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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First, I want to give love to all you tripawd parents <3 it's not always easy, but they are worth it!
I will go into more detail, but the point is that my tripawd dog, Charlie, critically needs a second surgery to amputate a piece of his femur that was left behind during his original amputation before I adopted him. I'd love any tips or resources for recovery, rehab, finding help to cover the cost of his surgery, etc. I'm feeling overwhelmed and this has been a lot to manage on my own.
Charlie is the most incredible dog and I want more than anything to give him a good life. He's only 4, but has had so many unexpected hurdles. When I adopted him January '23, he was terrified of everything and had severe anxiety and reactivity. We worked very hard together to overcome his fears and he's a happy, loving boy. Shortly after shifting from survival mode to learning how to be a pet, he had a sudden onset of Uveodermatologic Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease that attacks pigment in the eyes and face. Despite the best treatment and round the clock care, he went fully blind in his right eye. His ophthalmologist saved his left eye and UVD appears to be in remission so we've been cautiously tapering him off meds.
His doctors and myself knew the leftover femur segment may need to be amputated later in his life. But long-term prednisone usage for the UVD sped up muscle atrophy. There is no longer enough tissue holding his bone in place, so it created a puncture from the inside out. Every 3-7 days for the past few weeks, he's had tie-over bandage replacements and monitoring tapering immunosuppressants for surgery as soon and safely as possible.
I applied for a grant to help pay for the surgery and am waiting to hear back. Anything relating to his amputation site is a pre-existing condition, and I've exhausted all resources with the ER and back to back appointments. If they approve my application his surgery will be on Tuesday. If not, I do not know what to do. It is so hard to watch him in pain and experiencing new hurdles each time something has stabilized. None of his health problems have been terminal, have all been treatable, and I will continue to do any and everything to give him the best quality of life I can. But I am hitting my own wall emotionally, financially, and physically supporting the weight of a big dog.
Thank you for reading!
Charlie could not be more loved and adored, that's obvious
Your post jas been approved so we look forward to helping you navigate through some of these hurdles with Charlie. Goodness knows, you two have had your share of hurdles!
The Tripawds Foundation does have a Financial Assistance Program that may...may...be able to lend a little bit of aide.
https://tripawd.....awds-asap/
We can also provide some additional tips to help you through recovery once the amputation takes place and provide ways to help keep Charlie healthy and fit. We also have a program where the Tripawds Foundation . https://tripawd.....rsement/ will pay for the first Rehabilitation visit if you have a Certified Rehabilitation Specialist in your area. This would be extremely helpful in showing you some exercises you can do at home to prevent any injuries because of where long-term wear and tear on tripawd joints, Etc
What kind of pain meds is Charlie on now? How much does he weigh and what is the dose and what is the frequency?
We know just how exhausting mentally and physically it can be preparing for amputation. You have and have had all the additional stress and caring for Charlie, so you must take care of yourself, okay? We are here for you and you can lean on us. Please know you are not alone.
Hopefully some of the links here Will find helpful and, hopefully, one way or another you can get this amputation done for Charlie.
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!
Hi Charlie & furmily,
First, thank you for being such an awesome pet parent to Charlie. He is so lucky to find his way to you.
Yes, do apply for our ASAP grant that Sally mentioned. I believe we have one more grant available in June. On that page you'll also see a Financial Resources document that links to other orgs that may be able to help.
In addition to Sally's questions, what kind of dog is Charlie? You mentioned big dog? How big? And what breed? There are a few breed specific groups that offer medical grants.
If you can handle everything you've been through already, amputation surgery recovery will be pretty straightforward. See our What to Expect articles and Jerry's Required Reading List for some more information to get you ready.
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