Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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These are great news, we had a pee 💦💦💦
Yup, the vet’s theory has a lot going for it, she may not want to soil her home, bless her little heart 💕
So glad to hear she is getting back to her lovely self and brightening up ☺️
As for the ruffwear harness , my Eurydice was a right front legger too and I found the harness sliding sideways due to the absence of the leg, was an inevitable occurrence ...
It didn’t bother me or her in the end.
But before stitches came out she wore a soft harness (lent by the hospital so don’t know the make ...) and that did not slide, maybe because it was made of a soft material which adhered quite well to the tshirt she wore underneath.
Keep up the good work, sweetie and give your adorable girl lots of yummy rubs from auntie Teresa 😘😘🐮💫✨🌟🌹
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
We have 
!!!! And it’s huge! Looks like there was a big ol Great Dane in my yard. Hahaha. Poor girl. I know her belly feels much better now. So we have pee & poo. Now we just need to get her walking. Stiff splint & all she still won’t put any weight on that back leg. I guess baby steps!
Melinda
mom2sierra said
We haveMelinda
YAY!!!!! So happy for you and your baby!!
Look how far she's come! Baby steps..she will!! I'm so happy for you. Reading this put the biggest smile on my face!!
Hugs!
YAAAAY FOR GREAT DANE SIZE !!!
She's getting there.....slooooowly but surely!☺
I'm sure the splint feels weird, especially while she's adjusting to three legs. She's getting there...slowly but surely!
Hang in there!
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too
PS. Frankie's Vet said today it takes about a week for the tap results So I guess you and I shouldnhear something arpund Tuesday , Guess that makes Sierra and Frankie founding members of the TRIPAWD TAP TEAM😎
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!
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
Woohooooo 😁 we have poo of the Great Dane variety 🚚💩💩💩💩 that ought to be impressive, Mom😅
So relieved to hear, you’re closer and closer to the end of recovery ☺️
Hugs and cuddles 😘🐮✨💫🌟🌹
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Tomorrow we go in to see Sierra's ortho doc. They're going to remove her amputation stitches & the plan is to re-wrap her back leg. I'm kind of hoping that they decide not to re-wrap it. She still won't use it AT ALL. Won't put any weight on it. I don't know if it's the pain or if it's weird because it's wrapped completely stiff. She did the same thing when they wrapped her front leg after the biopsy. So at this point, I don't know if she won't walk on it because of the pain or the bandage. Her removable splint hasn't arrived yet. I'm hoping we get it in the next day or two. We get both the results of the analysis of her leg (staging for the cancer) and the results of the joint tap tomorrow.
So, like I said, no weight on her back leg. She gets whiny and we take her out. If she just needs to pee, she does the rag doll thing & won't try to walk & we lay her down in the grass & she just pees laying down. She has pooped maybe 3 times since Tuesday. So she saves it up until she can't stand it anymore. She will walk-ish for that, but we have to support her & I'm pretty sure she's just using her two good legs. I'm trying to motivate her to stand / walk as much as possible. We're 12 days out from amputation now. She can't get up on her own without help because of the stiff back leg. I keep thinking baby steps... Tomorrow I'm taking half a day off work to take her to the vet. Tuesday she has to survive on her own while we're at work. The pet sitter will stop by mid day & give her water & take her out... but we've got to get her moving on her own soon.
Melinda
Maybe they should wrap it more lightly and give you an option to remove it if it still doesn't work? Just a thought.
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
Sorry to hear about these extra challenges, as if a diagnosis and amputation aren't enough. Sending positive thoughts your way, and hoping for the best.
Tom
or if it's weird because it's wrapped completely stiff. She did the same thing when they wrapped her front leg after the biopsy.
Melinda
I tjimk that's a pretty important observation that could hold the key.
paws120 said
Maybe they should wrap it more lightly and give you an option to remove it if it still doesn't work? Just a thought.
Great idea, especially based on the fact she did the same thing when it was wrapped for the biopsy.
And if yoou are avle to take the bandsge off,, she still may not ise it right away simply because the muscles are weak.
Paws crossed
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!
Wow-
I've been reading through this whole thread and am really sorry that your sweet dog's recovery experiences have been so complicated and stressful! With each page I was reading, I'm like, "Did she pee yet? Did.She.Pee??!!"
I have no advice or expertise to share. Just wanted you to know I am following your journey through this challenging time and hoping Sierra has no more setbacks and only good things to come. I also wanted you to know that you are an AMAZING pet parent. Many wouldn't go to the lengths you've gone to help her. She is one lucky dog to have you and I'm sure you feel the same love for her. Good luck!
Hattie
Hugs,
Hattie and Jerry Cat (right front leg and scapula amputation due to chondrosarcoma at age 14, lived 2 1/2 years post amputation, succumbed suddenly to suspected lymphoma at age 16)
10/2001 - 10/9/2017 R.I.P ~ Love you always
So much appreciation for all the encouragement you all give! Makes this journey so much easier.
So Ortho today. Stitches are out. He rewrapped her chest because she has a few little scabs & he wanted her to have the extra padding. Said we can take it off in a few days. The leg biopsy (is that what it’s called?) is back. For as long as it bothered her (over a year before we finally figured it out) they rated it at stage 1 or grade 1. Idk. It’s the best it can be. No sign of it in her lymph nodes and the concentration was very low. So that’s good news.
As for that back leg & the joint tap. It’s a fracking INFECTION. 
Deep breath. Ok so that’s better in my mind than a potential long term issue like arthritis or joint issues. But ugh. Anyways the vet said it was a pseudo something infection. He said they’re nasty & resistant to a bunch of antibiotics. Of course. Our luck. But the good news is that since we cultured it, we do know what is sensitive to. So baby girl gets Ciproflaxin. Which I’m sure I misspelled. We took the compression bandage off. It’s not the bandage she doesn’t want to stand on like I had hoped. She is still super painful. He said if it swells back up, ice it. Well. Guess who currently has ice on her leg. Poor baby. He refilled her pain meds too just to get her past this leg pain. Hoping the antibiotics kick in super quickly. He said 2-3 days for improvement hopefully. And she’s currently so doped up on tramadol and gabapentin she doesn’t seem to notice the ice.
So at least some definitive answers. One step at a time.
Are Freddie’s tap results back yet?
Melinda
(((Melinda)))
That's really good news! Yes tough infection but TREATABLE!! CIPRO, you rawked it
Ok, it's a set back but it's temporary, YAY!! From a distance sometimes we see the successes a little easier. Ice, Cipro, pain meds, rest. You are all over this!
Can I tell you when you said fracking I laughed out loud and said good choice of words, probably wouldn't have been mine 😂🤣😅
Sending big hugs, and love. You're still moving forward thank goodness. One step at a time.
I hope you both get good rest tonight.
Jackie and Huck ❤️
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
Praying for you. This isn’t easy to go through with our babies. We had to added canned pumpkin to our dogs food(which is now chicken and beef cause she is spoiled) and the next morning she pooped. I probably started with a tablespoon.
I hope things start start looking up soon. XOXO
WOW!! Craaazy! Like you said though, now you know what you're dealing with and it IS TREATABLE!!
And. YAY the biopsy sounds like it was pretty darn good!!! YAY!!
Oddly enough, Sierra's little "fluid tap buddy"got his results today too. He is negative for the infection! I do celebrate that, just still leaves some unanswered questions though.
The Vet did start him on Cefpodoxine Proxetil when she did the tap just in case. Does that sound like that's what Sierra is on? She said it was an effective drug for some of the infections she had seen from the tap.
These infections must be incredibly painful because they manifest in the joints. Once the infection and swelling sibside, she WILL get her mobility back!!! She has a lot of adjustment to deal with on top of this, but she'll do so much better once this clears up.
It's such a bummer she has to deal with this. I'm just soooo glad she can FINALLY get onto the road of recovery! SHE WILL GET BETTER!!!! YOU ARE DOING AN OUTSTANDING JOB OF STAYING STRONG!!
Sending extra hugs and massive amounts of chocolate!!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah andMerry 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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