Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi everyone,
Firstly i'd just like to say how glad I am to have found this forum. It's comforting to read all of your inspirational stories and read all of your supportive words. My name is Hannah and I'm super proud mum to a super special 7 year old GSD called Beau.
The Friday before last I found a lump on Beau's right hock, so I took him straight to the vet the next day to get it looked at. They gave me some anti inflammatories but I just had a feeling that something wasn't right so I insisted on an xray which was booked in for the Tuesday. In those 3 days I did some research online and although Beau wasn't showing any signs of lameness or pain, I suspected that it may be Osteosarcoma. The x ray showed something 'suspicious' and my vet confirmed my fears that it may be osteosarcoma. He then offered to refer me to a specialist which I jumped and and I managed to get an appointment for Thursday evening. They did a CT scan that night. The results showed that there was some sort of tumour but that it was inconclusive so they performed a fine needle biopsy today to try and figure out exactly what this thing is. We should get the results tomorrow.
Because the specialist is a bit of a pioneer here in the UK in limb salvage endoprosthesis, and because my Beau is quite a big lad (50kg/110lbs) I though that this would be a great option for him and felt quite positive about it. But, I spoke to the specialist today about how long it normally takes for a custom endoprosthesis to be made and he told me that the manufacturer is in the process of moving premises so it could take up to 8 weeks 
. I'm devastated. I just don't see how I could leave it that long without risking my boy. Ever since I found the lump just over a week ago, I have been sick with worry. I feel like I'm letting him down more every day that goes past, because whatever this thing is, is still inside him.
I just don't know what to do for the best. It's such a cruel disease. Even if I put him through amputation and chemo, theres still no guarantee he will get through this. He's such a wonderful dog, handsome and so full of life, the thought of putting him through any pain without him knowing the reason why is just heartbreaking. He's spent his whole life protecting my life (mainly from the highly dangerous post men, birds, suspicious looking objects/shadows, or anyone who has the audacity to walk down the street past our house, how dare they!), now I want to do my best to protect his.
I guess I'm just looking for any support and guidance from you lovely people, from anyone who is going through or has been through the same x
Welcome! Sorry to hear about Beau, but you've come to the right place for feedback, tips and support from members. Your future forum posts will not require moderation.
Too many times we hear from members who put their dog through multiple expensive painful surgeries trying to "save the leg" only to proceed with amputation anyway. And while orthotic devices can certainly help prevent injury, they cannot stop a painful OSA tumor from continuing to grow, eventually resulting in a traumatic pathological fracture.
While every dog is different, there are many success stories here of giant breed dogs much larger than Beau who have adapted well to life on three legs. You will also find quite a few blogs and forum topics about German Shepherd Dogs. Our own Wyatt Ray is a rear leg GSD Tripawd himself.
Bookmark Jerry's Required Reading List for lots of helpful links, and best wishes in the decisions you face. Others will chime in soon for sure.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Beau sounds like a very special boy who is clearly loved massive amounts!!
You are a WONDERFUL advocate for Beau! YOU are NOT letting him down in any way, shape or form! This piece of crap disease makes us go crazy trying to figure out the best lath forward for our dogs and cats. And you are right, there are NO guarantees! Ugh!
All we can do is do our research and pick an option that seems to fit the best based on each individual dog. You are doing a great job of checking out all available treatments. When you do get to the point of making a decision, oddly enough, there will be a sense of re. Prior to that, you feel like you are stuck in a nightmare, you are panicked and uncertain.
Remember that NOTHING has changed in Beau's world! He doesn't give a rip about any ole stupid diagnosis and certainly does NOT have a timeframe stamped on his butt!! Beau is living in the moment and not worrying about a thing!!
As far as amputation, my Happy Hannah was a fluffy chunky Bull Mastiff at 125 lbs. She had a rear leg amp and walked out of surgery as though she'd always had only three legs! Now, make no mistake, every dog is different and mobility issues are generally more challenging for larger dogs. Although my Happy Hannah had no problem walking, it did take a good three weeks of recovery before I felt like I did this FOR her and not TO her!
I was able to give my Happy Hannah a pain free quality life full of more spoiling and loving every second of every day for over one year and two months! In her case, best decision ever!
You'll make a decision out of love and that is always the right decision.
Stay connected. We are right by yiur side. We understand like no others can.
Lpve
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!
Hi Beau & Family,
We all know how devastating and heartbreaking it is when we hear those words 'bone cancer'. Not only do we have to face the ugly C-word, but we have to face amputation of their leg too! Most of the time, it seems to come from nowhere, like with Beau, just a little limp or a small lump. And then, WHAM! you're facing such big choices and trying to do what is best for your pup.
It sounds as though you're struggling w/ the choice to amputate w/o knowing for sure what the diagnosis is. It is a terrible, terrible choice to make. And of course we all want to hold out hope that it isn't something that would require amputation. Unfortunately, biopsies are often inconclusive and despite our best efforts we just don't have a definitive answer. All I can suggest in that case is to get a second opinion if it would make the decision easier.
If the final diagnosis is probable OSA, then the treatment of choice is to amputate for pain relief. Of course it won't cure the cancer, but it give Beau a future w/o the excruciating pain of OSA. Your statement that he's "still so full of life" is exactly why we chose to amputate our Ellie's leg. We knew that we either had to amputate to rid her of the pain, or we had to face putting her to sleep. Yes, we could have opted for pallative care, but everything we read and were told was that the pain would quickly become unmanageable and we would be forced to end her suffering sooner rather than later. Put in those terms, the choice to amputate was clear for us. A diagnosis of OSA meant we probably weren't going to have her with us for as long as we wanted, but we knew that what time we did have could be good, quality time.
Beau is not such a big boy, and if he is otherwise in good health then you'll be surprised at just how well he would do as a tripawd. He'll still be able to take walks, and chase squirrels and lay in the sun. You'll still be able to love him and have him love you in return and that is what really matters.
Denise, Bill and Angel Ellie
Active 10+ Pyr mix suddenly came up lame with ACL tear in left rear leg. Scheduled for a TPLO but final pre-op x-rays indicated a small suspicious area, possibly OSA, which could have caused the ACL tear. Surgeon opened the knee for TPLO but found soft bone. Biopsy came back positive for OSA. Became a Tripawd 9/18/14. Carbo6 with Cerenia and Fluids. Pain free and living in the moment. Crossed the Bridge on 7/12/15 after probable spread of cancer to her cervical spine. A whole lifetime of memories squeezed into 10 months. Here's her story: Eloise
So sorry to hear about Beau. Have you gotten the biopsy results back yet? You ARE doing your best to protect Beau. You are researching all the options so you can make an informed decision on how to move forward. I have to admit I had to look up what a limb salvage endoprosthesis was. Wow! I have seen these before but did not know what they were called. Anyway, once you have a diagnosis you will have a clearer path forward. I know its hard to be in this place-there is so much consider, we all want to be sure we are doing the right thing and it is often not clear just what that might be. But Sally's right Beau isn't worried--this is all waaaaay harder on you than on him
We have a trio of rear-leg amp GSDs of various ages in our pack. They all became tripawds earlier in life and have done really well on three legs up to this point. They are starting to slow down and develop arthritis in hips and remaining limbs but are still happy dogs. Actually, one of them has just been diagnosed with a suspected partial CCL tear. But this is after being on three for over 6 years. My point is, there is no reason Beau can't do well on 3 legs! Most dogs do.
So take a big breath. It will be OK. You will do the right thing. And the Tripawd Nations has your back, OK?
xoxo,
Martha, Codie Rae, and the Oaktown Pack
Woohoo! Tripawds Rule!
Regulator of the Oaktown Pack, Sheriff of the Oaktown Pawsse, Founding member and President of the Tripawd Girldogs With 2 Names ROCK Club, and ... Tripawd Girldog Extraordinaire!
Hi Everyone
Thank you all so much for your kind advice and support, it's given us all as a family a great sense of comfort.
We got Beau's results back yesterday and they told us that from the CT scans combined with the the fine needle biopsies that it is definitely some sort of sarcoma, although the vet said they cant give a definitive answer of exactly what type. For us, it was enough to know that it is definitely some sort of aggressive cancer that needs to be dealt with, and rather than put our boy through any more potentially painful procedures that wouldn't have any real impact on the overall outcome, we decided that it would be best to amputate.
I thought it might be helpful for anyone else going through the same if I explain how we decided that amputation would be better for our Beau than limb salvage endoprothesis. Firstly, our vet has been absolutely fantastic and the information he gave us allowed us to make a really informed decision which I thought I'd share. From the very beginning, if cancer was confirmed we had already set our heart on the limb salvage procedure, but here are the things the vet explained which changed our decision
A rear leg endoprothesis needs to be custom made to fit each dog, which is a long process involving being made from scratch here in the UK and then flown to Italy to be specially coated, and then flown back to the UK again. This can take a minimum of 4-6 weeks. In all honesty, I have just about made it through the 10 days since I found the lump, the thought of leaving this piece of crap cancer in Beau that much longer is something that I personally wouldn't be able to cope with and more importantly, it also could potentially mean less quality time with our boy in the long run, which I know he would have been very disappointed in me about.
The implant could reject, the bone could fracture, or get infected meaning he would likely have to have the amputation anyway. The vet explained that infection would always pose a risk even after healing had taken place and we'd have to always take care that any scratches or scrapes on the leg in the future not develop into infection.
For this type of procedure, the recovery time is long. He would have to stay at the specialist centre for quite some time to be rehabilitated and have physio. This would also mean that his chemotherapy could not be started for a long time. Beau is a real home dog, and finds being away from his family extremely stressful so leaving him there for weeks would really upset him, and us of course!
Lastly the vet explained that because of the risks above, and because he's large and energetic, Beau would probably have to be 'carefully managed'. Meaning off the lead walks would be highly limited and tearing around the garden with his best buddy Shamus the greyhound always would be a major concern we'd always have worry about.
After hearing all of the above, and also discussing the benefits of amputation, we decided this would be best for him. He's athletic and has a spirit for life that no one should ever have to contain. No matter how long we have with our boy, whether it be months, or years (which we truly believe it will be), we don't want to hold him back for a second, we want him to run free, chasing those wild rabbits, and live life on his terms, not on ours, because we would be constantly worried about him damaging his implant.
Sally, you were right. When we made the decision I had an odd sense of relief. The vet talked us through the whole procedure, explained things I would never have thought to ask (like leaving as much of the muscle in tact as possible so he has a nice comfy butt to sit on) and how they are going to take care of him after the op which made me feel so much better.
I'm still scared out of my mind about the journey that lies ahead, especially seeing Beau for the first time after his op. But I know we've saved our buddy's life from the pain that he was undoubtedly going to experience. I'm looking forward to having him home, spoiling him rotten and the day we get to seeing him run free again.
Now we are just researching all the things to make his life as comfortable as possible during his healing and beyond. Has anyone got any advice for new tripawds? Is there anything we should be thinking about. I've already got two orthopaedic beds on order (had to get an extra one for the greyhound too because he will no doubt be stealing Beau's the first chance he gets 
) The harnesses look great but do they help rear leg tripawds or is there something else which might help him better? Also, I know it sounds silly but I keep putting myself in his shoes and coming up with all these things he might find difficult. Like going for a poop, or going upstairs. How do rear leg tripawds deal with these things?
Beau's op is scheduled for this afternoon, please keep him in your prayers, I'll let you all know how he gets on. Thank you all so much
Beau's family
xoxo
I'm glad you've come to a decision and I hope surgery goes well! I'll be thinking of you today.
In our experience, the most important thing was to provide non-slip floors. Our house is pretty much all wood floors, so we bought a bunch of cheap runners to create paths that Ellie could walk on. Raised food bowls are also good, since they produce less strain on their bodies. Stairs (depending on how many) can be a challenge in the post-amp period, but once they've recovered we found that they weren't an issue. Our Ellie was a rear amp, about 100 lbs, and she would go up stairs two at a time, just like always. Going down is pretty easy for a rear amp. And once they build up some muscle strength, they squat just like always to take care of business. I think boy dogs just have to learn which way to face!
Bringing home a new tripawd can be pretty scary. I know we felt like we didn't know what we were doing. Having good pain control is really important so be sure to ask lots of questions about how that will be handled. Many dogs come home w/ something like Tramadol and Gabapentin (for nerve pain) and some come home w/ a Fentanyl patch (and an antibiotic). If he's like most dogs, Beau will have a bit of a post-amp "crash" after the hospital drugs finally get out of his system. That can be a really challenging period and it helps if you're mentally prepared for it. After that, there is usually slow and steady progress back to their old selves!
Denise, Bill and Angel Ellie
Active 10+ Pyr mix suddenly came up lame with ACL tear in left rear leg. Scheduled for a TPLO but final pre-op x-rays indicated a small suspicious area, possibly OSA, which could have caused the ACL tear. Surgeon opened the knee for TPLO but found soft bone. Biopsy came back positive for OSA. Became a Tripawd 9/18/14. Carbo6 with Cerenia and Fluids. Pain free and living in the moment. Crossed the Bridge on 7/12/15 after probable spread of cancer to her cervical spine. A whole lifetime of memories squeezed into 10 months. Here's her story: Eloise
I'm glad you were able to come to a decision. The relief in that alone is tremendous. We were able to use our ruff wear harness right away with our big 110# boy because it didn't come near his rear leg amp incision. Some of the bigger dogs take a little longer to get their "sea legs". I think it took Max about three days to be able to get up and start hopping on his own. But once he did there was no stopping him. And some like Sally's Happy Hannah do fine right from day one. Once your beautiful Beau is home you will find yourself falling in a routine that works for you. We'll all be right here doing this journey with you. Sending healing thoughts and prayers for Beau today. Please keep us updated. Hugs!
Linda, Ollie, Riley & Spirit Mighty Max
LOVE the way you described the intricacies surrounding limb salvage. Thank you for that. Who is your vet? We would really love to get in touch and write a blog post about your experience. Do you think they would be agreeable to an email interview?
Meanwhile, yes, you're right, there is a huge sense of relief once you have a plan and go forward. Everyone's situation is different, there are no right or wrong choices in this journey. Beau is just happy that you feel confident and ready to move on. You will be SO amazed at how he handles this next phase in his life!
Things to think about: have you seen Jerry's Required Reading List ? The Tripawds e-books and even today's blog post has some good tips about preparing your home.
As for harnesses, yes, they work great on rear-leggers. Here is a post that will help:
http://gear.tri.....ness-help/
Hugs to all of you. We'll be here every step of the way.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
How very gracious of you to post this very informative post while you're in such a stressful time!
You clearly have a very knowledgeable Vet who helped you weigh all the options. You very thoroughly did your research and made a decision truly based on what's best for Beau! I assure you, this is what he would want too! On top of all the seemingly. never-ending risks, just the fact that Beau would have ro be away from home...ugh! He would NOT like that!
Denise, Linda and Martha have already given good insight. Jerry's mjst read links are invaluable.
The only thi g I'll add is, when you do pick Beau up from the hospital, don't even look at his incision. Just look into his happily drugged eyes and tell him what a good boy he is! Smooch that mug of his, scratch his ears and let him see how happy and confident you are!
I made it a point not to look at my beloved Happy Hannah's incision unless she was asleep. She didn't look at it, so why should I?
Evvvverrryyyy dog is different when it comes to recovery! I know that Denise's Ellie, and Linda's Max, az well as my Happy Hannah, all had a "seemingly"slower recovery. The reasons may have varied, but they weren't in the category of dogs who had to be confined because they felt so good by the end of the first week or two!
STAY CONNECTED! We've all been through it! Try and get some sleep tonight! You may not get much sleep for a few nights! Beau will be seeing pink elephants so he'll be fine!
Update when you can.
Love to all!
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 too have been struggling with what to do to help my girl. After a billion and one questions and a few answers, we have decided that for Maizy to have any chance at all she will have the surgery to remove her leg. She will be going tomorrow. I am terrified for her but I know that I have to do this for her. We are going to get her on the road to being a 3 legged monkey while we wait for the bone biopsy results.
I don't know what the future may bring for her but I do know that if I don't do this for her, she will have no future at all. My heart is breaking that you have to travel the same road as so many of us. It seems so desolate and lonely but with the support I have found here, it is a road that you don't have to blindly follow alone.
Big hugs to you and your fur baby
Susy
Thank you all for your replies and advice.
So Beau's surgery got rescheduled to yesterday so its all done .I had a phone call to let me know that the operation went really well and that Beau did great. He's recovering with plenty of care from the nurses and meds and he's been standing up on his own today, he's such a trooper, he's much stronger than me. It's really hard not to go and see him, I went to see him the day before his operation and he got himself really worked up with excitement, so it's probably best I leave him to recover until he's ready to come home to his family and get showered with all the attention we've been saving up for him.
He has a date with the physiotherapist today who will hopefully get him up and confident with his new streamlined physique.
Susy, I'm so sorry to hear about your beautiful girl, I totally feel your pain! No matter how far apart in distance they may be, it comforting to know that our pups are not alone on their journey, and nor are we. I hope her operation went perfect and that she'll make a quick recovery. Thinking of you.
Jerry, Beau was transferred from our local vet to a specialist referral centre called Fitzpatrick Referrals in Surrey, UK. They do absolutely incredible things with animals who have all sorts of medical issues. There is a documentary series made about them over here called SuperVet I'm not sure if you get it over there. I'm sure if you have a look on Youtube there will be some episodes on there (never thought in a million years I'd be having to take my own pooch there though ). I can't fault them for the love and care they have shown Beau and us, the vet has been just wonderful. I'm sure if you contacted them they would be happy to explain more about what they do.
Now I'm really nervous about picking him up and seeing him for the first time. I've tried to prepare myself as much as possible but I just fear seeing him and breaking down. I don't want to do that. Also, its a 2 hour journey in the car from the vets to my house. He doesn't like being confined to the car and fidgets a lot at the best of times, I'm worried he's going to hurt himself.
Hannah
Alrighty! Surgery is done and Beau is on the road to recovery!!
Make sure you jave someone go with you when you pick Beau up. A two hoir journey with a recovering tripawd high on drugs all by yourself, not a good idea!
Keep your energy strong and confident and that will translate to Beau that all is okay.
Stay connected to us and we will reassure you that everything isnokay too!!
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!
Oh wow I'm so glad that things went well. I had a feeling he was at Fitzpatrick, we know alllll about the SuperVet, pretty amazing things he's doing at the clinic! How very cool you got to work with them. You and Beau are in GREAT hands. I love how they're doing physio too, very cool.
When you pick Beau up, you will be so happy to see him you won't even notice the incision. OK maybe you will. But, just look him in the eyes and tell him how much you love him and are so happy he's coming home. That will outweigh any sadness you may feel about his leg that's gone. As for the anxiety in the car, you may want to call ahead and ask about a mild sedative for him for the trip home.
Best wishes to you both, keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Hannah
I am in the UK so if you want to message me for a shoulder or even just a chat about what is happening then please do
We went to Bath for our boy, it has been a traumatic journey but he is well and happy and hopping around as if there is nothing wrong with him, he is also a rear leg amputee. I am absolutely sure you have had the best treatment you possibly could have had from Fitzpatrick's, jealous that you were near enough to go there
I hope Beau is OK
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