Hello!  New member to the forum with a senior dog who will have to have
her front leg amputated.  I started searching for information about how
this amputation will affect my girl, and possible prosthetic solutions, when I
found this forum.  I do have a question about whether my girl can handle
being a tripaw at her age and thought this might be the most appropriate
thread.

First an introduction – Briana is a chow mix and just turned 19 on June 11th
- yes you read that right, she is 19 and quite healthy!  (My vet wants to
know what I put in the water.  Haha!)  When I was a freshman in high
school one of my mother's co-workers casually mentioned that she came home one
night to find someone had dumped a puppy in her backyard with her Labrador. 
She unfortunately could not keep her and was going to send her to the pound.
Our family had just lost a puppy to a speedy motorist and I begged, cried and
got myself a big fluffy chow mixed puppy who hopped around on three legs. 
We took her to the vet who determined that her front leg had one toe and that
it appeared she had been born that way.  He also thought she was around 8
months old.  I had two other girls who were 6 months at that point so I
gave Briana the same birth date.  Up until a few years ago, Briana had no
problems running around on three legs.  She never used the short leg -
always kept it tucked close to her body and hated for anyone to touch it. 
In 2007 the toe developed a tumor.  Surgery was done – the vet unfortunately
did not get clean margins and it came back in 2009.  We went in for
surgery again and the vet said, because that leg never really had a lot of skin
on it, she definitely did not get clean margins this time.  We both hoped
that it would not return because amputation was the only alternative.  My
wish was not granted and it's back.

My question:  Has anyone dealt with amputation with a pet this
age?  Was your pet able to adapt easily or did he/she just give up trying
to be mobile?   My vet wants to amputate at the shoulder.  I would
prefer mid humerus because I don't think she's going to be able to cope without
a prosthetic and I think she needs a stump for something to be fitted. 
She's been using that short leg the last three years for balance and a sort of
"crutch" when walking because she can no longer hop around -
arthritis is starting to set in. (Plus she lost her sight last year.) 
However, when she stands she does not use that leg for support nor does she use
it to get up from a reclining position. The vet seems to think that she will be
able to adapt but she sees my concern. She is attending a conference next week
and will try to pose my question to other surgeons.  I'm hunting for
information online. 

As a side note – amputation was never suggested by her vet when Briana was
younger because the vet never saw the need.  Her paw essentially is
missing, if you were to compare it to my hand, the wrist joint.  Also,
even though she is quite old and blind she is still very healthy.  She may
take a lot of naps but she does have a good quality of life – still gets
excited when she smells treats, will wrestle with mommy if the mood strikes her
and has no problems navigating the yard.  I want to do everything I can to
make sure she maintains this quality of life whether it means having a
prosthetic or not.

Thank you all for the kind words and warm welcome!  I'm finding a great deal of very useful information in this forum and many of the stories I've read so far have put my mind at ease that Briana will be okay when it's time for surgery and that my first thought that she's going to need a prosthetic was probably wrong.  She's lucky that the tumor in her foot is non-metastatic.  I hope I've got the correct term.  I've heard the doctor use all these big words to describe this lump on her foot so many times that I've given up trying to remember them all.  I've choosen to focus on, "It is local to the foot, a very low percentage that it may be cancerous and it's not in the bloodstream".  At the moment the vet doesn't see any reason to rush to surgery so I'm just keeping an eye on it's size, and watching for any legions that may form or if Briana starts to chew because it's bothering her.  We're going to do x-rays in the near future to double check her lungs.  (The last two sets of x-rays in the last two years have been clear).

Thank you also for the supplement suggestion.  The vet and I briefly talked about starting medication or supplements in preparation for surgery so I will definitely explore the links provided.

Hi Briana & mom,

You are in good hands here..

Ruthie's Mom

I was absolutely SURE it was a typo….NINETEEN YEARS OLD??????????  what an amazing story….she definitely has survivor genes….I was actually wondering the same thing cometdog asked…what if you did nothing?

we shall follow this story with absolute open mouth!!  Magic was 11 and did very very well and he wasn't all that active prior to the surgery…he was probably more active afterwards!!  Unfortunately his cancer was very aggressive and we didn't have much time at all … I shall wait eagerly to see how this story unfolds

My James turned 17 years old on Tuesday (8/24) and I thought that was old!!!!  But he's a small miniature poodle and that breed lives a long time.  Congrats to Brianna!!

James' front left leg was amputated on 8/4/10.  He is doing just fine.  He has been blind for 10 years due to PRA so he is used to bumping into things and adapts very well!

He came through the surgery very well. 

Our oncologist said:  "Age is not a disease".  She had no problem recommending amputation.  BUT, his leg was fractured due to osteosarcoma and amputation was the only way to relieve the pain.  Not the same situation as Brianna.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Nancy and James the poodle

I would love to be able to bottle whatever it is that gave me an old girl but I honestly don't know. :)  I never thought I'd have a dog this old!  All I can say it that it's probably good "mutt" genes. Briana's a Chow mix but she's small -  she only weighs 27lbs which is a blessing for me because I have to carry her in and out of the house quite a bit.  Whew!  My other two girls, who incidentally were litter mates, lived to be 16 and 18.  They too were mutts – mom was a peekapoo who got out of the yard and had a stroll around the neighborhood.  I lost the 16 year old to a mammary tumor.  She was born with a heart murmur and by the time the tumor reared it's ugly head the murmur was a grade 5 out of 6 and surgery was out of the question.  I kept her with me as long as I could before finally letting her go.

I actually really, really hope I don't have to put Briana through another surgery because as several people have said, "why do it?".  The problem is this growth will eventually use up it's blood supply and then we're dealing with an open wound and Briana will be in pain.  At the moment it's not bothering her and I'm willing to wait until it is absolutely necessary and the vet is of the same opinion.  I have to say I'm keeping my vet on her toes!

Yea for James!!!  The fact that he's been blind for a long while and is doing well helps my worries!