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.
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infiltrative lipoma in front shoulder. Removed over a year ago and grew back. Despite repeated visits with vet to have it checked, she never recommended specialist or let me know the risks. My bad for not researching. Finally saw specialist yesterday and heard the bad news that amputation is a possibility. Get sick to my stomach whenever I think about scheduling the surgery which I will do tomorrow.
I feel awful for my 5 year old who is a lively funny very active dog. And mad at myself for not getting second opinion when I was so concerned about it. Will talk to vet about this piece. It's especially hard because Holly the dog is not at all symptomatic.
We will ot know until surgeon is in middle of surgery if she needs amputation, but knowing this tumor I suspect she will. I get that dogs adjust and do well, but the reality is their lives will be different and compromised. It's just sad. Thanks.
Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
I'm sorry you are dealing with cancer in your girl Holly, what kind of dog is she?
I know it's hard but please don't beat yourself up about what you think you should have done, I know I've been there! When my pug Maggie was diagnosed with her second tumor I felt like I should have been looking for it and found it sooner. I realized much later that I had done my best- cancer is just a nasty sneaky bastard. But spending the time being hard on myself took away quality time with Maggie.
I also know how hard it is do choose amputation when there are no symptoms- Maggie wasn't limping and showed no signs of being in pain, and she was quite a drama queen. It was really hard to come to grips with the fact that amputation was the solution to the tumor in her knee. The reality was that without amputation the tumor would rupture and create a wound that would not heal, and the cancer would spread. Maggie lived almost 4 years after her amp, she never would have lived that long if I had not chosen amputation.
I get that dogs adjust and do well, but the reality is their lives will be different and compromised. It's just sad.
It is true that their lives are different to some extent, compromised is subjective. It was sad for me for many weeks, and I thought I had made a big mistake. Maggie couldn't do some of the things she had done before, but she figured out how to do what she wanted. But Maggie was busy getting on with her life and I finally realized that I was the only one missing what she couldn't do any more.
This is not an easy journey, we have all struggled at times. There is a lot of information and support here- we have been there and are here now to help you and Holly.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Hi Holly,
I'm so very sorry that you are going through this - and more importantly sorry for your sweet dog Holly. Most of us here were totally surprised with our dog's diagnoses. They are so stoic. Some of us (me) were fortunate that our vets did X-rays right at the beginning of the issue which gave us the opportunity to know what the diagnosis was - but that may or may not have extended the lives of our sweet dogs. Don't beat yourself up over this and don't allow yourself to feel guilty over it either - you are not a mind reader!
I will offer you this - I tried to avoid amputation for my dog Ted. The thought of taking his leg made me sick to my stomach too and being in the position of having the power to make that decision was something that I really, really struggled with (He was mine and I was his...). I succeeded in saving his leg in March of 2016 - only to have soft tissue sarcoma appear in that leg we saved (despite major surgery and guarantees that it was all clear) three months later. We amputated at that point and I still struggled with the decision - but if I have any regret through this journey at all it is that I wasted his time on earth putting him through two major surgeries instead of just one - and that's all I'll say about that. Ted was happy, joyful, and totally BOUNCED before and after both surgeries...as I'm sure your Holly is doing.
This situation completely and totally sucks, but if you are going to go to battle with it...then go big and get it over with. Her life will be different and your life will be too. She will adjust just fine and your life experience will be different in a very good way.
Wishing you good luck and a speedy recovery for Holly.
Wanda
Well said Wanda and Karen!
mysweetted said
This situation completely and totally sucks, but if you are going to go to battle with it...then go big and get it over with. Her life will be different and your life will be too. She will adjust just fine and your life experience will be different in a very good
Wanda
Couldn't agree more!
Yes, getting to the decision of amputation is stressful, uncertain, fearful, exhausting a d nauseating! Think I covered it all! I even cancelled my Happy Hannah's scheduled surgery the first time becae I was soooo frightened and uncertained. This was before I found this site.
You are not alone, okay? We understand like no others can!!
We have to s of first hand experience to help you through the recovery phase. It's no picnic for the first week or two, that's for sure. We'll fill you in with more suggestions for recovery tomorrow.
For now, try and get some rest a d update us as soon as you can!
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!
I couldn't agree more with everything that's been said here. And yep, I can definitely relate with your feelings. Our Jerry was super active and our world revolved around backpacking and the outdoors. When we knew he wouldn't be able to hike long distances anymore, we were devastated. But was he? Nope. When the amputation was over, he was thrilled to feel good again. We realized that we were mourning our own feelings, not his. He could care less! In no time at all he inspired us with his resiliency and joy, and showed us that life is too short to look back with regrets. You move on and live life to the fullest, it's such a precious gift and a shame not to.
Tell us more about your dog. What is he like? At five years old that's pretty young. My bet is he'll bounce back and show you he's even more awesome than you ever thought possible.
Be sure to check out Jerry's Required Reading List and the Tripawds e-books for answers to common concerns. And of course tune in here because we are here for you to lean on.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
My Otis' leg broke - that was the first clue that there was anything wrong. So my choice was perhaps easier - amputate or end of life. Were some things different? Yes - specifically much shorter walks. Were a lot of things the same? Absolutely - he chases squirrels and cats, stole food off the counters, slept upside down on the sofa. He didn't really think about the missing leg, he just figured out a new way to do what he wanted to do. So, for me, the sad part is the cancer. Life after amputation was filled with joy because we were together and he was happy.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Well hello infiltrative lipoma in the front shoulder buddy Holly from infiltrative lipoma in the front shoulder, vena cava, thorax CharlieBear the Wonder Pyr!
Can I let you in on a little secret? If non symptomatic, hard to treat, and if symptomatic, all vets can do at first is try a plan of action: usually surgery, sometimes radiation, sometimes both. There is nothing that you did or did not do that would change that. You made the very best decision based on what you had been told. And even if you knew that the tumor would grow back, this type of tumor is unpredictable and slow growing. Likely, all you may have been able to do is to go back for imaging several times a year and even then the vets would likely have said, well, if it is not causing any issues/symptoms, we may want to wait. That is the reality of it.
You have been the very best advocate and support for Holly and SHE knows that! It sounds as if she is doing extremely well and is loving life! That is a HUGE plus: she will likely be back to bouncing around before you know it.
CharlieBear had been examined by a vet one week before his infiltrative lipoma herniated out. Neither the vet or I found or saw anything of concern at the exam. and, yet, one week later we ended up having emergency surgey at our local Vet School. Because of the massive size, we did not get clean margins and the radiation oncologist at that time said he was not a candidate for radiation due to the large area. We knew it would grow back. We had two post images and then stopped. My thoughts were why pay $1200 every 3-6 months if , in the end, they would in all likelihood say, " we can wait and see if it is not symptomatic/ causing any issues"? In fact, they really would be hard pressed to treat if there were no symptoms. TWO YEARS later, CharleBear now has PNST symptoms, has had all diagnostics, and, yet, we are still in a holding pattern to see what course of action to take. I have to remind myself every day that CharleBear does NOT care. He really doesn't. He is just the poster Pyr for Be More Dog . Likely amputation will occur and, trust me, I was in the exact same spot: please save the leg. Well, weeks later, seeing how many meds he is on and how he still is not using the leg well, I am more: please take the leg off. ( My previous WonderPyr Heffalump had a rear amputation due to OSA so...)
Whatever happens, know that you, and Holly, and even her vets would never have been able to know what the future would have brought. The best news is that Holly is Holly! And you two share a bond and love no matter what! Best wishes, hugs, and PyrPaws all around! (And, if you ever have any specific questions about infiltrative lipomas, etc. we are more than happy to help because our Vet School has been really, really wonderful.)
Howdy and welcome!
Here at the office when I get called on the carpet, my "go to" excuse is I loaned out my crystal ball and it came back cracked.
The truth of it all is no one and I mean NO ONE can predict how this disease will behave (or misbehave). But there is one absolute; there is no cure for cancer. Although I'm hoping I'll see one before my life is spent, you just can't hold yourself to a standard that has stumped medical professionals for eons.
Don't beat yourself up because you can't fix it. Just keep being the awesome pawrent you already are. Keep asking those questions and don't leave any stone unturned.
Your fur-babies are so blessed to have you as their advocate.
pam
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
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