Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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My vet doesnt know but put Quixote back on some pretty harsh antibiotics. This is on the inside of his remaining hind leg, just below the hock. Its been like this for 2 weeks. The vets best THEORIES are: Insect bite, Cancer, or Urine Burns. I personally dont think its any of the above.
and here's one taken today
Oh My Goodness!!! That does not look good at all and painful....
. Is there another animal hospital/clinic you could take Quixote to be seen? If his current vet doesn't know what is going on or how to treat it I'd be looking for another opinion. Especially since based on your pics it's getting worse. Sorry I have no idea what could be going on. I'll be keeping Quixote in my thoughts that whatever it is, he can get on the road to recovery soon.
Sahana and her Angel Leland
November 17, 2009 - June 30, 2014
May you finally be healthy and running free at the Rainbow Bridge. Until we meet again my sweet boy!
Any chance of getting him in to see a canine dermatologist?
Kathi
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
No chance of a canine dermatologist. We dont have one on the island here and the closest is far away and super expensive to get to (200 ferry costs plus gas plus hotel plus food plus the vet plus plus plus.) sadly after the first surgery and rehab (10 grand) the second surgery (2 grand) and all the vet visits x rays bioposies tests ect (approx 4 grand) I am finacially at my limit, if we cant figure it out and it continues to get worse I will pull a miracle and get er done.
It does not seems to bother him at all, he doesnt flinch when you touch it or press down on it. It just looks horrible. I am so stressed out about it though because the dog only has ONE back leg, We cant afford injuries or weird things. The vet charged me 141 dollars to DO NOTHING. I was so annoyed. I dont know if I want to or should give him the antibiotics because first of all I am allergic to most antibiotics and so we can only really use Clindamyacin. Which is really strong, and what if it doesnt need antibiotics, then we are just encouraging a superbug really.
I dont know if this is just because he doesnt have that other leg to protect the inside of his leg and so this is just wounds from it getting bumped when he runs willy nilly thru the bush????
Could it be a rub from him jumping up and down off the couch? He licks at it less then he did his staples (which was minimal) So its not that (plus I had an evacuation muzzle on him for a week, when I was not directly supervising him).
Could it be a bug bite? But what insect would only bite the ONE dog (I have six plus babysit others) and only bite that one area? Fly strike? Could the biting flies be targeting that area for some reason? Do we have biting flies here?
Snake bite? We dont have any venomous snakes here though. We do have garter snakes though, and they do have teeth, but generally do not bite!
Rat or other prey animal bite? He is or was a working JRT. He has NOT been out working since before the surgery, BUT we do off lead walks and he takes off to hunt with his brother and mother. Could he have been bit by a rat or squirrel or raccoon? That doesnt explain why the marks showed up over time though.
Could it be cancer? This dog has been thru so much already, I cant see my luck or his being that bad! ( What would we have had to do in a previous life together to deserve him having to lose a leg and then get cancer in the other one??!!?!?!?!)
Urine Burn?? I mean its possibly I GUESS! But its presenting odd if it is! Plus he has ALWAYS laid down with that leg under his body and the other hip facing up. THE RIGHT HIP WAS BROKEN. So why would Urine burn just show up NOW, unless neutering did something to the acidity of his urine? He is three years old and just neutered? hmmm something to think on maybe??!!?!?!?!
I am an ex-vet tech, I have NEVER seen something like this. None of my vet tech friend have ever seen anything like it. ARGH.
Finacially I am drained, atleast until the owner of the German Shepherd starts paying up.
It looks like the bot fly bites Jack and I used to get when we lived in West Africa. They lay their eggs under the skin, frequently on the interior side of legs, and the larvae hatch and grow until they exit the skin. Do you have bot flies or anything similar near you? Does it look like there's anything inside the swollen areas (pus or otherwise)?
Poor sweet baby! Honestly, they look like bug bites. I've read that dogs can get bitten and not itch like a human does. However there will still be welts where the bites are. Do you have chiggers and/or ants where you live? Maybe he was just standing in the wrong spot at the wrong time?
Harmony became a Tripawd on 10/21/14 (MCT). She left us way too soon on 11/1/14.
"We miss you so much; our love, our heart, our Harmony."
- Pam, Ron and Melody, Meesha, Doublestuff and Mariah Carey
Is he licking them? Are they itchy? They sort of look like lick granulomas. Chandler gets them. They seem to coincide with a Staph infection he seems to get. Not sure which comes first. Usually Spring allergies start it. Has he been laying in the grass? Don't really know, just thought I would throw a few things out there. Lori, Ty & Gang
TY GUY, Best Black Lab ever! Diagnosed and had amp in January, 2014. Kicked MRSA's butt. Earned his angel wings on April 16, 2014. Run Free my boy and don't forget a shoe. Ty is a proud member of the " April Angels". Ty sent us Daryl, a Tripawd rescue in Sept. of 2016. Daryl is 5 +or -. We are also Pawrents to Chandler, a Border Collie mix who is 15 and 1/2, Lucy, a Corgi who is 7, 2 minis, 2 horses, and a feisty cat named Zoe. Zoe had a non skeletal Osteosarcoma removed in July 2015. No Chemo, she was at least 16. She is going strong although she is now completely blind. She is now close to 20 and her hobbies are eating and sleeping in front of her personal heater.
We do have ants but we havent been walking anywhere there are lots of ants. We originally thought lick granduloma as well and so he was muzzled (fabric evacuation muzzle) and or wore a cone when not directly supervised. And more wounds? appeared. I am fearfull that its MRSA . I should mention that before Quixote got his first one I got what we thought was a boil (turns out its not) that looks similar. It is not itchy or sore but its there and its red and angry looking too. My Dr. does not know what it is, just like the vet doesnt know what Quixote has. The vet knows about and saw mine and agreed it may be the same thing.
MRSA is pretty painful and usually has a fever accompanying it. If they are draining, I suppose they could culture it. Keep us posted on him. Lori, Ty and the Gang
TY GUY, Best Black Lab ever! Diagnosed and had amp in January, 2014. Kicked MRSA's butt. Earned his angel wings on April 16, 2014. Run Free my boy and don't forget a shoe. Ty is a proud member of the " April Angels". Ty sent us Daryl, a Tripawd rescue in Sept. of 2016. Daryl is 5 +or -. We are also Pawrents to Chandler, a Border Collie mix who is 15 and 1/2, Lucy, a Corgi who is 7, 2 minis, 2 horses, and a feisty cat named Zoe. Zoe had a non skeletal Osteosarcoma removed in July 2015. No Chemo, she was at least 16. She is going strong although she is now completely blind. She is now close to 20 and her hobbies are eating and sleeping in front of her personal heater.
It is pretty cheap and easy to do an impression smear or fine needle aspirate and look at the cell types. Most insect bites or hypersensitivity reactions would have increased eosinophils. An infection should predominantly show neutrophils with or without bacteria and even cancer cells should be fairly obvious.
If the cell type is hard to ID then I would perform a culture since MRSA or other infection would be at the top of my list and that is better than just guessing and prescribing an antibiotic. Clindamycin is good for anaerobes but is not that helpful for other types of bacteria unless used in combination. If the culture is negative then I might try a short course of prednisone for an allergic reaction.
Pam
The vet and I are leaning more towards MRSA and he goes in tomorrow for tests for that. I have NOT given the antibiotic at this point at all because I really dont believe in giving them unless it is for sure needed. The leg is warm to the touch.
Oh wow do let us know what it turns out to be. We're thinking of you both.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Glad your vet seems to be on top of this. Let us know how you make out.
TY GUY, Best Black Lab ever! Diagnosed and had amp in January, 2014. Kicked MRSA's butt. Earned his angel wings on April 16, 2014. Run Free my boy and don't forget a shoe. Ty is a proud member of the " April Angels". Ty sent us Daryl, a Tripawd rescue in Sept. of 2016. Daryl is 5 +or -. We are also Pawrents to Chandler, a Border Collie mix who is 15 and 1/2, Lucy, a Corgi who is 7, 2 minis, 2 horses, and a feisty cat named Zoe. Zoe had a non skeletal Osteosarcoma removed in July 2015. No Chemo, she was at least 16. She is going strong although she is now completely blind. She is now close to 20 and her hobbies are eating and sleeping in front of her personal heater.
Lol to the vet being on top of this! Her reccommendation was to try the antibiotics she prescribed and if they dont work to try different antibiotics and if they dont work to try yet other antibiotics and if they dont work we will know for sure that is MRSA or MRSP. I was pushing for the skin scraps and tests. I am the one suggested MRSA or MRSP
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