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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Hi Pam. I have a call in to our vet, but today is his surgery day and it might be awhile before I hear back so I thought I would give you a try before Zeus' next meds are due.
History: Zeus (11.5 yr old husky, six months post amp, last/sixth Carboplatin was given on 5/4/12) got very sick on Tuesday - three incidences of gag/cough, very lethargic. Took him to the vet and his temp was 105.5 and x-rays showed a bit of cloudyness in the chest. CBC showed that the WBCs were bottomed-out. Vet said the chemo likely deplinished the WBCs which allowed him to get an infection, probably pneumonia based on the x-rays but could just be a systemic infection. They kept him overnight on IV antibiotics and fluids and I picked him up yesterday afternoon. They gave him an injection of Convenia and sent him home with 14 days of Primor 600 mg to be taken once per day.
Question: Not familiar with Primor so I looked it up and PfizerFrank's online information specifically says:
"Primor® should not be given to dogs that
...
- Have low blood cell or platelet counts"
...
Should I be concerned about giving him this since his WBCs were so low? Thanks!
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
In rare cases sulfa drugs like Primor can cause bone marrow suppression and decreased white cells counts. This is more common in certain breeds such as Dobermans. The sulfa drugs have a very good spectrum of activity against most bacteria so are therefore often given by oncologists if the white cell count is low due to chemo. I would be more concerned with the Convenia injection since it does not have a very wide spectrum of activity and once given stays in the body for 2 to 3 weeks. I usually give Baytril IV and then tablets orally after a dog's WBC count crashes especially if there is pneumonia but the Primor should provide good coverage.
Pam
Thank you, Pam. I really do appreciate your guidance!
Lisa
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
Lisa,
I'm glad I'm not the only one that googles every med given to the dogs! It's good to be safe!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
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