There have been numerous times since I found this site a little over two weeks ago that I wanted to share Zack's story, but things have been a bit hectic, and truthfully, I also felt a little superstitious (like if I wrote it down, his good luck might change!)  

I've had Zack since he was 5 weeks old, and he is now 13yrs, 9 mos.  I always joke that he chose me (versus the other way around) because he literally climbed over his litter mates to get to me – and learning how non-dominant a personality he has, that truly was out of character for him.  But, whatever it really was that brought us together, neither of us has ever looked back.  He is the epitome of an awesome dog and, in return, has been spoiled pretty heartily.  Other than a few flare-ups of arthritis a few years ago, he had always been pretty healthy.  Then, around mid-July, I noticed it was sometimes hard for him to get up from the kitchen floor.  Thinking it was his arthritis, I started giving him buffered aspirin with his meals.

In mid-August, we got home from a camping trip, and after I helped him down out of our truck, I noticed he was holding his leg really funny.  The next day, he fell going up the stairs and was stranded on the landing because he was too afraid to try to go up or down by himself.  Luckily, my husband was only out running errands, and found Zack when he got home about an hour later.  We took him to the vet that day, and found that he had a hairline fracture right below a tumor in his leg.  Administering the pain meds the vet prescribed, he seemed to get better over the next two weeks, putting more and more weight on his leg – to the point that you wouldn't notice a limp unless you knew to look for it.

Then, on the Saturday before Labor Day, Zack was over-excited about getting breakfast after his morning potty break, and fell down the two steps between the house and garage after running into the back of my husband's legs.  He yelped in pain, and was holding his leg funny again, although this time it seemed much worse (he never showed any signs of pain the first time, except for not putting weight on it, and this time it seemed to swing side-to-side instead of him just holding it up…)  By Tuesday, he still wasn't putting any weight on it at all, and his leg started to swell from the 'knee' down to the paw.

When we took him to the vet this time, they found that the original fracture had practically healed (slight miracle!) but that he had snapped his femur.  Our options were to take him home & risk him piercing his femoral artery & bleed to death, put him down, or get the leg amputated.  Clearly option 1 was not an option at all, and he was more himself at the vet's office than he had been the entire Labor Day weekend – looking at the door to leave, ears up, on full alert, etc…  So, clearly option 2 was not an option, either. 

They kept him that Tuesday night to limit his activity to reduce the risk of him piercing his artery, and his amputation was the next day, Wed, 9/8.  While my husband & I did not hesitate in making the decision to amputate (the vet left the office for us to discuss what we wanted to do, and we needed all of about 15 seconds to decide), the reality of our decision started to hit once we got home.  Would he be able to survive the surgery?  Were we making the right decision given his age?  If he could make the decision for himself, is this what he'd want?  

We had already made some modifications in the house after Zack's first fracture (gates on the stairs, carpet treads for the stairs, beds around the house, etc…), but I figured there would be plenty more to do once he has one less leg.  I logged on & put in a search for three-legged dogs, hoping to see pictures (to mentally prepare myself) and possibly links to some companies who sold products for handicapped dogs.  The first link that came up was tripawds.com – and words cannot describe how grateful I am for that!  I spent the next 3-4 hours reading articles in the required reading section, looking at pictures, and reading through the forums.  I learned so much, but most of all, I felt hopeful – so many of you had gone through exactly the same thing (& lived to tell about it!) and had the same questions I had – and others had answers.

Zack's surgery was successful, and we brought him home the following night.  That first night was tough (but we were prepared for it after reading through the forums), and it got better ever day.  Zack has had few problems walking on three legs – he's a rear-leg amputee, so up more than 2 stairs is still his only real challenge, but he'll continue to get stronger and I have no doubt he'll be doing it completely on his own before we know it.  And, I had some worries about him shaking (not knowing if it was his meds or if he was in real pain), but again, the tripawds community helped put me at ease – others had experienced the same thing using Tramadol, so we started to wean him off it, and the shakes went away.  

Zack had his staples removed and got the green light for full unrestricted activity this past Thursday (yeah!) – which meant we could stop sleeping on couch cushions on the floor & re-assemble the couch for normal use.  Milestone #1!  My avatar pic is from Zack laying on the couch that first night – and even though you can't tell from his expression, he was thrilled!  He also had his first chemo treatment on Thursday.  Again, I consulted the forums to educate myself about what to expect, what to do, etc…  Luckily, there have been no problems yet – no loss of appetite, no real change in personality.

Sorry for the dissertation, but wanted to introduce Zack to the tripawds community the right way!    Thank you to everyone who has shared their stories and experiences (both happy & sad) on the forums – it has been educational, emotional, and a life saver!

Hello Zack!

Sounds like you are well on your way to recovery. Good deal.

Our stair experience has been an learning one, for sure. While Lincoln will run, swim, and go DOWN the stairs in a flash, he still will not go up them. He's a big dog, and I wonder it it's just too much weight on his remaining leg to push off to go up. Who knows?

In any event, we just give him a little "assist". He hates both the life vest and the harness, even though we would like the handle. So, we just give him a little support under his stomach, and up he goes.

I agree, tripawds are amazing. I never cease in my delight at how easily they seem to adapt and overcome.

Good luck. We'll be thinking of you.

Lincoln's Mom

Hi Zack!  You are one handsome boy!  The girls here are swooning (but don't worry, Fortis – they still love you, too!).    Holly is also a rear amp.  One of her favorite things in the world is her daily walk around the neighborhood… it took her probably about a month or 6 weeks post amp to get back to the full length walk, and there are days we keep it much shorter (especially in hot weather).  But she amazes us with how much she still loves to take that walk!  We hope Zack continues to amaze you, too – he sounds like a very special boy.

Hugs,

Holly, Zuzu and Susan

Welcome Zack and family!  Not that you really want to be here, as we all say, but this is a GREAT place to be when faced with amputation!  It's THE place to be, in fact

All in all, he sounds like he's doing fantastic.  You sure got a good education before you had his amputation done…so there's a head start for you!  AND your hubby is a human PT person!  Way cool!!!

Good luck in your recovery and your chemo.

Tracy, Maggie's Mom