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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Hi there. We are family of 4 tripawds rescues and love every minute of it. Our youngest, Chloe (1 yr) is our only front amputee. She was born with a defective front limb (we called it her chicken wing), and a deformed tail. She was the runt of the litter and is a rescue. We got her at 8 weeks. We had to amputate her front right leg at 4 months and we were able to keep her her stump of a tail. We call her our "lemon" child and TRUST me we say that with all the love in our hearts. What we didn't know was she was also born with hip dysplasia on her right side (amputation side). We noticed her gait was off after her surgery and we assumed it was her compensating. Since it seemed to get worse or she would be in pain after a day of play (our baby girl....LOVES to fetch the ball and believe it or not LOVE to swim without any issues). This weekend it was confirmed and now we are being referred to the hospital and a Board Certified surgeon. HELP!! Has anyone gone through this with a front amputee and hip dysplasia all on the same side? I would love to hear stories or advice. We are grateful she is young and all things considering healthy. We will do everything we absolutely can to ensure she gets to play ball for many years to come. For now she is on anti-inflammatories until we see the specialist and she does have pain meds. We always feed our tripawds glucosamine as preventive supplements. Thank you.
Welcome back! It's good to hear from you again, sorry it's under these circumastances.
Four Tripawds is just SO COOL! Did we ever share your story in Tripawd Tuesday? If not we need to! Send us a story!
At one years old, she is still young and has plenty of miles ahead of her. Meeting with the orthopedic surgeon is an excellent plan that will put you on the right track to ensuring she will stay injury free. Yes, this has happened to many, many people here and honestly every story is different but one thing I can tell you is that dogs are so resilient and with proper diet and exercise to minimize the effects of issues like this, they can have an excellent quality of life. Spree is a great example!
It's hard to say what the ortho doc will recommend, it could be anything from an FHO to nothing at all. But it's probably not as bad as you think it will be. Many Tripawds here have enjoyed good lives even with conditions like this, our Wyatt Ray included. Don't jump to wondering about surgery just yet, it may not be on the table right now, maybe later when she's older.
When you talk to the ortho team they will probably refer you to a rehab therapy center. If not, remember Tripawds Foundation can pay for your first rehab visit so don't forget to take advantage of the program.
Please let us know what they say and keep us posted OK?
Update: Met with the orthopaedic surgeon. Chloe is now on two weeks of rest. No playing, no jumping, no throwing the ball...OMG...she is a 1 year old and LOVES to fetch all.day.long. After these two weeks, then short walks only. During all this time we are doing at home physio for her (we, unfortunately, do not live in a location where physio can be done). We are going to see if there is any improvement. If not, she is scheduled for FHO in December. While THR (total hip replacement) is an option, the only location near us is in Toronto, ON (we are in Newfoundland) so not feasible for us. I am okay with FHO to ensure she is pain free and can resume semi-normal activities. So question...ANYONE out there have a tripawd (front amputation) and has had FHO surgery? I would love to hear from you. If this happens, I am taking her 3 hours down the road and she will stay in the hospital for at least one week for intense physio (including water) and I will be there for every session. Oh and thank you for pet insurance!!!
Just catching up and ny heart is so full of appreciation dor the ,ove and devotion uouare show Chloe and all your tripawds♥️
I can only imagine jow this rest period will be so hard on sich a young dawg. You might check into "brain challenging puzzles" to help engaged and not becoming too bored.
Gonna hop off now and contact Kathi, Mom to Murphy,and ask her to chime in. Murphy is quite the egen arou d here. He was a front legger wh had hip replacement on both resr legs. He lived large and enjoyed lif jist as though he had all four legs.
Thanks for the update and thanks again for opening uour home and heart to these special puppers.♥️
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!
So glad you got a plan and met with the ortho team! It sounds like a very reasonable approach.
Did the ortho team guide you on the exercises? If not consider doing virtual rehabilitation therapy. We've had rural members work online with therapists in these kinds of situations.
I know that keeping a young dog entertained without physical activity is tough. Right now focus on doing interactive brain games together. They really do tire dogs out even as much as throwing a ball or going on long walks. Also consider looking into a dog stroller . You would be able to get her outside into the world without having her exert unnecessary energy and risk more problems.
ANYONE out there have a tripawd (front amputation) and has had FHO surgery?
Yes! Check out our Remaining Leg Surgery on Tripawds article. Not as many members have had FHOs as TPLOs, but it's happened. One of the earliest members who had an FHO and was also missing a front leg was Chuy Maloney. He went on to live out his normal expected lifespan!
Consider making your question a separate post to ensure people see the title and respond. I'm also happy to do a call-out on our social media accounts to help find you people who have been through this. Share a photo of Chloe here (this is how adding images works) and I'll include it in the post.
Hopefully surgery won't be needed. We are keeping our paws crossed that it won't. Please keep us posted OK?
Our experience wasn’t quite the same, but I wanted to jump in and give you some encouragement. Our tripawd cat somehow fractured his hip last year and ended up having FHO surgery. It was so scary but one year post-op I can say that he is 100 percent recovered and back to his old busy active self. It is absolutely something your pet can recover from.
One “good” thing about FHO is that it’s literally the one surgery that doesn’t require restricted activity afterwards. It’s important that the hip muscles don’t atrophy, so your vet will likely tell you to get your pet walking and weight bearing immediately after surgery.
I don’t know if our story will be much help, but I documented the entire journey in detail, and you’re welcome to cruise over and read through it.
https://skippyj.....pawds.com/
Best of luck!! Please keep us updated and reach out if you need anything.
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