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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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Surgery on Mar 31 2015
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Virginia







Member Since:
22 February 2013
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31 March 2015 - 10:33 am
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YAAAAAAAAAY FOR IRIS!!!!!!

She is beautiful Mike, just beautifu! Those eyes! She got "melt your heart" eyes!!

Gosh, just looking at those xrays....owwweee.....looks painful!! Recovery is no picnic for about two weeks, but I know she'll feel a lot better with that leg removed! She is so lucky to jave you as her forever home!! You will. not believe how deep your bond will be with this resilient girl!!

We are right here for any questions during recovery and tons and tons of links on here to help you out.

If you have hardwood floors, you may wa t to get some inexpensive scatter rugs for her traction . You can raise her food and water bowls just by putting them on a couple of books. This helps eliminate any additional straining.

Iris may, or may not, need any additional "sling" support. My Happy Hannah pretty much would just stand still when I tried to help her with a towel sling.

Look forward ro more uldates! I know youll be thrilled to jave her home!! And keep the lictures coming...she's beautiful!!

Take care

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle 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!

Member Since:
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31 March 2015 - 11:25 am
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She is a beauty! I am glad you got it all sorted out. I can't wait to hear an update on how she is doing. :)  

Member Since:
27 March 2015
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31 March 2015 - 8:02 pm
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I just got a call from U.C. Davis and Iris made it out of surgery just fine! Went so well they went ahead and spayed and microchipped her too! Depending on her pain level I can bring her home tomorrow morning! I've been busy all day building a partition for her and laying out tiles of carpet on the hardwood, helped me keep my mind off of her suffering today. Can't wait to get my tripawd home and relaxed.I'm so relieved she did well!!!

Michigan
Member Since:
2 April 2013
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31 March 2015 - 9:04 pm
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Hey Mike ~

Iris is beautiful!  Wow, that break looks awful!  Poor thing!  Murphy had his front leg removed 2 years ago and what surprised me the most is how he pulled us out to the car!  Pain medications and all, he pulled!  Hopped right in and off we went...I think he was just glad to be out of there!  lol  You will be amazed at how well Iris does.  You can hold off on the harness for a little while, because you really shouldn't use it until she's healed anyways.  The first 2 weeks are definitely the hardest...Murphy didn't really want to eat much, so we cooked up some rice, poured in broth and added chunks of chicken..he loved the special treatment.  He came home on 3 different pain medications, all on different schedules...since I'm a nurse and we all have different work/school schedules, I wrote out a medication sheet kind of like what I would use at work so that we could mark off each dose of each medication and keep them all straight.  This is a really great place to get tons of information and ideas from.

Donna

Donna, Glenn & Murphy 

Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17  
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs

Donna.png

Virginia







Member Since:
22 February 2013
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31 March 2015 - 9:18 pm
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GREAT NEWS!!!! You can get a good night's sleep! Iris will be sleeping well and lrobably seeing a few pink elephants too!

Wow...she got a double dose of surgery...spaying and amputation! So she'll have amputation stitches and spaying stitches. Owwwweee!

Paws crossed for a speedy recovery so she can love her life full of the lpving and spoiling she deserves!

Looking forward to her homecoming update!

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle 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!

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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1 April 2015 - 10:05 am
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That's fantastic news! Glad she made it through. She is really, really pretty and such a strong-looking pup too, I'm sure she'll be bouncing back in no time.

Sorry you find the photo uploading a hassle. If we had as much money as Facebook ;) we could make it a lot easier, but for now it's the best we can do with the server resources we have. If you need any help with photos just holler, we're  happy to help!

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Martinsburg, WV
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1 April 2015 - 11:30 am
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That's wonderful news that Iris did so well with her surgery!!  Hopefully by now she has made it home and is resting comfortably in familiar surroundings.

And wow...being spayed on top of an amputation...she is definitely one tough little girl!!!  And she is just gorgeous...I love her coloring and those precious eyes of hers!

I don't think anybody has mentioned it yet but don't get overly worried if Iris doesn't poop for several days.  My Leland didn't have his first bowel movement after surgery for like 5-6 days.  I think from all the medications they're on and sometimes lack of appetite they just don't have to go.  One of the main things is making sure she's getting some water intake.  A lot of pups here were refusing water and food.  Folks here came up with some ingenious ways to make sure they're furkid got some water in them.  Sally would put a scoop of ice cream in Happy Hannah's water bowl.  Others resorted to using chicken broth.  I took a liquid medicine syringe and squirted water in my Leland's mouth.

Please keep us updated on Iris when you can and more pics!!!

Sahana and her Angel Leland

Leland

November 17, 2009 - June 30, 2014

May you finally be healthy and running free at the Rainbow Bridge. Until we meet again my sweet boy!

Oakland, CA
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20 December 2008
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1 April 2015 - 1:40 pm
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Iris is a beauty. Love the blue pitties! Glad the surgery went well and it sounds like you were doing all the right things to prepare for her arrival home. Looking forward to an update once you get her home. Another cheap traction solution is the Pawz boots. You get 12 to a pack and they are reusable. You can't leave them on all the time and it would probably be a bit much for her deal with getting used to them while she is in early recovery but you might keep the idea in your back pocket if she has any trouble on the hardwoods down the road. 

Oh, and I hope you and Iris will be able to attend the Mill valley tripawd party in May! We live in Oakland so we will be there and would love to meet you and your girl.

xoxo,

Codie Rae and the OP

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!

Visit Codie Rae's Blog!

Member Since:
27 March 2015
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2 April 2015 - 12:55 am
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Well today was quite a long day!

Jerry I totally understand and I'm just dumb with instructions. Just wasn't a task to do at 7am :)

 

Iris is ridiculous... Already walking like it's nothing new. Acting like the exact same dog she was. I was in the kitchen and she decided to get off of the floor and jumped on the couch (I think better than before even) and it freaked me out. She just laid down where she always does. Looked up as usual. I figured ok that's where she wants to be, just laid a towel out. I know I have to take precautions for her wound, but she will not let me get the cone on. But she isn't licking the wound. She's just laying on her bed sleeping and I only saw her sniff her wound and I've been next to her all day.

 

If she's assuredly not licking the wound, does she need the cone? I've gotta go ice her down if she will even let me do that without just playing with the icepack...

Shes doing great. Thank you all for your support!

Member Since:
27 March 2015
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2 April 2015 - 2:10 am
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OK I'm probably just overreacting, but she won't even let me ice her. She just thinks it's normal playtime. Her last pain med was at 4pm with dinner, another due between now and 4am (8-12hr) doses, and aside from just whining the first few minutes I leave the room, she just goes back to sleep. She is not wearing a cone, but I check on her consistently and  she isn't licking her wound she is literally just sleeping like a lazy dog in her bed... Even laying like a classic pitty with her other hind leg stretched backwards.

Am I being naïve that she seems to just be lonely/worried when I leave the room, 3 minutes later she's asleep in bed, but everything else aside it's like there was no surgery?

I'm familiar with wounds, and treatment, not like a Veterinarian, but I'm a Veteran, I've seen and treated nasty wounds and I'll know if something is adrift with the wound sites. Aside from some redness at the spay site, her swelling is very minimal even with her refusing to let me ice it. I will address the redness in the morning on their business hours, I know that part isn't a 1am emergency, but it is an 8am issue.

This is literally just too easy. That is what is freaking me out.

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2 April 2015 - 2:42 am
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2 April 2015 - 2:49 am
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2 April 2015 - 2:54 am
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Michigan
Member Since:
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2 April 2015 - 3:33 am
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Yeah, Murphy didn't really like the ice packs either...he's pretty stubborn too!  lol  I used one of the soft freezer packs like for muscle pain wrapped in a small towel and I would sit down next to him and pet him while I held it on.  I could usually get a few minutes on with him.

She looks like she's doing well!  Redness is pretty normal, as long as there's no drainage.  There's also going to be some bruising from the amputation site (not the spaying site).  If she's comfortable getting on the couch I would let her...I think there's more comfort being where she wants to be.

Keep up the good work!

Donna, Glenn & Murphy 

Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17  
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs

Donna.png

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2 April 2015 - 3:51 am
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Hey midnighter,

 

Did you keep the cone on Murphy or did he not lick his wounds? Seriously the only way this cone is going on is if I clear out a bedroom, sacrifice the carpet, set up a camera and put her in there like the insane asylum. Even had my sister down and we held her down to put the cone on but she was going to injure herself she fought back so bad. She hasn't been out of my sight all day except for 10-15 minutes at a time while I get online and update folks, and she isn't licking the wound so I'm just going to let her be. 

 

Am I making a fatal mistake here? Is it possible in the short time I'm not monitoring her shes waking up and licking the wound, and I know it would take a day or two for it to be visible to me, but infecting it before I catch it? I just look at risk to reward and if she is going to fight back so brutally with the cone that she might pull staples, but isn't licking the wound, then why bother with the cone? Yes or no?

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