Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hey all,
My dog, Aggie, has been lucky in the past 12 years since she had her front, right leg amputated after being found on the side of the road with half a leg. We have been dealing with arthritis issues for the past couple of years that have responded well to a cocktail of Novox and gabapentin as well as regular laser therapy treatments.
Aggie is about 13-14 years old and just tore her left ACL two days ago and after talking with our vet, we have decided to not go for surgery. I was wondering if there was anything I can do or any suggestions of ways to help her least arthritic leg recover, to whatever level, from this ACL tear.
Currently she is being crated to keep her still as much as possible and we have upped her Novox. She is a very stubborn, independent dog that wants to do everything on her own. She freezes when we use a sling to assist her outside and squats on her own to relieve herself. She is also starting to feel well enough that she is starting to run from us when we try to pick her up to take her up and down the 4 steps to the backyard and doing the stairs on her own. Despite the pain that she must be in, she is eating fine and still showing a lot of energy.
Thanks for any input!
Hi Aggie & family, welcome and thanks for joining us. Your story is amazing, we would love to hear more about Aggie's life on three legs as Tripawds her age are pretty rare gems!
I'm sorry she's having difficulties and I can't blame you for not wanting to surgery. We have experienced this situation ourselves with Tripawds founder Jerry and what it took was R&R and acupuncture to have him feel better. Have you seen a veterinary rehab therapist for her? That is the best medicine ever!
This article has great suggestions too:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
You know, it sounds a lot better to me then the nightmare that plays out in my mind if one of Jackson's limbs developed an ACL tear! It sounds like your pup is actually getting along pretty well. Pain must be well managed and you're keeping she rested, too. Well done!
As for tips: whatever helps with pain, keeps her quiet initially, and helps with inflammation - this can be done with western and eastern approaches. Maybe consider adding more anti-inflammatories to her diet? MSM! Antioxidants!
BEST wishes!
~ Katy & Jackson
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
Thanks for the responses! It sounds like we will just keep on keepin on and add another area to treat at Aggie's next laser treatment as well as even more cuddle time. I think the pit in her doesn't let her feel pain, or express it, like other breeds may, maybe it is just her stubborn nature, or possibly a combination of the two. Either way, she has been really working her puppy eyes to try and guilt us into letting her out of her crate and play with her toys!
As for Aggie's story, her first year or two are mostly unknown until she was found on the road. All I know is that when they found her, her lower leg was missing by what they said looked like a clean cut making them believe that she had not been hit by a car. From her medical records it looked like they had initially tried to save what was left of that leg, but after a couple of months decided to remove the full thoracic limb. After being found, Aggie was in a foster home for about 4 years until I found her 8.5 years ago. In those years she has been my constant companion, travel buddy, running partner, and just all around inspiration.
Thanks again for the feedback. I truly do appreciate it.
-Molly
Molly, she sure is a lucky girl to find you after all she's been through. A foster home for four years? Eeeek! Wow. So neat that she was able to connect with a permanent home (although I suspect that part of the reason she was in that home was that it had to have been difficult to let such a sweetheart go to a new home!).
Glad that you have a general idea of how you want to proceed. From what we've been told, using at least a few different modalities of pain relief can go a long way in helping an achy Tripawd feel better.
Thanks for sharing her story. If you ever feel like writing a guest blog post we would be happy to feature her in our Tripawd Tuesday feature.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Lovely story! I'm happy that she finally found you and has been living it up large ever since. What a dear!
I wonder if Adequan works in this case? I also wonder if in the short term, would some steroids help? It's a fine line between caring for an injury and not inflicting injury on remaining limbs.
To help keep her quiet, how about freezing a boat load of Kongs with low/no sodium broth in them? Or pumpkin? Or a custom blend of her favs: pumpkin, peanut butter, chix stock, pureed chicken, etc.? She'll be at that toy for a while and will keep her busy on the floor!
~ Katy & Jackson
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
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