Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi there 
How is Rufus ???
And how are you ????
Sending you both a HUGE hug
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 :-)
Hello everyone. I can't believe it's Wednesday. The first night was tough getting past anaesthesia. I'm glad I took the week off so I can be patient with him as he sits. I think his drugs mess with his mind. He'll go so far and sit. Once I suggest something then he'll go.
His underside next to the incision and above the incision furthest to the bottom of the incision is getting red and just emailed doctor about it.
We are getting more carpet for the slick surfaces.
Chemo and sutures come out Friday 27th.
Hey Rufus 😃
SO glad to hear surgery is done and dusted and you are on the way to recovery and a full, happy life on three 🐾🐾🐾
Yup, I bet you are reaaally high and seeing flying pigs all over in your head 🐷🐷🐷
Don't worry about it.
When your Mom is allowed to reduce your pain meds, they will definitely fly away for good 🐽🐽🐽
As for the redness over your incision it's probably nothing to worry about but Mom is doing a good job checking with your vet just in case ...
Mom is definitely keeping a good eye 👀 on you, sweetie.
Don't forget to tell her not to overdue it and let you rest a lot 😴 for now.
Oh, and just one other thing.
Tell Mom to be prepared as most of us have a little crash between days 3-5 and that is normal.
After stitches are out you should start rehearsing all the dance moves as you'll be rocking in no time 🎼🎼
I'll be keeping an eye on you and Mom from above 🐮💫✨🌟🌹
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 for the heads up about 3-5 days crash out. Yesterday after his bathroom break he almost broke into a run. His typical behavior is to dash in the house in excitement of his deposit. We had to yell at him to slow down and thank goodness he did.
How do I know when I should reduce meds?
My husband and I were brainstorming which tricks we shouldn't ask Rufus to do when he's all healed up. We don't want him to get hurt.
Rufus got a bone and has been enjoying it. The bone has been nice to give him something to do and keep his mind focused.
Hey there is sounds like things are progressing normally. I'm glad you let your vet know about the redness. I'll bet that it's normal bruising that occurs after surgery. Usually it turns really red and discolored a few days out, then gradually lightens over the next week or so.
How do I know when I should reduce meds?
Follow your vet's directions for timing and dosages. If you suspect you need to change it, let them know how to do it correctly. Always best to contact your vet first.
You are smart to be thinking about what is safe activity for Rufus once he heals! What kinds of tricks did he like to do before the surgery?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
The doctor did say it was bruising.
Rufus' tricks:
Help- he picks up things from the floor and hands them to me.
Dance- he turns in circles.
Bang bang- he lays on his side as if he got shot.
Shake - gives a paw for a shake. Now with only one front paw he'll prolly sit pretty mostly.
Sit pretty - sits up on hind legs. Then I say back and he hops backward.
Roll over - roll over; )
Back - he backs up.
He usually walks the curbing on his way out to use the bathroom. He hasn't done that yet and it'll be interesting to see if he'll do it again.
RUFUS, YOU ARE A ROCK STAR ON SO MANY LEVELS!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 AND OBVIOUSLY A VERY SMART BOY!!
Can't wait to see you do your "tricks":-) 🙂 The backing up and some of the dance circles may be a bit harder, but he'll probably create his own "revised version".
As Jerry said, check with yiur Vet in the meds. Don't reduce, or add, without a Vet's approval. Generally though, most dogs are on pain meds for avrout two weeks, with some tapering off towards the end of the 2nd week. That said, some dogs are on pain meds longer. My Happy Hannah needed them in some form for three weeks, and some need them even longer.
So glad he's home and mobile!!! 🙂
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!
Thanks benny55. Rufus tried to walk the curbing this morning but only his hind legs would track.
I'm happy he's home resting. He has to wear his cone when my husband and I run out. I'll return to work next week so he'll be wearing that thing for 9 hours a day: ( for 9 days.
Maybe I can figure out a way to post a you tube video. I like how people embed them into their post. When Rufus' is all healed up we'll run through his tricks.
He goes down 5 stairs to the basement where we've been camping out. I'm glad going up is easier. His harness should be here soon and I mostly want it for getting out of the vehicles.
Hey there 🌺
How exciting to hear how well Rufus is doing, he seems to be quite a joyful chap 🤠
As for the cone, I don't have experience as Miss Cow never needed one (she never fiddled with her incision and in any case I was lucky to be able to be with her 24/7)
But I remember others mentioning a different kind of soft cone, hopefully somebody will chime him with details soon.
Cannot wait to watch the videos 🎥!
Hugs and tons of cuddles to your energetic cutie pie 😘😘😘🐮💫✨🌟🌹
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 :-)
Why did you look at Eurydice's lungs Nov 2016? After Rufus finishes chemo in December is it routine for chest xrays? I feel like after chemo we're just going to live life and not do anymore procedures. I know it'll only be a matter of time before the cancer comes back in the bones or the mets in lungs grow, so I'll wait for the outward signs. He can't have another amputation and lungs is a dead end.
Maybe I can figure out a way to post a you tube video.
This is super easy and we can't wait to see it! Just upload the video to YouTube, then click the "Share" button to get the video URL. Copy it, then return here and just paste it directly into your Forum post.
is it routine for chest xrays?
Your oncologist will recommend x-rays every 3 months or so. That's to check for lung mets, as you know. If found, they can come up with a plan to manage and hopefully reduce or eliminate them. If you don't think you will do any follow up therapy like metronomics , that's completely OK and skipping the follow-up x-rays is understandable.
As you approve any therapy during this journey, the question to ask yourself is, "What will I do with the information?" Will you move forward with treatment? Choose another type of therapy to manage the condition? It's entirely up to you and nobody will condemn you either way. Do what's in your heart and you can't go wrong.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We're not going to see an oncologist. We're going to internal medicine for chemo.
Rufus has to be sedated every time we get an xray. I didn't realize once mets are in the lungs there are options to slow the growth. I have more reading and learning to do. Knowing sooner could prevent worst case scenario. Since metronomics are oral, that would be less intrusive than chemo.
Diet. I need to look into this too. So many decisions to make.
Yup, there is a lot to consider during this journey.
Eurydice did 6 sessions of carboplatin and started metronomic therapy after that.
She had a clear X-ray at some point during metronomics and was due for a CT scan 6 months after surgery.
It was then that we found 3 minuscule mets which wouldn't have shown on an X-ray due to their size.
That showed metronomics wasn't working for her so we switched to IV doxorubicin.
She could have had 5 sessions, after that it gets too dangerous for the heart.
Just before the 4th session the oncologist recommended a CT scan to be repeated to check whether chemo was working but sadly the original mets were still there (bigger) and there were new ones.
We tried Palladia briefly but I decided to pursue the holistic route.
X-rays or not, CT scans or not is part of our individual decisions, we definitely learn to adapt during our journey.
Although Eurydice only had 13 months and 1 week others have had MUCH longer and enjoyed great quality of life.
There are treatments one can pursue after lung mets are found, yes.
Metronomics, Doxorubicin, Palladia and many other drugs plus later on cortisone and diuretics can be very, very effective, there is just no way to know for sure until we try it with our dog.
But don't overthink things now.
Take one wonderful day at a time, have a great time with your boy, you have chemo to do and when that is finished you'll figure out what to do next.
As Rene says, all decisions are good if you follow your heart 💗
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 :-)
I can't speak to the chemo regimens, but I can address tricks post amp!! Loki is a 10ish year old, right forelimb Tripawd, and three months after surgery he is able to sit, stay, lay down, crawl (looks like an army crawl), shake, high five, dance (stands up and puts his paw on my chest), turn (in a circle), stand (on hind legs), and hop (jump up off the ground) on good days. Really the only one he doesn't do is roll over, but I don't blame him! They are super resilient, and you'll be impressed with how excited Rufus will be to show off his tricks again!
🐾 Loki, Dog of Mischief 🐶
I loved life as a tripawd for over three years following right forelimb amputation due to an aggressive and recurrent hemangiopericytoma. I reclaimed my place among the gods and valkyries in Valhalla on November 11th, 2020. My parents miss me tremendously, but I know they'll keep me in their hearts forever... and don't worry, I've approved my mom's use of my Tripawds account.
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