Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

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…glad she is out of surgery and starting her recovery!  My Otis had surgery on a Tuesday morning, and came home Wednesday evening.  The surgeon generally wants to make sure they pee and eat/drink…

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I saw Jerry's comment about TPLO.  My Tess had cruciate repair the summer before Otis' amputation.  The amp is a way easiler, and faster, recovery.  If you have handled cruciate recovery, you can handle this!  And, lots of the stuff you do to prepare your home is the same - block off stairs

…The more you read about what to expect, the better you'll feel about the whole situation. That will give you the confidence she needs to have a good recovery. And remember, if you've been through TPLO surgery recovery, this will be much easier, really! Use tomorrow to read up and if you need anything don

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Another thought: how much room does she have to move around? Have you confined her area at all? I'm thinking this is a lot like a TPLO surgery recovery, where the dog's movements need to be really limited in order for the healing to happen. Also, having a harness like the Custom Pet Support Suit
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…in similar predicaments and have made it through. Murphy's story is a great example. Car accidents with multiple injuries can make for a longer recovery but the good news is that Ginger is a HUSKY and she's got determination and strength bred into her DNA that will help her get through this as easily

…though it was her right front that the limping was most pronounced, she fully ruptured and tore her right rear CCL in August and had TPLO surgery.  Recovery was rough-but she did ok.  

During rehab the right front leg got worse and worse. Vet suspected Osteosarcoma.  New ex-rays showed a huge tumor

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….  My golden, Rosie had right rear leg TPLO surgery 8/31 and her front leg amputated on 10/26 due to cancer.  

I know that this first bit of home recovery can be stressful and scary.  I want to share what I learned and what worked for us in case it may be helpful for you and your beautiful Bella.  

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…her staples out that she was able to eat her dinner in her regular fashion. 

You guys are doing an awesome job with her and pretty soon this hard recovery phase will be over and you guys will be a rocking three Legged, golden family. 

 Again, my intention is not to tell you what to do or recommend

…. Thank goodness we have a great CCRT  and are scheduled tomorrow to take a look at her condition, and figure out the best plan for a slow and steady recovery. I can't wait until it's time for her to get back into the water treadmill. Her favorite stretches are what we call a yoga stretch, where she has

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…for a few days, but he hated it and learned to go down the stairs quickly. You can go to my blog for a 2 week , day-by-day run down on how his recovery went. The good and the bad. The "post chemo thoughts and highlights" lists what I considered necessary preparations.

http://fionnsjo....

…Kellye,

You have great input from others already.  And I agree with Christine- since you have been through TPLO recovery you have some idea on what to expect.  My quad pug Obie has had two knee surgeries (tightrope and patella correction) and his recoveries were way

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….  Night lights are also good - my Otis definitely wanted lights on when we went outside after dark.

Yes, you can go back to work in two weeks. Recovery is intense, but much faster than TPLO.  Once the staples come out, about day 10, most dogs perk up considerably.  Probably no dog door until then,

…this feeling, of course, but I suspect that you may be surprised at how well Rosie copes with the surgery, and how much easier and less stressful recovery is than after TPLO. My Meg had multiple surgeries, including a total elbow replacement and heaven knows what else before the decision was finally…

…a far from straightforward decision). Every situation is different, of course, but in our case we were blessed with a remarkably straightforward recovery after amputation, much much easier on Meg and on me than after her previous ops. Like Rosie, Meg had been largely three legged for some considerable

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Thanks for reaching out.  Surgery is Wednesday.   Come home Thursday or Friday.  Good timing.  Long weekend to get through the first part of recovery.  I just have this feeling though that the surgery is going to be too much and that the extra stress will hasten her passing. I am praying that she…

…will make it through recovery and back to running/hopping with her pack again.  The TPLO was only 7 weeks ago, and because of the OSC she hasn't progressed as well as expected

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…after a rear leg amp due to being hit by a car. He had had three hip dislocations with reduction surgeries to correct them before the THR.

Daisy is another Tripawd who had cruciate surgery after becoming a Tripawd, although if I remember correctly, she didn't have a TPLO.

Kathi and the

…cheeseburgers and sunbathing it's for them AND for us too! A win/win for everybody is a good thing!!

Izzy, a tripawd, is now gping tnrpugh TPLO recovery on her remaining three legs. She's doing amazing.

Murphy had hip urgery six weeks after his front leg amp. He had great extended quality time

… and I don't know if I should go through with it.  My fear is that the cancer is more widespread than we know and although the surgeon says recovery is a lot quicker than TPLO, and she's already only using three legs, that by the end of the month or mid-November she should be right as rain.

…so I imagine there must be pain which she is now feeling more intensely because of being off the meds. I know that all dogs are different and the recovery period can vary, but I'm so concerned that maybe there is something else seriously wrong. 

I guess I'm looking for anyone who has maybe had a

…better with her pain managed but I'm still so torn (no pun intended) between the surgical options. Afraid to do TPLO because of the drawn out recovery (and cutting her bone - she's almost 13!!) but don't want to put her through a "lesser" surgery for nothing (what if it doesn't help or fails

…t feel like a horrible person because you are "wishing" you hadn't adopted another dog.  When I first adopted Daisy as a puppy she was a holy terror.  It was so bad that I contacted the rescue and asked if they would take her back that I could not handle her. …

…having her in my life.

You are correct that the lateral suture stabilization procedure is not the best option for the bigger dogs (like Izzy and Daisy) but in our case Daisy was older and not all that active so it worked out great for us.  It held up just fine for the remainder of her life. The…

…the only "fix" is amputation and we already lost the "spare".

Hang in there.  The right decision for you will come.

Marla, Biscuit and Spirit Daisy