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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Hi all,
This site was recommended to us by 2 vet offices to help us get through our times right now. I am seeing a lot of wonderful support and experience on here and hope I am able to get through this process with help from the site.
We have a 9 year old English Setter named Jack. He is one of our furry babies in the house, but my shadow and best friend completely. Last week Tuesday we were told that he had a tumor on his scapula and we needed to look into our options. It was suspected to be osteosarcoma but without a biopsy they were not certain. We took him to University of Wisconsin on Monday this week to get an aspiration done and to see what if anything we could do. After spending over an hour with the Oncologist there we decided to have his front limb amputated. We know this will not save his life but it will give him some relief in the mean time.
He has been spending his time laying with me and kissing away my tears. Besides not being able to use it he had not lost a beat in his behavior until we had to start giving him pain medication. This morning he ha his surgery and I have heard back that the surgery went well and the tumor was still encapsulated. We know his prognosis does not change with that news but we took it as good news all the same.
So, today I have sat and cried and anxiously awaited all the phone calls back from the vet. I am sure I will be staring at the clock through out the night counting down the hours until I can wrap my arms around him again. I feel so helpless for him and wish I could take away all his pain and agony.
Welcome to you and Jack, your future posts will not require approval so post away. Many of us here went through the surgery ordeal and understand how completely emotional and upsetting it is. If there's one thing I can say though (and you've probably heard this), is that it's always worse for the human. Remember, you DID take Jack's pain away, and when he heals he will feel SO much better! I'm going to bet that you will even see a change for the better as soon as you pick him up from surgery, many people notice right away. Once that pain is gone they're all new and just want to get on with life!
I'm sorry though, I know it's a hard process but we are all here for you as you cope with what's ahead. No matter what you decide always remember there are no right or wrong answers, the only ones that matter are the ones made with love and his best interests in mind. Sounds to me like you know exactly how to do that.
Please thank your vets for referring you here. UW is a GREAT facility, you'll both be in good hands and paws there. I hope Jack gets to come home soon! Let us know if you have any questions at all.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you for the warm welcome. We just received our 2nd call of the day with the updates on how he is doing so that is wonderful for me.
He is apparently already trying to get up and moving and we were told "Jack is one athletic dude", "he is thin and very healthy otherwise". Tomorrow morning I get to see him and then if his drainage port looks good we should be able to take him home.
We have ordered a harness for him that we saw after researching on here. We decided on the EzyDog Convert Trail-Ready Dog Harness after seeing that this was protyped for a dog just like Jack now. We have a two story home, with a basement as well, and an elevated deck besides the few steps going out the garage and front door. He is only about 45lbs but stands half way up my thigh because he is tall. We also have a back lab at home that plays like a bull in a china shop despite being 10 years old. I am wondering will this harness will help me help him, and help me keep him balanced when the lab comes flying through. He has been not using all four legs for over a month now and has great balance and strength built due to it but I know he used his tip toes to help stabilize if he really needed to.
I am trying to read through other posts to figure out what to anticipate tomorrow when I pick him up and then the initial few weeks learning the new him but it seems overwhelming still to me. I am also looking to see what is being posted about chemotherapy. My husband and I are very, very skeptical of this because we don't want him to suffer if he doesn't have to and if it will not change his course of life dramatically. Our oncologist has been great with provided information and steering us to here. But yet, we know he does not live day to day with a dog undergoing all the therapy at home. I think knowing what to expect or maybe be able to communicate who a parent has been through it with a similar dog and same type of cancer would help us make this decision in the short amount of time we have to decide.
Thank you again for having this site!
Welcome Jack and human family! you are in the right place. Tripawds was essential to guide me throughout the surgery and post-op, and also through the decision of chemo-or-no-chemo.
You may want to browse around and see how other tripawds fared after surgery. I posted some photos of my Golden, also a front-leg amp, and wrote about his recovery. He is younger than Jack, but also heavier (90 lbs). We decided to try chemo, and Johnnie was able to complete 6 rounds of carboplatin. His 5-month ampuversary is next Monday, Oct. 20.
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.
Thank you Daniela and Johnnie,
Happy Ampuversary for Golden! Thank you for the support. I have been looking around and I will keep doing it. It is still so fresh that I have a hard time focusing without being emotional. I know it will get better.
I will look at your posts and look over everything you have shared about your boy, thank you for letting me know.
Welcome to you and Jack.
I'm sorry you are dealing with cancer, but most of us have been there and we understand what you are facing (not everyone here is dealing with cancer but most are).
My pug Maggie had mast cell cancer. I chose to do chemo with her mostly because I thought the amp would be curative. Unfortunately post op tests on the leg showed that the cancer was in her lymph system. I was hoping to get 6 to 9 months WITH the chemo. Mag survived almost 4 years and did not pass from mast cell. I'm not trying to talk you into it, only you can choose what is best for Jack. I just wanted to share my story. We have many here who have chosen not to do chemo. Most pups do fine on chemo, so don't let that be your decision point. I have another pug who has mast cell cancer although she remains a quad pug. I have not done any chemo, it just wasn't right for her, I am using a holistic approach.
It might help for you to look at a few post-op pictures so you know what to expect. There are pictures in the Gallery, scroll down to the surgery and treatment pics.
You should look at the e-books available for download here. Many members have been very happy with the information on amputation, recovery and treatment. Jerry's Required Reading List also has lots of good info.
When you go to get Jack focus on his eyes and how happy he is to see you. Be a strong pack leader so he knows everything is fine. He will be amazing you very soon!
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
Welcome to you and Jack,
What a very handsome English Setter he is, they are truly one very special breed to me, even though I have had Labs my entire adult life....I am so sorry for this new unwanted journey in yours and his life, but you found the greatest place in the world in Tripawds....we will all be here to help you through this, as we have all been through it as well, and many still successfully fighting the ugly "c".
My own sweet angel Polly fought another type of awful c. than osteosarcoma, but we were able to kick it in the butt for a fairly long time. One thing is, please do not get too bogged down by statistics, they do not mean anything a lot of the time.....as many here will say, just live in the moment with Jack, and his quality of life is most important. And the other important thing is, like Jerry says, any decision you make for Jack will be the right one, and made from your heart with his best interest in mind.
Please keep us updated on your sweet boy, and I will be keeping you in my thoughts,
Bonnie & Angel Polly
My Yoda went to UW Madison for his amputation and chemotherapy and I was very happy with his care there throughout. Yoda had about 4 really strong months after his amputation. Sadly, it as only 4 months, but that was better than his original vet's prognosis and in hindsight I think we had a late diagnosis working against us. They were a fantastic 4 months though in which Yoda actually blossomed in surprising ways as a tripawd (the short version is he became more outgoing) and the chemo didn't interfere at all with his enjoyment of life as far as I could tell. Does this all sound too rosey to be believed? I swear it's true, and to balance it out, I will admit the first two weeks after the amputation were way stressful as was the very, very end of his life.
You'll make the right decision as far as to chemo or not (and no one here will judge!!!), but it's rarely anywhere near what it's like for people when they get chemo, and as the vets will usually tell you, you can always stop the treatments if it seems worse then the potential benefit.
Feel free to reach out using the PM or through posts or the chat, if speaking further with a fellow Wisconsinite would help! I also go by GerrysMom on here (Gerry being my 2nd and current tripawd).
Yoda&Mom united: 9/5/06 …….… Yoda&Leg separated: 6/5/09……… Yoda&Leg reunited: 10/14/09 ……… ……………….………….………….……. Yoda&Mom NEVER separated! …………………….….……....….…… Though Spirit Yoda currently free-lances as a rabbit hunting instructor for tripawds nationwide
Sorry to see you here... if you know what I mean.. but glad you found us!!!!
Sounds like Jack came through surgery as a trooper.. pawsome! One thing I did for my Franklin was that I raised his bowls.. with a front amputation, I didn't want him straining to eat and drink. And if your house/apt. is not carpeted.. lots of throw rugs! I bought a whole bunch of the ones that were rubber backed that you could throw in the washing machine. They work great!!
I am sure one Jack comes home.. he will want to get around etc. and try to be his old self. A word of advice, and I am sure your vet already said this, as well as many of us here.. Don't let him be tooooo active the first week or two.. try to keep him quiet and let him heal. My vet said that they cut so many different vessels that you don't want him to be over-active and have one burst. We kept Franklin in the tv room and spent alot of time in there with him, chiling and snuggling.
Crossing paws for a great recovery!!! and be warned.. they just become so gosh darn cuter when they become a tripawd... belly rubs and chest rubs are sooo much easier with that leg gone!! lol
Christine... with Franklin in her heart♥
Franklin, he was the Happiest Dog on Three Legs! Diagnosed 09/26/2012 with Osteosarcoma, amputated 12/4/2012. Had a wonderful 5 1/2 months painfree until he ran for the Bridge on 5/15/2013. Always in my heart, and always a guardian angel of my pack... You can follow his Tripawd Adventures, before and after, in my blog, Frank'n'Farter!
Hello Jack and family!
I'm glad you found us, but sorry you have to join us here! Sounds like Jack is doing great so far. I know it can feel like a punch to the gut this diagnosis. But it sounds like you have a great team around you and as a family you will make the right decisions for you and Jack.
You don't have to decide chemo/no chemo now...definitely browse around the site for all of our experiences. You will find that most of our pets did pretty well on chemo with minimal side effects, but there are many things to take into account - it is expensive and there can be side effects, though rare.
Keep us posted on Jack's progress!!
xoxo,
Erica & Tripawd Kitty Jill
Jill is a 9-year-old tuxedo kitty. She was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in June 2012 on her toe in her right hind leg. Her leg was amputated on 12/12/12 and she completed four rounds of chemo (2 of Carbo, 2 of Doxy) in April 2013. "Like" Jill's facebook page: https://www.fac.....tty?ref=hl Proud member of the WINTER WARRIORS!!!! Her blog can be read at http://jillsjou.....ipawds.com. xoxo
Hi Jack and Family,
I'm sorry to hear that Jack is having to deal with cancer but I'm glad he came through surgery well. This community is a wonderful place to ask questions and/or vent frustrations. There's a lot of knowledge here and people willing to lend support/advice.
I would suggest checking out the ebooks offered here (Three Legs and a Spare and Living Life on Three Legs) as they provided me and my husband with a lot of info in how to manage our human emotions regarding amputation as well as how best to help our Leland when we brought him home. I would also suggest staying on top of the pain management regimen your vet will send Jack home with. There's A LOT of different pain medications used to manage our pets pain after amputation and not all meds work for all animals. Two of the main ones used is Tramadol and Gabapentin. My Leland did not do well with the Tramadol but did alright with only being on Gabapentin. Some vets also use NSAIDS like Rimadyl but typically the Tripawd will need something else in conjunction with this.
I'll be sending Jack positive thoughts for a safe and speedy recovery!
Sahana and her Angel 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!
Welcome! My dog Adam is 1 week post op and despite an infection in the sutures he's doing great. The pain relief is very much worth it. Adam did not have osteosarcoma but fibrosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer.
I already posted as YodasMom, but I'm more often on as GerrysMom and I realized I didn't focus enough on what I think your main question was, which was what to expect. I know from reading others' posts, and from going through two different dogs' amputation recoveries with them that there's a lot of variation. There are two things I would emphasize about what to expect during the first two weeks of recovery:
1. Jack may come home with a close to normal or even above average energy level. Part of it might be how happy he will be to be home, part of it might be the powerful pain meds he'll be on at the start, but it's common for the energy level to drop after those first couple days home and it's easy to freak out that something is wrong when that happens. Keep in touch with your veterinarians with questions, but unless there are other symptoms/issues, an energy dip is totally normal.
2. Certain pain meds can have the side effect of making a dog very vocal (aka whining, crying). This happened with Yoda and it was very freaky because he was a very non-vocal dog. Of course it's natural to think your pup must be in pain, but to reassure me, Yoda's orthopedic surgeon actually advised me to gently press on Yoda's bandage and he guaranteed Yoda would not react to that and he was right! Yoda also turned in circles for no apparent reason, and Gerry licked the walls a lot, but all this passed, and all the weirdness the pain meds caused were worth it to keep him comfortable.
Good luck! And the forums are a great place to come if you've put a call into your vet with a question and you need a distraction while you wait for a call back! 
Gerry has been a tripawd since 12/16/2009.
He was a shelter dog with a mysterious past and an irrepairable knee injury.
Videos and pics of Gerry's pawesomeness can be found at: http://gerry.tripawds.com
Well,as you can see, this is a great place to be...if you have to be here!
And as you can also see, every recovery is different!
You've gotten great advice. I'll just add to stay connected tonus. Recovery is no picnic and there is nothing like first hand experiences to go to for support!
And load up on chocolate for yourself, lots and lots of CHOCOLATE! Adding a bit of ice cream to your supplies is an extra bonus!
Keep us posted!
Sending lots of hugs!!
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!
I can not express the amount of gratitude and thanks I feel from all the wonderful responses. Thank you all so much. My family tried hard to distract me and forced me away from the computer, which in hind sight was a blessing.
We got the call around 9:30 this morning to come to see him and discuss bringing him home. It felt like my first breath in over a week. My husband had of course just left to fill the car with gas moments before the call came. The waiting for his return was agony.
His Dr said he did great all night and morning. They took him out side this morning without a leash or collar assuming he would not do much. Much to their surprise he took off like his old self as soon as he was off the slick floor. The Dr him self went after him and slowed him down. He wanted to check the sutures right away he said. He was so active that he apparently had the staff laughing at his actions. That, of course, made me feel so relieved.
We took quite a while to go over the prior day and the next couple days, what to watch for with his drains and actions and so many other things. I am happy it was already typed up for me to review. He told us it was up to us to keep a taunt, not tight, bandage over his wound to help prevent a large saroma. The had a large margin taken out due to the placement of the tumor and the fact that it was starting to grow outward into his muscle. He believes we did catch this early. He was injured by my furry angel that passed away 7 weeks ago. The injury seemed to be soft tissue at first and after a month of only minimal changes with Tramadol and Rymidal we had the xrays done. The xrays came back negative and 2 weeks later we took him to a different vet and had more xrays and that is when it was finally found. After that we were at U of W with in 6 days seeing the oncologist.
We do have a mostly carpeted house, only the kitchen and laundry room and bathrooms are not. He tried jumping right in the car today and slowly walked up the front path and steps to the house. I have spent my time sitting on the floor with him. He has always been my shadow and props his paws on my lap when I am sitting on the couches or chairs. I gave him a pillow to keep a small prop under him and he has mostly laid still and calm. He did roll over and immediately start crying. Help from my husband I was able to get him back on his other side. Because of his and the labs height I have always had his bowls raised so thankfully he is used to that already. Jacks dad started making an outdoor rug covered ramp for him to get in and out of the front door a little easier during recovery and then we will put it back out for him in the winter to help decrease the risk of ice covered steps. Besides driving back and forth to my daughters school he will not be alone for quite a while. This way I know we will be limiting his activities.
Thank you all again greatly for this wonderful support. I know as the hours and days pass I will be even more filed with questions. Please keep the wonderful advice coming.
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