Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

UPDATE...

I talked to Lexie's Internal Medicine specialist, who saw her scans from the weekend and reviewed her blood work. Unfortunately she raised some caution flags about amputation given Lexie's Cushing's disease and a few other things.

On top of that, I noticed a new growth on L's other front leg (crying inside as I type this). Our vet said I should definitely talk to an oncologist given all of L's issues. She said the osteosarcoma seems especially invasive. She was shocked by how much the main tumor had grown in a matter of days, and I do understand her concern.

The good news: I found a NoVa oncologist with a cancellation for Tuesday 3/18. We'll see what he thinks. If he does think that the benefits of amputation outweigh the risks after he sees Lexie's charts, blood work, labs, and scans, that's what we'll do. If not, we'll try palliative radiation and anything else he thinks will help.

On the trying to stay positive front... Lexie seems to be doing well with her meds and wants to eat more (she's a little mad at me since she's not supposed to eat for an hour after one of her meds, and she wants food again...a big turnaround from this weekend). She even went out in the back yard in our late-season Virginia snow today, and she's always loved the snow.

Trying to push down the worry between the mets, the growth of the original tumor, plus the one on the opposite leg now... Just trying to breathe and be dog-like and keep doing research and reading all the positive outcomes here and just enjoy time with Lexie, and grateful I can see an oncologist Tuesday instead of later in the week.

Thanks again to all for your support. Will update when I know more.

Deb and Lexie

P.S. One of the reasons I love communities like these is because people you meet remind you of things about your dog and yourself that you may have forgotten -- or in some cases, you learn something new. A shout-out to Elizabeth who reminded me that Lexie is one tough cookie.

She is indeed.

Sometimes I forget that because her other chronic conditions and earlier issues have been so well-managed and well-treated. I'll list everything in reverse order:

Growth on her other front leg; suspect lymph node; lung mets; some form of sarcoma tumors; Cushing's disease; pancreatitis; a slipped disc from playing too hard, which left her back legs partially paralyzed for several weeks; horrible allergies and after all the usual elimination drills, the lovely shaved stomach pin-prick skin test results led us to the conclusion that "she's allergic to pretty much everything you have in your back yard at your new house." 

All of that doesn't even count my naivete as an unexpected first-time solo dog parent in 2002, when I soon realized that naming her Houdini or Flash would have been very appropriate. She managed to escape to have an adventure in the mud, in the woods, in the water, or in the neighborhood every three months or so until I finally wised up.

I read everything I could about how to thwart four-legged escape artists and took all appropriate measures, including warnings to anyone visiting our house for the first time -- plus a door sign for parties, and for delivery men.

Her 'Lexcapades,' as I referred to them after she returned home safe after 10 or 15 minutes (and a couple of times up to an hour or two), would now give me 100% gray hair as an older, wiser dog owner. In hindsight, we're incredibly lucky that all of her adventure-seeking resulted in safe and happy reunions.

The fact that Lexie has been on this Earth for 13+ years, and with me for 12, is something I need to be grateful for.

Now if we could just find a magic ray gun to shrink the tumors and manage the mets given her other challenges. After years of allergy shots, my girl *hates* needles and even plain syringes, so anything we decide to try should be in pill form, or a better yet, a capsule or something else...and ideally involve zero to minimal of those bad pointy things. 

Thanks in advance to anyone who has thoughts or suggestions on what might be helpful given what I've noted. I'll search around in the other forums, too.

Elizabeth, thanks for starting the ball of yarn that led me all the way back to the early days. Those Lexcapades definitely made me smile...