Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi - I wish I was happy to be here, but I'm not. I'm actually pretty angry and upset. My beloved 7 year old chocolate lab / rottweiler mix 'Diesel' was diagnosed with osteosarcoma this morning based on his x-rays. I've had a really difficult time today as would be expected. The affected leg was also fractured as a puppy from a fall and was surgically repaired with plate and 12 or 13 screws, so the initial limp about a month ago was attributed to that previous injury, and an x-ray at that time did not reveal the extent of the damage. The only good news I received today was that the chest x-ray seemed to be clear at this point. So, tomorrow, I have the option of:
- a biopsy being done with turnaround time of a week and then likely the amputation of the left rear leg next week if it is 100% confirmed to be cancer
- amputate the leg with the assumption that is cancer tomorrow, and still have it biopsied.
- do nothing, which certainly isn't really an option for me.
If it isn't cancer for some reason, I am told the extent of the damage to his leg makes reconstruction less of an option. I am just really floored with where i ended up today. I expected to go into the office and have them tell me he needed an ACL surgery, and now i am facing cancer. I can't sleep, eat, or concentrate on anything. I am sure many of you have been in a similar situation, hence my visit here.
Sorry for the brain dump on a first post. I am sad and maybe just need to vent.
Nate 
Hi Nate and Diesel, welcome. Your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
Dump away! I can certainly relate to the shock of the cancer/amputation diagnosis. You had a lot dumped on you today- it takes some time to absorb. Look at Diesel- he doesn't know and doesn't care that he is sick.
Here are a couple of links to check out here-
Required Reading List- links to lots of information on this site on what to expect with amputation and recovery.
Tripawds Library- eBooks you can down load- also with lots of good info on amputation and recovery.
If you are looking at amputation no matter what I would skip the biopsy, they are very painful and often inconclusive. Others who have had to make that choice will chime in soon.
Give yourself tonight to process things. Chocolate and wine have been rumored to help. Then be ready tomorrow to be the strong pack leader that Diesel needs for this new journey.
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 Nate ~
Sorry you have to be here. I remember the feeling when Murphy was diagnosed of the floor just dropping out from under my feet. The doctor gave me the slim chance that the tumor he saw on the x-rays could possibly be a fungal or bacterial infection. I, of course, grabbed onto that sliver of hope and went ahead with the biopsy. Murphy was also 7 years old and he had been limping for about 4 months at that point. I really had thought that he had strained a muscle or maybe even had a small fracture that had been missed on his original x-rays. They used the x-ray machine to guide them while they did the biopsy to make sure that they got a really good sample, especially since he was already medicated from his x-rays. A couple of weeks went by, but the results were inconclusive. His follow-up x-rays showed that the tumor had grown. Thankfully, Murphy had not broken his leg. Our options at that point were to repeat the biopsy or to amputate, so we decided to amputate with the assumption that it was osteosarcoma. 4/4/13 Murphy had his surgery and the final diagnosis was histiocytic sarcoma, which is a highly aggressive cancer, normally affecting organs such as the liver or spleen. Only about 50% of dogs survive 1 year. We were told that with chemo, Murphy might survive 12-18 months. Well, we just celebrated his 3 year ampuversary last week! He still loves to chase squirrels, dig in the yard, jump on the furniture and play with his pack Cassie & Max.
If we had things to do over again, we would skip the biopsy. It seems that more often than not, they are inconclusive, and they're painful! Especially if it doesn't really change the plan of care. We have no other regrets, though. Murphy is such a happy dog! We know that we have been extremely blessed. Unfortunately, not every dog will have the longevity that Murphy has had, but many can surpass the "expected" time given them.
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
Online
Oh gosh! Everyone here can relate! We're sorry you have ro be here too. This is devastating news that literally makes you sick and, if like most of us nere, lretty darn hysterical!!
From this point forward, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! From this poi t forward you will jave more support, more understandi g and more first hand experience to help you through this.
As Karen said, Diesel doesn't know he's "sick". He doesn't give a rip about any ole' stupid diagnosis and sure doesn't have a timeframe stamped anywhere on that precious butt of his!! Go ahead...take a look...see, nothing there!
Unless there is some real immediate reason for the urgency to operate tomorrow, and if the vet agrees, itake another day or two..or three.. to process. The more research you do, the more time you have to "prepare" yourself and your home, the more you co e to terms that, apparently, this mjst be do e to give Diesel a chance at a pain free quality life! Did the vet give you any pain meds to help? Is your vet an orthopedic surgeon? Would you feel more comfortable having a Radiologist looki g at the xray?
If Diesel is limping he is in pain. It sounds like the amputation is necessary regardless of the "cause" in order to get him out of pain. In a way, that makes the decision a little "easier" (and I use the term loosely), knowing there really is no other option. Many here who did do a biopsy would not do it again. As Karen said, they are often inconclusive. They also are often very, very painful and can sometimes cause infection.
Again, IF you don't have to do the amputation tomorrow, you can browse around here and see videos of dogs right after recovery walking around first day after surgery. You can see video of tripawds having a blast running and chasing balls and jumping on sofas after their recovery. Sure, recovery is no picnic for a couple of weeks. But once recovery takes place and his slarkle comes back bigger and brighter than before you, and Diesel
, will be delighted! You both will get on with enjoying life to the fullest!
Remember, Diesel is not sad! He is living in the moment! All je cares about is being with and getting all the loving and spoiling he can finagle from you! And no one can resist spoiling a Tripawd!
You are doing this FOR Diesel, ot TO him! It may not seem like that for the first couple of days or so after surgery, but this is FOR him!
STAY CONNECTED! We are right here by your side!
Can't wait to see pics of your sweet boy!
Update us when you can. Ask any questions. We also have a tripawds helpline. 1 844 TRIPAWDS. Don't hesitate to call for information and support.
Hugs 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!
Just saw Donna's post. Glad she gave you jer view on the biopsy. As you can see from Murphy, statistics don't mean crap around jere!
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 Nate and Diesel!
We're sorry to be meeting you under these circumstances, but we're here for you. I agree w/ the previous posts in terms of plan of action. If you can't do nothing, and it will need to be amputated anyway, then as long as your vet thinks he's a good candidate I would not hesitate to consider amputation (w/ biopsy for confirmation afterwards).
The one thing that makes your case different is the previous injury to that leg, which might make his x-rays look different than a normal dog. But my experience here is that OSA has a pretty distinctive appearance on x-rays and vets are very practiced at spotting it. If it were me, I would probably get a second opinion on the x-rays, but only because of the previous injury.
Do not beat yourself up about it being a month ago that you first noticed the limp. Many here face the same dilemma. You haven't doomed his chances by not doing something earlier. But now you have a probable diagnosis and you can move forward with making the best decision for Diesel.
Amputation seems so drastic, but if Diesel does have OSA, it will rid him the pain. The pain will only get worse, and soon you would not be able to control it w/ meds. And Diesel probably has a lot of living left in him and isn't ready to say goodbye yet! And even though the recovery can be rough, in a couple of weeks most dogs will pretty much be back to their old selves. He'll be able to do most everything he does now, with perhaps some limitations (e.g., shorter rather than longer walks).
Denise
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
Howdy and welcome!
We've all been in your shoes to some extent.
When the hub-a-dub and I got the news, we sat in the vet parking lot for at least thirty minutes. First, we were in shock. Then we were angry. Then we were sad. And then we wept. But the clock kept ticking and we knew that "Time doesn't wait for anyone." We couldn't stop the clock from going forward. We couldn't turn the pages back on the calendar. It was like a slap in the face to realize that we were there for the ride whether we wanted it or not.
Love put all of us on this ride. All the kicking and screaming is normal and when the time comes for you to be focused, you'll find that all those emotions prepared you for the fight. And fight you will: With every beat of your heart.
We'll be here with you.
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
Thank you all for the replies and kind words. We had the biopsy performed yesterday and are awaiting the results. There is a part of me that feels I should have just moved straight to the amputation with biopsy afterwards, however the previous leg injury left some questions. So, between my regular vet, the surgeon, radiologist and oncologist consults, they felt it was worth a biopsy first. I have proactively scheduled an appointment for next Tuesday for the amputation assuming the results come back as positive for cancer. I feel bad having to wait that long and feel i am putting him thru more than I should. I guess I just feel that I would feel horrible if i had his leg removed and it came back as not being cancer, despite having this overwhelming feeling that it is. I am fortunate in that I have a flexible job and work from home full time, so that has allowed me to keep an eye on him through all of this and whatever is yet to come.
Nate
You've made a decision and you're moving ahead with a plan. Getting to this point is stressful, to say the least. .lst of us feel some relief once we've started proceeding with our plan.
No need ro spend any more time second guessing the biopsy. It's done and, hopefully, it will confirm things for you one way or another. . Now just move forward continuing to give Diesel tummy rubs non stop, lots of treats and rons of loving and spoiling!! 🙂 Remember, Diesel has no worries. He's just focused on the now and on being by yiur side!
Would @ove ro see pictures when you have ri e!
Hugs ro 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!
Hello Nate and Diesel. I'm sorry that you have found your way here. The overwhelming feeling did get better for me once a plan was in place. There's a lot of love and support in these forums, we're here for you and Diesel.
Nate I know this is hard but you are doing the very best for him. When you have multiple vets questioning a diagnosis, not just one vet, a bone biopsy is unfortunately the best way to go. Make sure he has adequate pain control while he recovers and we'll be keeping our paws crossed for good news.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Nate,
Sounds like you made the best decision for Diesel with the help and input from all the experts. Don't second guess yourself now- that it one of the hardest things on this journey. It's full of hard, sometimes gut wrenching decisions that we have to make, all we can do is our best.
I hope that the biopsy comes back clean!
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Thanks everyone. I did get the results back today that it is osteosarcoma and we are proceeding with the amputation of his back left leg tomorrow. I took him out for a great hike today on his favorite trail and let him swim a bit in the creek. Poor fella has no idea what he is going to need to go thru over the next few weeks.
I'll try to attach a picture of him at some point. I can seem to sort out how to do it in this post.
Nate
I'm sorry about the diagnosis.
Photos have to be hosted on line somewhere and then follow these instructions.
I'll be thinking about you guys tomorrow and sending strong, positive thoughts for a successful surgery.
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
You and Diesel had a great day today. In several weeks, Diesel will be able to hike on his favorite trail and swim in his creek, but without that bum leg!!
I know these last several days have been stressful. You jave a plan now and you are moving forward. He'll be seeing a lot of pink elephants agter the surgery tomorrow. He'll be out of it for awhile. Try and get some rest while he's at the vet. The recovery is no picnic for a couple of weeks. Some dogs seemingly feel "pretty good" the first day or two home because they have so many hospital meds in them. By day three the meds are out of their system and they sort of "crash". My Happy Hannah, hiwever, came home being pretty miserable right off the bat!
Some dogs take a few days to adjust to their "sea legs"...some stand up and walk quicker. Every dog is different...every recovery is different.
During the initial pjase of recovery, remind yourself over and over you are doing this FOR Diesel and not TO him!!
Let us know as soon as surgery over so we can celebrate that painful leg being gone! Guess he'll be spending the night. The vet will send him home with Tramadol, Rimadyl, possibly Gabapentin and an antibiotic. Keeping the pain meds consistent (with food) is important. You may have ro adjust the dose (more or less) to get it just right. The Vet will advise you accordingly if you need to do that.
You will be amazed at how well Diesel handles life on three legs! And you will be amazed at how much you can spoil a tripawd every second of ever day!
Stay connected! We are all right here! Let us know if you have any questions, okay?
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!
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