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.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
I see what your talking about, I could put up some type of plastic on the sides of the ramp I might rent for him. my regular vet said to do the surgery also. She said its a long recovery but afterwards in her experience her tripawds have done well.
I will keep everyone posted, on Max's condition. Thank you so much for all the support. Tomorrow is going to be a rough day for him and us only because we love him so much. My heart is breaking for what he is going to go through.
Thank you,
Theresa, Max and family
Aww I'm glad your family vet has experience in this department! That's terrific.
You are so welcome, we are here for you and the whole pack. All of us are sending tons of love for a speedy surgery and recovery
P.S. Saw your chat post about the odds of a 2nd cruciate rupture & surgery. Unfortunately yes that risk is there. But let's take things one day at a time and be here now as they say. Or rather around here, Be More Dog 😉
Keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
As Max will ahow you, it's harder on his hoomans than Max. He'll have some good meds, tons and tons of spoi from yoj and his famil. He'll be catered to like the King that he knows he is!👑👑
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 Sally & Jerry,
Max is finally out of surgery and in recovery! They didn't take him in until very late in the afternoon almost evening. Surgeon said is did very well, not only did he fully tear his ACL but she said his meniscus was completely torn also. I think it was a good thing we chose surgery because I don't know if he would have healed using a brace, and that he must have been in a lot of pain for a while. My poor baby.
I will keep you all posted on his post surgery progress. They are going to keep him there and start some rehabilitation on Monday depending on how he is doing. The surgeon said minimum of a week more if needed. Now we need to jump on getting the ramp done and baby gates etc.
Thank you all for all of your support and advice through this crucial time in all of our lives!
Theresa, Max and Family
SOOOOO THRILLED SURGERY IS DONE!!!! 👏👏👏 Max is a Tripawd. RockStar Warrior!!!
You did what needed to ve done to give Max some more quality pain free time to be Max!! The destruction of the ligaments and meniscus co formed he needed this surgery
Max is exactly where he needs to ve to get the care and rest and good pain meds to help him heal.
Now YOU can get some rest and recharge your battery. Thos jas been so exhausting mentally and physically getting to this point.
We'll look for updates on Max as he gets firther along in recovery. It sounds like he has a really good medical team focused on his care and successful recovery.
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!
WHEEEE! Thank you so much for the update. It's good to know that you are all on a path to healing and hoppiness! What a champ!
Aren't animals incredible in how they hide pain? I can't believe how that must have felt for him. Owwwww. No way are any humans tough enough to tolerate an injury like that. This shows that Max has what it takes to recover. He is brave, he is strong, and he will get through recovery like the rock star that he is!
Glad to see things went well. I'll stay peeled for news. Now get some rest, you've got some new Tripawd-proofing to do.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Jerry and Sally,
Max has been kept as comfortable as possible over the weekend. They told me today his surgeon will be checking him out tomorrow to see if she thinks he is ready to start physical therapy . They want to start as soon as possible. They said he ate some chicken for them which is a good sign.
I will keep you updated.
Hugs,
Theresa
Thanks Theresa. I'm sure Max is being monitored and his pain is, being kept under control. And YAY for eatng some chicken! A very good sign!!
BTW . sweet avatar photo of your handsome boy ♥️
You're getting some rest right? Right???
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!
YAY! I love that you both had a nice weekend without pain and lots of pawsitivity. AND appetite! Cheers to more great days ahead. Keep us posted furiend!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
HI Sally & Jerry,
The doctor called this morning and said Max is doing ok, he is having trouble getting up and requires assistance, he is lame on that back leg which is to be expected so soon after surgery. Upon Standing he tires quickly though. Not sure why that is, maybe his not eating well for them and having diarreah. We are bringing up his food today.
Is this normal? She said he started PT yesterday and will continue daily this week, then rest the weekend and again next week.
I am so worried he is depressed or something. I couldn't sleep at all last night. I'm second guessing myself. I knew it was a very invasive surgery, especially at his age and condition. All I can do now is pray that he has a speedy recovery and has a few more years with us.
How old was Frankie when he had his surgeries? What was the timeline for his recovery? I know every case is different, but just curious.
Thank you all,
Theresa
Okay, B R E A T H E........B R E A T H E.......INHALE DEEP SLOW BREATHS.....EXHALE SLOWLY.....repeat....repeat
Max is a "matur: boy on THREE legs (temporarily more like two) who just had surgery and is on pain meds. To me, everything you have described sounds "NORMALl"!!! SStanding assisted is right on target. Well, hope they get the poops under control and are maybe giving him fluids if necessary??
I think it will do him a world of good to being him some food and have a visit with him. That strong, confident energy will help cheer him up! I know some Bets advise against visits, but eating is important now, so of seeing you makes the difference that is good.
If I recall, Frankie was around six with the first surgery snd around seven with the second.. He stayed at the Bet's eaxh time for around a weekish. I recall he needed TWO people to assist him in the early part and yes, he was very tired.
And this is completely, totally, unprofessional observation. I do recall the Bet techs, and eventually the Rehab person, said NOT to do any range of motion movement where he resisted or showed signs of pain in the early phase. Not even sure of they ended up doing stuff the first week, but if they dis......That first week at least, ot seems they only did some very, very slight range of motion and slight stretches....never pichsing it. I think they did icing, which he HATED. My guess is they are just doing rhings like that and nothing more at this point. Again, not an expert and not giving Rehab advice.....just sharing what I recall that made sense to me.
Let us know how the visit goes, okay?? And TRY not to worry! To me, there are no concerns based on what you described. Keep things in perspective of what he's jist been thro right now in this short timeframe.
Extra 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!
Hey Theresa,
Try not to second guess yourself. As Sally mentioned, that kind of reaction in recovery is not unheard of. It does sound reasonable to think that he would be tired and exhausted. But with that kind of PT he has going on, and such a great vet team, it's only a matter of time before the treatments he is getting now will help him get his sparkle back.
Your visit will help too! In cases like this, visiting can be helpful. Go get him a rotisserie chicken, no dog can resist that!
Keep us posted oK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Jerry and Sally,
I still have moments when I am worried about his recovery, if we did the right thing, what will he be like when we get him home? They tell me every morning that he is happy and wagging his tail when they go into his kennel. They assist him in getting up from his orthopedic bed and assist him while walking to go outside to do his business. The Dr. this morning said he is still lame on the leg but that normal for 8 days out of surgery. Max is progressing as expected they said, he is eating so much better for them now.
We didn't to see him in person, but saw and talked to him over FaceTime. He was given the bone I brought him to chew on only while the tech could supervise him. We opted for Facetime because they said he really hadn't gotten up that day and we thought he might get too excited and hurt himself, which would be worse for him. He definitely heard us and she kept showing him our faces on the phone. Once he gets stronger next week we will go back and do an in person visit.
I still am having trouble figuring out how to upload pictures to the site, I even had my husband look at it and he is way more techy than me! No luck. So if you have any other advice I'm open to it, bc I would post the pictures of the ramp set up etc. I would post some pictures of max and his bone when we did the facetime, once I figure it out.
I did not use 101 Mobility, luckily my brother's friend has a wheelchair ramp/stairlift company and he was able to get us everything we needed for so much less. We decided to put lattice panels on the side of the ramp, not only for visual but for safety. 9The railings were high so we need to be sure he stays on the ramp)
Stay Well everyone and as always thank you for being there for us through this difficult time.
Theresa
Theresa it's good to hear from you, thanks for the latest progress report. It's wonderful that the vet team says his recovery is as expected. No surprises is a really good thing!
And how sweet they did a FaceTime with him! That musta been tough on you though, I'm pretty sure I would have gotten all watery eyed. How's the rest of your family doing with the situation?
Oh for photos just message me and I'll get them up for you.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Pretty sure once you get Max home you will feel much more pawsitive about your decision. It has to be stressful for you, and for Max, for him to be at ,the ,Vet all this time.
Things are looking up. He's eating better, wags his tail and, although needs help, going out for potty, etc.
What is the Vet's expectation as far as what needs to happen for Max to come home? Although he still needs assistance at this point, especially getting up, being home will help him heal and build his confdence surroinded by his family, A visit with Max and maybe a quick try at assisting him yourself will help give you confidence too.
You've probably al ready seen this link to help add photos
If you have a tavlet, things are a bit more challenging as instructions don't always fit a tavlet's screen. Anyway, a techie will come along and help.
If you take photos and email them to me I can post them. I'll pm you my email address. Sounds like the rampmis wonderful. Can't wait to see pictures...........especially pics of Max.😎
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!
2 Guest(s)