Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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A couple of days ago my beautiful girl was accidentally shot when a gun went off while we were sleeping. She was shot in her paw and they couldn't repair it. She came home yesterday. She is walking on her own somewhat wobbly which I expected. Can anyone tell me what I can expect in the coming days and how to help her best recover fully? Thank you!
Aww poor Athena, I'm so sorry this happened but glad she survived and is on the mend. Tell us more about her; which leg was amputated, how old/young, active, other siblings in the house etc?
Our Jerry's Required Reading List has a long list of articles about what to expect. Right now, you really want to let her heal; don't let her do anything outside except potty on leash, make sure your floors have traction and keep her activity very dialed down at least until stitches come out. What kind of pain medication did she come home with? Is she eating and drinking?
The more information we have the more we can help so we look forward to learning all about you and Athena!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hello and welcome.
When my Pug Maggie lost a rear leg to cancer our surgeon told us that she was only allowed short, leashed potty breaks for the first two weeks post surgery. Rest is important at this point to allow the incisions to fully heal. The right mix of pain meds is also critical. Sometimes the dose or dosing schedule needs to be adjusted for optimum effectiveness. With a big surgery like this Athena may be sore but shouldn't be in pain. Talk with your vet if you think Athena is uncomfortable.
Traction is important, especially for new Tripawds so if you have any hard or slippery floor surfaces consider covering them with throw rugs or yoga mats.
Keeping a youngster quiet can be a challenge! Be sure you have a safe recovery area set up where she doesn't have access to furniture to jump on or stairs to do unsupervised.
In general dogs get their sparkle back in around 2 weeks when the stitches are out and the meds are done. Some are on meds a little longer, some a little shorter. We often see here that the youngsters bounce back pretty quickly. But don't compare Athena's recovery to any other dog- she will recover on her schedule!
Once she is healed up you will want to start ramping up activity slowly. Core strength is huge for Tripawds. I have a little Pug mix rear amp Tripawd named Elly who lost her leg after being hit by a car at 7 months old. Elly is 5.5 years old now and can do pretty much anything a dog her size and age can do. We do lots of training, food puzzles and games and balance and strength exercises to keep her strong and fit.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Athena is not quite 2 1/2. She's very busy and active. We also have a 12 year old yorkie mix who has always preferred to be the only dog in the house. I got another puppy from the same parents when Lola was a year old and they were never cuddle mates but did ok together. I lost her about 4 years ago due to congestive heart failure. She first showed signs of it about 6 hours before I lost her on my way to the vet. I got Athena when I heard about a litter of puppies, some of which were being sold for fighting. I said I'd take one sight unseen. She is the most lovable dog I've ever had. She loves everyone she meets. We got a new rescue kitten a few weeks ago and she thinks she is her mama. KitKat was getting about 10 baths a day.
I don't know how the accident happened other than the gun went off and Athena came running and got under my bed. My bf tried getting her out knowing that the noise that woke us up was a gunshot. Then he said he saw blood. We got her out and rushed her to the emergency vet at about 2 AM. They stabilized her there and made arrangements for a specialist. We then took her there to wait for the surgeons to come in and evaluate her. Because of covid we were not allowed to stay with her. They called about 4 hours later and said that her back right leg had to be amputated to the hip. They did the surgery that afternoon after we got a grant from Frankie's Friends for $2500. Without them I don't know what we'd of done because her bill was almost $5000. I haven't worked since March and had already given them everything I had just to keep her alive while I tried to figure out what to do.
Athena got her surgery and we were able to bring her home on Friday. She's pretty doped up on the medicines they gave us but she is doing well I think. She's on Trazodone 2x a day, Clavamox 2x a day, Galliprant 1x a day and Gabapentin 2 -3x a day. She is able to walk with a sling to use the bathroom and that's all we are allowing her to do. She is eating pretty well but have to coax her to drink since today. I bought some pedialight popsicles to give her today because I'm concerned about dehydration. Athena is a pretty big girl and pretty muscular, she weighs about 70 lbs. We've been told she needs to lose 10 lbs. since the surgery. We haven't left her side since she came home. One of us is always with her. Thanks for anything you can help us with to assist her.
WOW! What an ordeal you have been through. And your pack os quite extraordinary and very lucky to have you!
I'm sorry to know uour other pup passed so quickly from heart failure. It can happen suddenly like that with heart failure and nothing can be done. I'm sure Lola is watching over you now❤
Overall, it sounds like Athena is doing well for three days out of major surgery.
If it appears that she is too loopy, you may ask the vet about reducing the Trazodone and, maybe eventually eliminating it. It is not a pain pill at all, but it is a sedative. It's given often when dogs have high anxiety issues. As for the drinking, you might try putting in a little bit of chicken broth or even swirling around a small scoop of ice cream.
You're doing a great job of taking care of her. Just the potty breaks for now and then back to bed. Give her any yummy foods that she will eat right now and cheeseburgers and roasted chicken seem to work very well
Update us when you can and let us know if you have any questions. Recovery is no picnic for a couple of weeks but it doesn't last forever!
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!
They want her on the Trazadone for now because of her energy level. I'm not sure we could keep her down without it. When she was spayed she came immediately out of the sedatives they gave here as if she'd never had them. She's a very high energy girl. She did good last night and is resting now. I just got back from getting a child's fence enclosure and the biggest flat bed I could find to try and make her more comfortable. She wants to be on the couch or our bed but I'm concerned she'll roll off with the sedatives right now. This actually happened last night with me right beside her, luckily she was not hurt. Thanks Sally for your advice. BF actually told me I was feeding her to much but right now is only eating about 1/2 of what she usually does but I am giving her the small wet foods when I give her pills or a little yogurt on her dry food.
Aww Athena is so loved! This is not an easy time to deal with a situation like this, and you guys are holding strong. Good move to keep her sleeping on the floor. You can also take your mattress off the frame and put it on the floor if that works for you. For long term, pet stairs will make sure that she doesn't jump or fall off the bed and hurt herself. We've seen it happen, not good for any dog but especially a Tripawd.
Once she drops the weight, she will be able to move around a lot better. This is a good time to start minimizing her food intake but be sure to check with your vet to find out what is safe. Keeping her slim is so critical now to preserver her joints and make mobility safer and easier. You can find lots of weight loss tips here.
She sounds like she's being good about taking pills? That's awesome.
Hope this week goes easy for you guys. Let us know what kinds of questions you have and keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
It said unavailable. Hope she is doing ok.
Jackie and Huck 
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
Ditto. We would love to see it!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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