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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Thank you for reminding me to breathe! Our vet (who is the best, by the way) texted back that he thinks it is probably a lymph node - he said that the contralateral lymph nodes can sometimes get congested after amputation just because the lymph drainage from the pelvic girdle is compromised, and that the body usually figures it out in a few days and re-routes the flow. He then had me take his temp, and his temp is normal. He suggested that we bring him in just to check the sutures and give him a once-over - which is probably the best plan, because it will be a huge relief to me and all my worrying. So we're going to try to make an appointment for tomorrow.
And please don't encourage Mosby with the s'mores. He needs no encouragement when it comes to chocolate. Three Christmases ago we came home from a holiday party to find that he had gotten up on the kitchen island and had eaten five mini chocolate-kahlua cakes and four dozen walnut chocolate chip cookies. He looked like a fat slug but was somehow no worse for the wear. The best part was that as he ate the cakes (which he had to remove from individual tins) he had ground cake into our new beige carpet. It is a sign of my love for him that I still took him to the ER. 🙂
Ohhhh .Mosby!!! You are somethin' else buddy!! 
You are wuite the character! FOUR DOZEN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES....WITH WALNUTS!!!! Not to mention the yummy kahlua cakes!!!
Really like your Vet! He knows his stuff! Makes perfectly good sense!
Now go give that crazy boy a big SMOOCH for me!!
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!
Took Mosby to the vet today for his checkup. He was such a good boy - rode in the car well, used his ramp, waited patiently at the vet. He's so mobile it's amazing to think he had his leg amputated less than a week ago (a week ago tomorrow). Vet said his incision looks great. The lump on his leg is not a lymph node; vet said he would have thought it was a lipoma if it wasn't something that I had only just noticed, and since it seems to not be bothering him, he said to monitor it and check again when he gets his sutures out (also his first chemo day) a week from tomorrow. So, in general, a good checkup, although I wish we had an answer on the lump.
This was our first time out in "public" today (not counting our front yard for bathroom trips), and I was no ready for the pity! Oh my gosh, every person who saw him had the same expression on their face. Knowing what Mosby has been through in the last couple of weeks, I look at him with such admiration and amazement. Yes, his diagnosis and prognosis are awful things, but the fact that he has three legs is not awful! I want to put a sign on his harness that says "Don't pity me - I'm a kick a$$ dog walking like a champ on only three legs!" I guess we had better get used to it, though, and will hopefully be able to educate some people along the way.
mosby said
This was our first time out in "public" today (not counting our front yard for bathroom trips), and I was no ready for the pity! Oh my gosh, every person who saw him had the same expression on their face. Knowing what Mosby has been through in the last couple of weeks, I look at him with such admiration and amazement. Yes, his diagnosis and prognosis are awful things, but the fact that he has three legs is not awful! I want to put a sign on his harness that says "Don't pity me - I'm a kick a$$ dog walking like a champ on only three legs!" I guess we had better get used to it, though, and will hopefully be able to educate some people along the way.
Goodness, yes, I remember that. As his fur grows in though, you may find people have more of that admiration you feel. I think seeing the shaved fur and evidence of recent surgery sort of ramps up that pity response. What was odder to me as the months passed and it was no longer clear the amputation was recent, how many people told me I was special for pursuing the surgery. Maybe in general population, where not everyone is a pet person, I understand that response, but this was at the dog park! Anyhow, people were less "Aww" and more "Wow" when the Frankenscar was hidden beneath his fur.
So glad Mosby had a good check up. And I have to think that lump is perfectly explicable and no big deal....
Lisa, Minneapolis
On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly. His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.
Yaaay for an overall pretty good checkup! Dang right he's a kick a$$ dawg living life to the fullest 🙂
Yep, you'll get those pity looks and "poor dog" comments but in time you'll have your comebacks ready in no time at all. And as you can see it won't take long to enlighten people about the amazing resiliency of our three-legged heroes.
I know the lump must be driving you crazy but try not to worry. We become really hypervigillant once we go through a situation like this and most times our fears don't come true. We'll keep our fingers and paws crossed that the lump thing gets figured out at his next visit.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
It sounds as though Mosby's doing really well and I think your attitude is great! Re the pity looks, I remember feeling exactly like that. I agree with Lisa re the coat growing in. Nowadays it's rare someone says 'poor dog'. When they do, I do my best to look completely confused as though I've no idea what they are talking about. (Oh, you mean her leg! Oh, I see, but she's fine...) Meg's a front amp but quite often these days people don't notice at all, and several times I've been stopped by people to tell me my dog is limping.
I don't think you even need that sign. I'll bet Mosby's expression says it all. He knows he's a kick a$$ dog!
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, 23 November 2023, adopted 12 January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
Thanks, everyone! That's a really good point about his hair growing back in and the scar no longer being visible. And it's also probably true that I'm being hyper-vigilant. Maybe it was there before, and I just didn't notice it because now I scrutinize every single thing!
Forgot to mention - when I got home from work yesterday, after Mosby greeted me he hopped into the living room, grabbed his nylabone, and went to town! First time since his surgery! And it was on the carpet, too, not on his bed(s). It was awesome and shows he's in a good mood and feeling comfortable. This morning he checked out all his Christmas toys for the first time and chewed on the stuffed animals a bit. Both good signs. What a dog! These tripawds are amazing!
And Mosby is an amazw Tripawd!!! 🙂 🙂 WONDERFUL UPDATE!!! Just wonderful!!!!
A d it's still so early in recovery!! It still gets better and better!!!
Starting to see their sparkle come back and seeing them returning to their normal activities is pure bliss! 🙂
And yeah, as his fur grows back people won't even notice. As Lisa said, it will become more WOW when they do eventually notice!
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!
Way to rock it Mosby!!
This was our first time out in "public" today (not counting our front yard for bathroom trips), and I was no ready for the pity! Oh my gosh, every person who saw him had the same expression on their face
It becomes one of our missions as Tripawd parents- spreading the word that dogs like Mosby overcome and thrive!
I've had two little rear amps and I think it's harder to see that the leg is gone, although a bit easier with Elly since her amp was up to her hip. When I had Maggie out and about sometimes people would ask why she was limping! One of my latest comebacks when I'm out with Elly and people gasp 'she is missing a leg' is "it doesn't seem to bother her any!"
Here is hoping that the lump is nothing but a lump!
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
Mosby's pupdate: He continues to do well. He still sleeps a lot, but he seems to have lots of good healing sleeps, which I'm happy to see. His mobility and balance are amazing and he handles everything with aplomb. We put runners throughout a circuit through our house on our hardwoods before he ever got home, so for the most part he stays on those, but sometimes sneaks off them when you turn away for 2 seconds (he's so quiet!) and suddenly there he is on the hardwood! Usually we can grab him in time, but he did have a little fall (on his good side) this morning. He was ok, though. We'd already cleared Kohl's out of runners, but might be heading back there to see if they have re-stocked! I love seeing his fur grow back, even if he has a long way to go. He's handling his meds well, and hasn't really seemed to be in pain. He'll really stretch out on his bed during naps and relax. Surgery site looks great. Today is technically 10 days, so sutures could come out, but he'll get them out Thursday prior to getting his first chemo treatment.
And that's really the hard part right now. It' so easy to focus on his physical recovery and kind of put the "cancer" part of it out of my mind. For sure the rational part of me is thinking "we have got to attack this head-on and battle the microscopic metastasis," but the less rational part of me is heartbroken that we'll be subjecting him to a harsh treatment that will suppress his immune system just as he's reached the point where he has physically recovered so much. But at the same time I'm determined to fight this head-on, and get it started as soon as possible, so we can finish his 6 treatments as soon as possible. I hope so many things, but right now mainly hope that he handles it as well as possible. He still has the lump, and I'll be asking the vet about that Thursday.
So, that's Thursday for us. We have some highly recommended dog sitters coming over today (they both work at vet clinics and actually have experience re-habbing an amputee dog), as we will be integrating them into our schedule soon. I'm looking forward to also starting rehab therapy with Mos as soon as possible.
What a journey this is, with so many ups and downs. I do know that 2017 will be the year of Mosby. Based of course on how well he's recovered and how well he's healing, we will be taking as many trips as possible with him this year. His "car" bed arrived today. It replaces his older (and ready to be replaced) bed in the back of my forerunner (i.e. the Mosby Luxury Suite) so he'll have lots of shock and motion absorption as we travel. We of course also have the ramp and the webmaster plus harness. As I said, this is going to be the year of Mosby, and that's what we are going to focus on. 🙂
You are so prepared! Even a new bed in the luxury suite.
Please remember most dogs do well during chemo since the side effects are not the same as human chemo. Look at Eurydice who goes on long road trips to European beaches and castles, to restaurants, and always on the look out for new feline, canine and human friends. And this is even between chemo treatments.
Wishing you and Mosby and great year of treatment, recovery and fun.
Kerren and Tripawd Kitty Mona
Congratulations on Mosby's continuing recovery. Hopefully the lump is just a lump!
So true, what you say about there being ups and downs. Here's to the New Year being on the up side!
Tracey & Tai
Oh Mosby!! You are one pampered pooch of a pup!!! Spoiling a Tripawd is so much fun for humans!!
As Kerren said, chemo on dogs is generally much easier on their system (immune system included) than the human chemo. Some dogs sail through with no side effects, some dogs have a day or two of lethargy and a some nausea and may not feel like eating for a day or two. A few sometimes get knocked for a wallop and just don't tolerate it well at all. The "beauty"' of chemo ks you can stop anytime and dogs recover quickly.
The Vet will give you Cerenia should Mosby experience nausea and thst really works wonders. Some Vets advise Cerenia for several days after the chemo anyway. No right or wrong, just different approaches.
They'll do bloodwork before the second chemo to check his WBC. Sometimes it gets low and thst merely means the chemo ks delayed a week or so until the WBC goes up. This is perfectly "normal" if it happens with some dogs, so just letting you know in case it happens with Mos so you won't be scared!!
Yep!! Mosby is getting on with life splendidly!! Stay in the present with him, no worries about the tomorrows! Mosby is with you today and that is all that matters!! You are doing a spectacular job of making EVERYDAY MOSBY DAY!!! 2017ks MOSBY'S YEAR OF VICTORY AFTER VICTORY!!! 🙂
All is well in Mosby's World!!
Love a d 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!
WOW !
I've just seen this post and am extremely and happily amazed at Mos recovery 💪🏽
What a resilient, goofy, well humoured dawg your Moz is 👌🏽👍🏼
I see no reason why he wouldn't sail through chemo given how he's been so far !
And, as Sally said, you can always stop or delay chemo at any time.
Eurydice, my baby girl, has sailed through 6 sessions of carboplatin, over one month of metronomic theraphy and 2 (out of 5) sessions of doxorubicin, always with zero side effects and full of energy.
You and your cutie pie are a great example of a super tripawd in the making 🏆
Sending you a big hug and tons of ear scratches to your baby boy 😘😘😘😘💞🐶
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 :-)
Thank you all - this has been so reassuring to hear about chemo experiences, and especially that many dogs handle it well, and that it can be stopped if needed. Hopefully Mosby will handle it well, but we will play it by ear. The plan is 6 sessions of carboplatin every 3-4 weeks, with the idea being that if, at 3 weeks, his blood panels aren't good, it'll be delayed a week. So they will definitely make sure that he's feeling ok before they proceed. I'm ready for Friday, because then we can say "only 5 sessions left," plus his sutures will be out.
I have looked around on the forums and have loved seeing Eurydice on her travels - and during chemo! Amazing and inspiring - she's my hero! My husband and I can't wait to travel with our tripawd.
Thank you all! As I have said many times before, I am so glad that this site - and all of you - are here, you have no idea how much it means to us to have this kind of feedback and advice and support from folks who really know exactly what we are going through.
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