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Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

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Future Tripawd Pitbull Puppy Advice Needed
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Member Since:
25 August 2016
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25 August 2016 - 7:40 pm
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On July 6th, 2016, I rescued a six month old pit-bull. He's was unable to use his front leg and kept it held and bent while he walked since he was not able to put any weight on it, he was missing an eye, and had abrasions to his neck. After investigation, I found out that he had been hit by a car, bitten by his mother, which explains his eye, and was basically dumped by his owners. He also had hookworms and tape worms and was not neutered or up to date on shots. I volunteer at an animal shelter and knew he wouldn't be fit for adoption, so I decided to make it my mission to make sure that he had a happy life. I kept him! Flash forward a month and a half and ten pounds later, I named my beautiful boy, with a gorgeous chocolate coat, Nova and he's pretty much attached to my hip. He sleeps with me every night, follows me everywhere I go, and is always on me! 

With that said, I tried water therapy with him, vet recommended, which was to no avail. Looks like my pup needs an amputation. I've read up on the topic and know basic information and know about the risk of surgery complications, but am still having trouble deciding the route I want to go for his surgery. My questions follow.

  • How do I pick the best vet? What should I ask? The list I found on this site wasn't as packed with information that my 17 year old self needs.
  • Is it better to get his surgery as a puppy or is it okay to wait seeing that he isn't in any physical pain anymore? We think he got hit by the car a few months before I got him as he was very well adjusted to functioning without it.
  • Will puppies easily adapt to three legs? It's his front right leg that we're saying goodbye to.
  • What does the healing process look like after surgery? I've already seen Nova fall on his face with his leg and it breaks my heart. Will the harness help?
  • They say it's harder for the owner than it is the dog. Any tips to calm my nerves before, during, and after his surgery? Even though I've only had him for a month, I'm just as attached to this dog as he is to me. He's brought me so much happiness.
  • Should I expect major personality changes? He's getting his eye and leg removed at the same time as his neuter. 

Thank you guys for reading this, it's my first post and I'm looking for all the help I can get! 🙂 

Livermore, CA




Member Since:
18 October 2009
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25 August 2016 - 9:01 pm
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Hi and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.

I hope you don't mind that I moved your post here- its the best place to start when you are not dealing with cancer.

You should look through Jerry's Required Reading List for lots of helpful links to what to expect with amputation and recovery.

My current Tripawd is a 1.5 year old pug mix who lost her right back leg at 7 months old after being hit by a car.  I adopted her at 10 months old so I didn't go through the recovery period this time.  From what her foster mom said Elly bounced back quickly and the hardest part was keeping her quiet.  We see that a lot with the younger pups, they are just more resilient.

I do think a harness will help- many here (including me) use the RuffWear Webmaster harness .  You should invest in a harness before the surgery so Nova gets used to it. You will also find out how useful it is getting her in and out of the car and its really easy to provide a little support when needed.

Other will be along soon to give you more input.

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

 

              Maggie's Story                  Amputation and Chemo

Minneapolis, MN
Member Since:
23 April 2016
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25 August 2016 - 10:44 pm
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Welcome.  I am so glad you are willing to give Nova the loving home he deserves and all the care he needs.

I think you will find most here would say personality is not changed by amputation - that as recovery happens and you are able to cut back on pain management meds, you will see your pup's personality restored.  Maybe even be brighter since Nova has been living with some pain for a while in his young life. 

His youth will be an asset and he will bounce back.  

My best advice is to talk through all of the pain management for post op very thoroughly with your vet/surgeon.  Nova is having multiple procedures and pain management will be very important.  Pain meds have different modalities (some work on the brain, so on inflammation and some on nerves themselves), so most of the pets here have come home on multiple pain meds.  Very common and effective for amputations is combination of Tramadol (brain), Rimadyl (anti-inflammatory) and Gabapentin (nerves).  The initial dosages prescribed by your vet may not be exactly right for your dog.  Make sure to talk to the vet about options (can it be given more frequently, can we increase or lower a dosage of one drug or another).  If there still seems to be pain, call your vet and see about tweaking dosage or frequency or trying something else.  The goal is to manage and keep ahead of the pain, not to react to it and play catch up.  You are likely to think it seems like a lot of meds, but initially, that is needed,  You will taper off on them in the coming weeks.

Best thoughts and good luck to Nova and you.  Ask your vet questions, ask questions here.  Come to the chat room and talk - there are usually people in there in the evenings.  

Lisa, Minneapolis

On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly.  His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.

Blog: Pofi, Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor Amputation

Member Since:
27 August 2014
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26 August 2016 - 6:04 am
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I'm so happy that Nova has found his home with you!

What part of the world do you live in? We have members all over and they might be able to give you recommendations for vets. There are a couple of threads you could look up here on using a low-cost vet, orthopedic surgeon or your primary vet for surgery.

I also adopted my dog when I was young (though not as young as you! Wow!) and money was tight when she needed her surgery, so I went to Helping Hands in Richmond, VA. Dr. Pasternak runs a low-cost surgical center there and has a lot of experience with amputations. 

Something you'll want to discuss with your vet is whether to amputate Nova's scapula along with his leg. There are pros and cons for each approach, and you can look through old forum topics for more perspective on this. We opted to leave Jack's scapula and it's worked well, though others have had the scapula removed with success also. 

If Nova's falling, is he landing on his right front leg? If he's hurting himself when he falls, he'll feel so much better once that leg is gone and will probably have an easier time balancing without the extra weight on that side. Once you find a vet, you can work on timing with them, but I'd watch how often he falls and whether that's causing him pain. 

Since he's already trying to get around on three legs, you can work on getting your home set up for him. Adding rugs where he sleeps and teaching him not to jump off of beds or couches are good places to start, though Jerry's reading list also has more suggestions. 

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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26 August 2016 - 10:25 am
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Welcome! Thanks for giving this pup a great home.

My main question is: Have you consulted with a certified rehab therapist vet? Oftentimes when a dog or cat was hit by a car, they're dealing with multiple issues and on a longer road to recovery with that bad leg. A rehab vet can assess Nova to give you an idea of where he needs the help most, and even if amputation is necessary. I would start there before exploring more about amputation, as they have so much more insight than a general practice vet. See:

http://download.....m/?s=rehab

Amputation might not even be necessary for Nova. As a bonus, the Tripawds Foundation will even pay for your first rehab therapy consult. See: http://tripawds.....r-tripawds.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet



Member Since:
21 May 2016
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29 August 2016 - 5:23 pm
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Hi there and welcome Lexie and Mom heart

I agree with Jerry you should exhaust all possibilities of rehab before considering amputation as luckily (sheering madly hereclap) he doesn't have cancer and therefore you are not forced into amputation.

But if in the end that turns out to be the best option for him here's my thoughts.

As for the best vets and if you are in the UK Fitzpatrick Referral Hospital is definitely the best option, both for saving his leg and for amputation surgery.

But it is very expensive ...

The Goddard Veterinary Group are also remarkable and much cheaper and they have several hospitals in different locations. 

From what I read here puppies adapt really well to life on 3 but you will extra care during recovery not to let him overdue it.

A harness definitely helps, we use a ruff wear harness which is great because it has a handle that allow us to help our babies up and down stairs, in and out of cars, etc.

The first couple of weeks after surgery are potentially the hardest but it all gets better and better after stitches are removed.

Our furry babies personalities don't change after amputation, you will see Lexie being more Lexie as time goes by and he will be able to do virtually everything he did before. 

Expect him to jump on the couch, beg for food, play with other dogs, the list goes on and on.

We are all here to give you more detailed information whatever your situation will be, keep us updated!

Sending you a big hug and lots of tummy rubs and ear scratches to your cutie pie heart

Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-) 


Member Since:
25 August 2016
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4 September 2016 - 1:54 pm
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t

hester said
Welcome.  I am so glad you are willing to give Nova the loving home he deserves and all the care he needs.

I think you will find most here would say personality is not changed by amputation - that as recovery happens and you are able to cut back on pain management meds, you will see your pup's personality restored.  Maybe even be brighter since Nova has been living with some pain for a while in his young life. 

His youth will be an asset and he will bounce back.  

My best advice is to talk through all of the pain management for post op very thoroughly with your vet/surgeon.  Nova is having multiple procedures and pain management will be very important.  Pain meds have different modalities (some work on the brain, so on inflammation and some on nerves themselves), so most of the pets here have come home on multiple pain meds.  Very common and effective for amputations is combination of Tramadol (brain), Rimadyl (anti-inflammatory) and Gabapentin (nerves).  The initial dosages prescribed by your vet may not be exactly right for your dog.  Make sure to talk to the vet about options (can it be given more frequently, can we increase or lower a dosage of one drug or another).  If there still seems to be pain, call your vet and see about tweaking dosage or frequency or trying something else.  The goal is to manage and keep ahead of the pain, not to react to it and play catch up.  You are likely to think it seems like a lot of meds, but initially, that is needed,  You will taper off on them in the coming weeks.

Best thoughts and good luck to Nova and you.  Ask your vet questions, ask questions here.  Come to the chat room and talk - there are usually people in there in the evenings.    

Thank you so much!

London, UK


Member Since:
15 December 2015
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5 September 2016 - 12:04 pm
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Hi Lexie and Nova, and welcome! I love your dedication to this pup and to giving him a happy life. It sounds as though you have already built a great relationship. Absolutely agree with what others have said about seeing a rehab vet now to assess your options. Amputation may well be the best choice, but once the leg's gone, it's obviously gone. It would definitely pay to seek the opinion of a rehab specialist before proceeding.

Is it better to get his surgery as a puppy or is it okay to wait seeing that he isn't in any physical pain anymore? 

I think it can be incredibly hard to know if a dog is in pain, especially chronic, long term pain as they can disguise it so incredibly well. It's often not until the pain has gone (whether through surgery/medication or whatever) that you realise how bad it must have been. This was certainly my experience with my dog Meg, who was suffering from chronic problems and for a long time I had no idea because it just didn't show in her behaviour (as far as I could see, and we're very close). When I finally realised, I felt terrible. Another reason to get Nova assessed sooner rather than later.

Whatever you ultimately decide, stay connected. There is a wealth of experience and support on this site and you will never feel alone in your efforts to build for Nova the life he deserves.

All best wishes,

Meg and Clare xx

Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, 23 November 2023, adopted 12 January 2024.

Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...

The Amazing Adventures of Ruby Tuesday 

My Life as a Megastar

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