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.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
Hi all, well I don't know where to start or really what to say. Our Ryder went for his 3rd chemo therapy session this afternoon and oncology doctor decided not to give him the chemo because he has at least 4 nodules in his lungs. Last xray 9 weeks ago was clear. I am devastated and don't know where to turn. Grasping at straws and seeking advice ... we can try another modality (chemo at home with pills) but not sure what to do. He has just started to play again with our 1 year old puppy and seems very happy. We were totally knocked down by this outcome as we were beginning to believe that he was beating this osteosarcoma.
Ryder's Mom
Oh no! I'm so sorry to read this. Cancer is so mean! It happened so fast and I am just so sorry, my heart aches for you. Of course you are devastated! I will give you a few pointers but if you need to cry and yell and scream do it, just not in front of Ryder. OK here they are:
Ryder is still Ryder. He doesn't know what the vet said. All he knows is he is happy and playing with his little sibling, and that's all he wants in this world. Watch him and learn: he has overcome so much and he is still the same beautiful, strong boy that he his. He is an amazing dog and he will be that way, always.
Even with mets you don't know what can happen. Hopefully they will stabilize. I don't want to give you false hope but honestly sometimes they do! Do your best to picture them disappearing while Ryder continues to be his happy self. He is still beating osteosarcoma day by day. Each day is a victory for him!
Now about the mets and possible treatment. If you want to see what's out there, we have these posts about lung metastasis that you may want to check out. The most recent posts mention various treatments being given, some are clinical trials some are not. But if you want to investigate your options it can't hurt.
We are sending tons of love and hugs to you. Stay strong for Ryder, he needs your pawsitivity now more than ever.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Unfortunately, many of is know what a kick in the gut it is to hear those xray results. But many of is alsomknow there ARE things you can do!.
For now though, go through the "process" of being puffed off, shocked and sad. Then once you go thru those emotions, read Jerry's post several times. Especially this part....bec5 this part is so important
Ryder is still Ryder. He doesn’t know what the vet said. All he knows is he is happy and playing with his little sibling, and that’s all he wants in this world. Watch him and learn: he has overcome so much and he is still the same beautiful, strong boy that he his. He is an amazing dog and he will be that way, always.
Even with mets you don’t know what can happen. Hopefully they will stabilize. I don’t want to give you false hope but honestly sometimes they do! Do your best to picture them disappearing while Ryder continues to be his happy self. He is still beating osteosarcoma day by day. Each day is a victory for him!
Ryder isn't even showing any clinical signs and it may be a bery long time, or even if at all, before he does. And even if he does start to show sym, there are still treatments to keep him co fortavle and to ensure continued quality.
After you catch your breath, talk with the Onco about Metronomics and about Palladia. Some members feel like those treatments have kept mets at bay very well.
Your Ryder is enjoying being Ryder....and will for a very long time. This is NOT the wnd of the road by any means. The most important thing though, is to not let that piece of crap dis interfere with your time together or rob you from stay fully focused on the present with Ryder.
And also talk with your Onco about some complimentary therapies as well as nutrition, etc.
We are all here with you and for you. Ryder will make his own way on this journey. He will continue to amaze you💖
(((((((((((((((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!
For whatever reason, your post is being reproduced twice.
Anyway, saw where your Onco suggested another type chemo. And you're right, that one can be quite rough (not always though). Did you ask about Palladia?
Jerry was on Metronomics and I think they were pleased with the results. Pretty much no side effects (have to watch out for UTI though) He had no chemo and thrived for almost two yrars... and mist of that time was with mets!!
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 to all who have responded, hugs to all. I needed to hear your thoughts. (Wish I could stop crying ...) You are so right, Ryder doesn't know what the vet said, he just knows that he is scared to death to visit that hospital and shakes uncontrollably and cries when we go there. He still play bites with the 'little one' (she is nearly as big as him now, she weighs 70# and he is down to 78#). We are going to give him a knuckle bone to chew on tonight! First one is months. He will be soooooo happy.
Yes Ryder's oncologist suggested Metronomic Chemotherapy. I believe that this is the way we will go. I have done some reading on it and it seems like the best course of action. We can give him the meds at home and he will only need to go to that hospital once every 6-8 weeks to recheck x-rays. He had to be sedated in order to take the x-rays yesterday. He would need monthly urinalysis and blood work done. (He adores his regular vet and cries with excitement when we go there.)
Am wondering if we should continue the TCM's and Apocaps that he is currently taking. Any history on that? I don't see how it could hurt, medicinal mushrooms have done wonders for some.
I will re-read all of your kind messages when I get down and that will help me get through each day.
You are so welcome, I'm glad you checked in. I know it's hard not to cry, I did a LOT of that when we found out about Jerry's mets. As Sally mentioned we did mentronomics and he did very well on it for about 7 months until the mets impacted his quality of life. Some dogs go longer, you just never know. It's a good option for dogs that hate going to the vet and it makes you feel like you are doing something to help. There are other newer metastasis treatments but it would require vet visits, likely at an all new clinic like a teaching hospital, and if Ryder is seriously freaked out by the vet it's probably not the best option.
Talk to your onco about the supplements. We continued with Jerry's for most of the time he was on metronomic chemo, until we knew for sure they weren't doing any good. If it makes you feel better and he doesn't mind, and your vet approves, I don't see why not.
Hang in there and love every moment. I hope he's getting that big juicy bone today!
P.S. You may want to check out Fear Free Vet Practices for Ryder's little sibling (assuming you wouldn't want to change anything for Ryder now). Fear free is a whole new movement in the vet field, where practitioners get trained to use very gentle techniques to take the fear out of vet visits for pets. For instance, many times they don't even need to sedate dogs for x-rays! We started using fear free clinics for Wyatt Ray after 10 years of him losing his mind at the vet, and these practices are like night and day compared to non-fear free clinics.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
BTW, cry and scream all you need to! We get it! Actually, it's therapeutic and helps you clear your head to refocus.
I wanted to add a link that was posted by Stacy, Griffin's mom. It has tons of "alternative " support supplements, etc. You can probably narrow it down and decide what you think will best support Ryder. I believe you'll see Apocaps , K9 Immunity , and other similar items.
She also had some good recipes too. I'll try and fin that link. She was very thorough in her research and always willing to share with us.
https://tripawd.....endations/
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
And absolutely, if Ryder does not like Bet visits Metronomics is definitely the way to go!! While my Happy Hannah didn't mind Vet visits, I could tell she was growing a little less excited about them and that was one reason I went with Metronomics for her. QUALITY, QUALITY, QUALITY!!! ALways the number one goal and always what our dogs would want. Days on a calendar mean nothing....but .loving and spoiling and tummy rubs and butt scratches and KNUCKLE BONES!!!!!
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!
Actually our regular vet used to be the Director of Integrative Medicine for several years at a large 'chain' type hospital and then he opened his own practice! We first met him when he treated our then (2009) 7 year old berner girl after she had unilateral tieback surgery due to laranygeal paralysis. Dr. B kept her going another 5 years with TCM and acupuncture. He practices acupuncture, prescribes traditional chinese medicines, offers VOM and Reiki at his own practice. Both dogs love everyone there and they too subscribe to Fear Free Vet Practices. Ryder is only afraid of the hospital (another big chain) that did his amputation (bad memories??? He gets anticipatory pain and they even had a sign above his cubby that read "Bites & Screams"). This is where his oncologist is. She once told me that there isn't really any way to boost their immune system ... not too much into animal nutrition as she is to conventional vet practice, but she also has a tripawd (not due to cancer) she adopted from Mexico.
Along with the Apocaps Ryder gets RXCoriolus Forte, Fractionated Pectin Powder, Myco Forte, Xiao Chai Hu Tang, Astragalus Complex, IP-6 Immunity, C-Complex, Safe-Sea Omega oils, Phytoplankton, fresh dandelion greens, cruciferous veggies (partially cooked), fresh blue berries, strawberries, watermelon, apple, ACV, dehydrated organs, fruit and veggies, garlic tablets, the Missing Link vitamin supplement, Pre/Probiotics, bovine colostrom, CBD Oil (500 mg) in his lightly cooked Halshan's raw food blend. The items on Stacy's link look very similar to what we are using now.
We had not heard of Palladia but it sounds VERY scary. We have to be on our toes now every time the dogs 'do their business' because if we aren't on top of things, the puppy, Grace, races out the door to gobble up Ryder's poo!!! (Sorry for the awful mind picture) I can't even imagine if she were to eat that tainted poo! Just like a toddler, everything goes into her mouth. Caught her with a Terro ant bait the other day.
Off to give belly rubs 
I am soooo uplifted by your interactions with your Integrative Vet Dr B!!!! You are way ahead of the game in your knowledge and support systems already in place for your handsome boy!
Sounds like Dr B has worked magice for you in the past, and maybe he can again!
Glad the link to Stacy's support for Griffen reflects some of the same approach you are taking.
And yeah, with Grace around Palladia may not be a good idea for a lot of reasons, but Grace is one of them!
And yes, belly rubs are medicinal 👍
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, Dr. B sounds pawesome! Lucky dawg! Be sure to post a shout out in Veterinary Specialist Referrals so other people know about this practice. I'd love to check out their website too.
Ryder has an incredibly healthy nutrition plan. You are doing everything possible to give him the ammo to stay strong and healthy, great job! 
How did you come up with his plan? If you have a sec, share in Eating Healthy so we can all learn.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Georgiana - Ryder is certainly receiving fantastic care between you and his vet team! I know that the news of lung mets felt like a gut punch - I felt the same when Griffin was diagnosed with lung mets in July 2020, just 3 months after his surgery. He had been doing the Carboplatin chemo, and then we switched to Doxorubicin. Ultimately, we tried 5 different chemo protocols, including metronomics
that avoided excessive hospital visits. He did experience severe inappetence with Palladia, but different dogs have different reactions to all meds. Ultimately, Griffin lived a joyous life for 7 months after lung mets were first discovered. I struggled with anticipatory grief throughout Griffin's cancer journey. I eventually learned how to give myself permission and space to rage for a short period of time before turning my focus back to living life with Griffin. Rene and Sally have given you great advice here (like they always did for me!), but I just wanted to chime in to let you know that I'm thinking about you and rooting hard for Ryder! 
Stacy
Griffin lived an amazing life for 11 years! Diagnosed with osteosarcoma on March 17, 2020, Griffin's right forelimb was amputated on April 2, 2020. Ten days later he was running and playing fetch! Lung metastasis discovered in July 2020 did not slow down Griffin and he lived joyfully for the next 7 months, passing peacefully at home on February 11, 2021. https://griffin.tripawds.com
Stacy, thank you so much for the helpful insight, thoughtful advice and the extra pawsitivity. You're the best!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
1 Guest(s)
