have been quite a few dogs with the histiocytic sarcoma diagnosis. As with any cancer, the disease can progress in a textbook way or it can go into remission and surprise everyone, which is what we all hope for. You just never know. But here's one of our all-time longest survivors, Barney B . from Houston, who beat histio as a young pup and is still loving life! Show this story to your husband if he hasn't seen it already:
http://tripawds.....r-suvivor/
As for chemo, some people opt in and some people opt out, there are no right or wrong decisions. Chemo can help your dog beat the odds but like anything there are no guarantees. It's a very individual decision and whatever you decide to do we will support you. The best way to decide is to meet with an oncologist to get all of the facts first.
Try to take things one step at a time right now. It's a lot to take in but we're here to help. Be sure to check out Jerry's Required Reading List for more helpful tips, and our Tripawds e-books Library if you haven't yet.
Good luck and keep us posted OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi, and welcome to Tripawds, thee best pet cancer support group ever......So sorry you may be dealing with the "ugly c" but hopefully this will come back non-cancerous on sweet Izzy. No, she doesn't know she may be sick, that is the joy of our pets... they are totally oblivious and keep living their life in the moments, and as happy as ever.
My precious Lab Polly did not have hystiocytic sarcoma, we dealt with another ugly "c", hemangiosarcoma. I do know of others here that dealt with this possible cancer you may be dealing with. They will hopefully join the conversation and offer their valuable experience and ideas. For myself and Polly, she had two leg surgeries before her amp, and went through all 6 rounds of chemo before her amp to hopefully slow her type of cancer. I'd like to think it worked because she lived double the prognosis time give to her. There are also alternative treatments to look into if that is something you would be open to trying....it is all a very personal decision.
Amputation does not slow them down, truly.....our saying here is, that it is better to hop on 3 legs than to limp on 4, and another is, our dogs and cats were born with three legs and a spare......it may take a bit of time to heal, but after that, trust me, nothing will slow them down.
Also, if this does turn out to be cancerous, there is no timetable for their end of life......so many pets here have defied the odds and lived long happy, symptom-free lives.
There are many decisions to be made if this does turn out to be cancer, but we will all be here to help you along.....we have all traveled down this very scary road so we DO understand.
Keeping you and sweet Lab Izzy in my thoughts....check back in with us to let us know her results...
Bonnie & Angel Polly
Although our Murphy did not have his amputation due to cancer (he was hit by a car), I can tell you that he is living life to the fullest. He is a Lab/Chessie cross who will be five years old on Christmas Day. His two year ampuversary is tomorrow. He also had a total hip replacement on the remaining rear leg. If your husband would like to see what life can be like for those three legged Labs, check out Murphy's YouTube channel, Murphy the Three Legged Dog. He can see just how great life can be on three legs. I hope this will help him to a different perspective on how dogs deal with amputations.
Kathi and Murphy
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
I am overwhelmed at the immediate response and support - thank you! I am going to explore all the links and suggestions provided now. As for Izzy, we just got back from a walk in the rain. My vet always tells me to listen to Izzy and let her be a dog....if she wanted to go for a walk, we were going to go for a walk! I pray that the biopsy is not as bad as we are fearing, but I totally agree that no two dogs are the same and no cancer behaves the same. I am trying not to push my husband, as I know this is his way of preparing himself, but I just cannot let him give up this easily. If Izzy is not showing me that she is in pain, then I am going to believe that this will have a happy ending, even if we have to make some difficult decisions to get there. I also went online and bought K-9 Immunity
Plus and Apocaps
....is anyone familiar with these? My vet says there is no proof that they do anything to stop the cancer, but she said they cannot hurt her as they are all natural. I really will try anything. Thank you again. 
Hello Izziben - welcome to tripawds. Many of us here have used and use K-9 Immunity Plus. Apocaps would be useful only if a diagnosis is confirmed. My 90lb Golden Retriever is a front-leg amputee from osteosarcoma. He started K-9 Immunity on his 3rd round of chemo and responded very well. I only started him on Apocaps after he finished his chemo treatment.
Keep us posted on Izzy, and hoping for the best.
Daniela & Johnnie
Our awesome Golden Boy was diagnosed for OSA in April 2014 in the proximal humerus, front-leg amp on 05/20/2014. Finished chemo (Carbo6) on 07/10/2014. Ongoing treatment: acupuncture + K-9 Immunity Plus ( 3chews) and home-cooked no-grain diet. Stopped Apocaps because of liver issues. Liver issues: controlling altered enzymes with SAM-e and Milk Thistle. October 17: started having seizures. Taking fenobarbital for seizures. April 18: started prednisone.
Welcome Izziben. This is a great group with a vast array of tripawd and cancer experience. Although I don't have a dog I have learned a lot here that's helpful for my tripawd cat, Mona. In particular, I learned about the positive attitude and determination so many people have when facing this dilemma. I also learned that cats and dogs are resilient and just get on with life, whether they have 3 legs or 4.
Mona had an aggressive fibrosarcoma caused by a vaccine. Upon the vet's recommendation I had her leg amputated to save her life. Yes, I did it for me - I wanted Mona to live. And she's doing great! She still has the same personality, still loves to eat and to snuggle, and she can run really fast and walks slow.
I hope there are positive results from the testing. Keep coming back here for help and post a photo of Izzy - everyone loves photos.
Kerren & Mona
I adopted Willow after her front leg amputation for synovial cell sarcoma, so I didn't have to make the decision for amputation. Willow had amputation only, no chemo. She was around 9-10 yrs old when she had her amputation, and was 50 lbs. Willow lived 30 months after her amputation, and the last 14 months were with me. Although I was initially concerned that she would be "special needs" because of her amputation, I very quickly learned that Tripawds are not "special needs"...they are amazing and live wonderful, active, happy lives!
Carol
Welcome, My Ty Guy had this. I think, I always called it Histeosarcoma. We had the Biopsy done with the amp. I threw all the surgery, diagnosis stuff away, so now I cant look back and see for sure. He did not have a lump. You could not really feel anything. His was in his scapula. He just had a persistent limp that we couldn't figure out. Looking back, there were other signs such as, whining is his sleep( I thought he was dreaming), Inability to jump into car( I thought it was arthritis from an old injury) even some vomiting and lethargy. I think the K-9 Immunity would be ok for any dog, but I would seek advice if using Apocaps before a diagnosis comes back. As far as amputation goes, they usually do very well. After losing Ty, I adopted another Tripawd. They surely do not see themselves as disabled at all. Keep us posted on the biopsy results, I know that is the longest week to wait, is it not? Lori and Ty
TY GUY, Best Black Lab ever! Diagnosed and had amp in January, 2014. Kicked MRSA's butt. Earned his angel wings on April 16, 2014. Run Free my boy and don't forget a shoe. Ty is a proud member of the " April Angels". Ty sent us Daryl, a Tripawd rescue in Sept. of 2016. Daryl is 5 +or -. We are also Pawrents to Chandler, a Border Collie mix who is 15 and 1/2, Lucy, a Corgi who is 7, 2 minis, 2 horses, and a feisty cat named Zoe. Zoe had a non skeletal Osteosarcoma removed in July 2015. No Chemo, she was at least 16. She is going strong although she is now completely blind. She is now close to 20 and her hobbies are eating and sleeping in front of her personal heater.
Welcome to Tripawds.
I couldn't believe it when my vet told me Maggie needed an amputation for her mast cell cancer. She wasn't limping, she wasn't sick, she was normal! She had another mast cell tumor removed from her side about 6 months earlier, it was a grade one with clean margins. I didn't expect the cancer to come back, and when it did I was pretty devastated when more than one vet said amputation was her chance.
Maggie was a little pug who lost her left rear leg. She was not at all adaptable, I was really worried how she would do. All the vets said 'don't worry, most dogs do fine on three'. Well, not mine! Maggie had no medical complications, and she could walk the day of surgery. But she was not happy, I thought I had made a huge mistake. She took her time, longer than most here, but she did get used to her new normal. She hopped happily through life for almost 4 years- her life quality did not suffer at all.
I hope you get good news from the vet.
Karen and Spirit Maggie
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Thank you for all your comments. I have an ultrasound set up for Friday (still praying we will receive good news and not need it after the biopsy results come back) but want to be prepared. Have any of you still done amputation if the cancer has spread from the initial area, or was the cancer contained to one spot when you decided on amputation?
I agree with you.....it is better to be prepared, so the ultrasound appt. is a good idea, you can always cancel if this biopsy proves to be benign.
About amputation if there is spread......in my case, it was a double edged sword, kind of.....my Polly's type of cancer presented in a very rare way. Hemangiosarcoma is a very, nasty, aggressive cancer that generally attacks internally, normally in the spleen and or liver, and kills quickly. Since hers presented in her leg, we were hoping beyond hope, that it would stay confined to her leg, but we ultimately knew this would not be the case. They considered her leg presentation of this cancer to be secondary to the original cancer, which still never reared it's ugly head until a couple of months after her amputation, and several more months from her first 2 leg surgeries to try and remove the cancer, and close to a year from the cancer originally showing up in that front leg. We still got very close to 14 great, happy months with her till about 5 days before her losing her battle.
Many others here dealt with osteosarcoma, and most decided on amp regardless of spread due to the very painful nature of this cancer, plus the possibility of broken leg bones. So it varies with each individual situation, and type of cancer. Most agree to amp because it generally gives our pups and kitties better quality of life. There are indicators for not doing amp, and that is if the spread is much worse, or the dog is very senior, or there are other structural problems for your dog.
You will get several more experiences with amputation coming along, so I just wanted to start off with my experience and a few other misc. bits of info.
Stay close, and we will hopefully be able to answer any questions you have, ok?
{{{hugs}}}
Bonnie & Angel Polly
izzyben said
Have any of you still done amputation if the cancer has spread from the initial area, or was the cancer contained to one spot when you decided on amputation?
When it comes to a cancer like osteosarcoma, it's believed that "micro-metastasis" has already occurred, only it's not visible yet. So in a sense those of us who dealt with osteo and amputated, did it knowing that the cancer was probably already elsewhere. For this cancer, the first goal is to alleviate pain by improving the quality of life, which amputation does. Here is a story about Zeus and his osteosarcoma diagnosis that you may find interesting.
I think that ultimately the option for amputating (or not) really depends on how visible/bad the metastasis is, which is something your onco doc can gauge.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Before we decided on Harmony's amp, we found out she also had MCT in her spleen. Even with the news the cancer had spread, our decision was based on Harmony's comfort. She was in so much pain and wasn't using the leg anyway. We also took clues from our vet who made sure we understood he suggested the amp and spleen removal for Harmony's sake.
Always remember, cancer is a very devious, deceptive disease. Don't let it make you second-guess what your heart is telling you. Whatever decision you make will be the right one.
Pam, Hub-a-dub, Melody and Angel Harmony.
Harmony became a Tripawd on 10/21/14 (MCT). She left us way too soon on 11/1/14.
"We miss you so much; our love, our heart, our Harmony."
- Pam, Ron and Melody, Meesha, Doublestuff and Mariah Carey
I agree with ALL of the above posts! When Eddy was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in July, we did chest films to check for metastasis. There were no visible mets, so we proceeded with the amputation. Like Jerry said, in most Osteosarcoma cases, the metastasis has already occurred by the time of diagnosis,(it's just not visible), and the amputation is usually done for palliative reasons. Although the amputation was hard for Eddy, (he has a bad remaining back leg), it was SO worth it to see him free from pain! It was almost immediate! You could see the life come back into his eyes! I have to tell you that in our initial vet visit, when the diagnosis was made, our vet briefly discussed amputation, and I was adamantly against it, but as the hours progressed and I did more research, it became clear to me that this was the best thing we could do to alleviate Eddy's pain. Looking back, even as Eddy's time with us appears to be coming to an end, I would do the same thing again! Hope this helps! Prayers, Betsy
Betsy Golden and Angel, Eddy. Eddy was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma 7-23-14, had a left rear amputation 8-07-14, had 3 rounds of carboplatin chemotherapy, a small lung met was discovered in October, had 2 rounds of doxorubicin, and unfortunately more lung mets were discovered. Eddy fought cancer valiantly and went to the Rainbow Bridge 1-6-15, at the age of 7 years and 359 days, just six days short of his 8th birthday. Best Dog, Ever....you will never be forgotten.
1 Guest(s)
