Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I am panicking a bit right now. One Tuesday morning my big ole beast was having a great deal of difficulty walking and seemed to be in pain. I still had some Tramadol left from his surgery back in August, so I gave him some of that (he also gets Metacam once daily as part of his metronomic protocol) and waited for our regular vet's office to open and made an appointment for later that morning. By the time we got there he was doing much better, which I chalk up to the Tramodol, after much poking an manipulation of the leg, the vet could find nothing wrong and he didn't react negatively to any of the things she did to him. We kept him on the Tramodol until last night, this morning he is back to not being able to put any weight on his remaining back leg and kind of scoots around on his bum when he tries to get up. Needless to say, I have given him more Tramodol and I am waiting for one of the members of his team at the cancer center to call me back. I will be taking him in for x-rays and hopefully to see an orthopedic specialist. I'm incredibly worried that he could have another tumor (his amputation was for osteosarcoma), he had chest x-raysa month ago, which were clear and he has been doing incredibly well so far, now I don't know what to think. He is usually such a happy, active fellow and to see him so miserable and barely able to move is just heartbreaking and I can't seem to stop thinking of the worst outcomes
. 
Deeeeeeep breath...it may very likely be that he pulled or twisted something? Especially with the sudden onset? And especially IF the Tramadol worked so well so quickly? He and you are both doing EXCEPTIONALLY well so hang in there until the vets can see him. When is the appointment? Can you massage the area? And give him extra Puppucinos? And tell the vets they better only bring you good news? Because Bruce is MOVIE STAR handsome and we only want to see him happy!
Extra best wishes, huge hugs, and PyrPaws all around! Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce!!!
Oh yeah...the "thinking the worse, jump to worse possible outcome" scenario! We all do that soooo well around here!!
The fact that Bruce did show improvement with rest and pain meds is a good sign! And YAY for clear xrays! All good.
So often this type of thing is a sprain...even up at the neck and shoulders area can effect his walking.....or maybe most likely even a back/disc issue.
When you massage up and down his back, rump, does he show any tension anywhere?
How 'bout the knee area...the hip area...any swelling?
You are doing EXACTLY what you need to do by getting him evaluated with a good follow up plan. In the meantime, total and complete rest. These things generally take a lot of rest for more than just a few days.
Okay....back to the DEEP BREATHS and grab the CHOCOLATE!
We're all sending pawsitive energy to Bruce and sending lots of cuddles and extra treats!
Update when you can!
Hugs and love!
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!
Aww poor Bruce, I'm sorry he's feeling achy and sad. It's so hard to see our pup this way, and very difficult to keep calm and not panic. You did good by calling the vet and administering the tramadol. Now, try not to think the worst until you know what you're dealing with. This could be anything and easily resolved with R&R. We see it happen many times, you are not alone. Rarely does cancer travel to another limb that fast and affect mobility.
For now, try to think back on what Bruce's activity has been like prior to him having mobility issues. How long are his walks? Play sessions? What does he do when you play outside? Could he have fallen on a slippery floor? Try to think back to as many possible scenarios in order to help your vet pinpoint the issue.
We know it's tough to keep calm but you can do it. Keep us posted OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I really appreciate the voices of reason present here. I did my best to remain calm last night and spent lots of time cuddling with Bruce (and made him one of his favorite dinners - shepherds pie). He went into see his favorite vet first thing this morning and she called about an hour ago with excellent news, well excellent in that all of his x-rays came back fine, she could not find any spinal, hip, hock, knee or foot issues YAY!!!!! So for the next week or so Bruce will be on a strict regime of rest and she is adding gabapentin to his current list of medications. If after a week or so of rest he is still experiencing mobility troubles we will look at going to see his second favorite vet at the University of Guelph for a neurological consult (we spent a loooooong time of the phone with her today and she has been in touch with our regular vet as well, so that everyone can be kept up to date on big ole Bruce). So now I am breathing a huge sigh of relief and looking forward to picking the big guy up in a couple of hours
.
Super, super news! I'm glad you can now have a much better weekend! Yay, Bruce!!
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.
BIG SIGH OF RELIEF INDEED!!! GREAT NEWS!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 It's so hard not to think worse case scenario, but somoften these "things" end u being something minor (relatively speaking)!
That picture of him is so ADORABLE! It's just a tease though...we need more!! 🙂
YAAAAAAAAAY FOR BRUCE!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 We love reasons to celebrate, znd this certainly is a SPECTACULAR reason!!! 🙂
This calls for ice cream and cake!! 🙂
Love!!
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!
We at DaBear HQ are happy to hear of the very good vet news regarding Bruce! Hope that he handles his convalescing " confinement" well what with all the future shepherd's pies being prescribed by the vets as part of his treatment. It is rather serious business for Bruce to try and develop a stink eye/side eye to use for future occasions and will take him much practice to perfect it. When will he use the dreaded Bruce Stink Eye in the future? Whenever we worry about him because BRUCE knows he had this all along: he too handsome, too sweet, too charming, and much too lovely not to!!! Congratulations on the good news:):):)
Best wishes, huge hugs, and PyrPaws all around!!!
Big hug for handsome, Bruce. Ooh, I could just climb into that pic and cuddle him ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, November 2023, adopted 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 Elsie Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
Unfortunately Bruce is not getting around any better, if anything he seems worse, he does on occasion attempt to hobble a short distance, but even with one of us supporting him with his harness he won't walk, we have to carry him in and out of the house (it is a two person job) once we get him to the grass he is able to do his business and then we carry him back in, he loves to spend time outside so my husband made him a dog run so that he could sit in his favorite hole that he has dug in the yard and watch the tractors out in the back field, and bark at the neighbors dog, but he can't try to run (which he does try to do when he gets excited, but it is very awkward), he also has a sore spot on his stump now, from dragging it on the ground. I'm really hoping to see some improvement this week, but for now more rest and pain meds. 
Well,whatever is goi g on with the ADORABLE CUDDLY BRUCE, he certainly is getting EXQUISITE care and loads of love and spoiling!!
The thought you have to given to his little outdoor haven so he could lay in the hole he dug for himself and so his sister could join him...so sweet.
Keep theVet in the loop and let them know about the sores on his stump too. He sure doesn't need an infection or an owweee on top of everything else!
Does the management of his pain seem any better? Or does the immobility, in part, seem to be somewhat caused by the pain, if that makes sense?
Also, for whatever it's worth, he could seem "worse" because of all the prodding and pulling done at the Vet for his evaluation.
Hoping you see some improvements soon.
And thanks for these precious pictures!! Never can have too much cuteness around here! 🙂
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!
Bruce is such a sweetie. I'm sad to hear he's still having issues, poor guy.
If you don't feel like the R&R is helping after several days then call your vet and get that appointment to the specialist made, so you can get there sooner. Hopefully they'll have some answers. We'll keep our paws crossed for you both.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
benny55 said
Keep theVet in the loop and let them know about the sores on his stump too. He sure doesn't need an infection or an owweee on top of everything else!
Does the management of his pain seem any better? Or does the immobility, in part, seem to be somewhat caused by the pain, if that makes sense?
Hugs!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
It was actually the vet that brought the sore to my attention, with all his fluff I hadn't noticed it, earlier this month I had made an appointment with the groomer for next week, which I will have to cancel, but without all the fluff it would certainly be easier to keep an eye on things. I have also talked to a local facility that offers hydrotherapy, which would also be a much easier undertaking without all the fluff.
I do think his pain is under control, and this morning he was standing and seemed to be bearing weight on his leg, but as soon as he started to move forward it kind of collapsed under him and he shuffled along a few steps, he seems to use his foot a little for balance and shuffles kind of on his hip. I should try to get a video of him moving, maybe someone else has seen something similar and will have some ideas. I also wonder if he could have lost enough muscle mass in a weeks time that it would make it hard for him to use his leg. At 90 lbs he's not a giant, but still a fair bit of weight to move around.
jerry said
Bruce is such a sweetie. I'm sad to hear he's still having issues, poor guy.If you don't feel like the R&R is helping after several days then call your vet and get that appointment to the specialist made, so you can get there sooner. Hopefully they'll have some answers. We'll keep our paws crossed for you both.
I'm going to check in with the specialist tomorrow, I also plan on asking her for an opinion on hydrotherapy and if she thinks it's a good idea, when she thinks would be appropriate to give that a try.
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