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!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
Hey, everybody. What are your experiences with traveling in a post-amputation world? Do you board your pet? Leave him with a trusted family member? Never leave home again (no judgment)?
Wabs is recovering fairly well, but he's still a needier boy than he was before surgery: We're two months post-op, and I still got up to take him outside last night at 2am. He eats a pickier diet (including wet food or ground beef) and on unpredictable hours or not at all. We have 13 yoga mats lining most of the floor of our house so he can hop around without fear of slipping on the vinyl floors (greyhounds are weird about slippery floors on their best days, and he's still not a fan). This all seems like ... a lot ... for a petsitter to take on, even one familiar with greys or tripawds or tripawd greys.
My husband and I had originally planned to be on our honeymoon in Italy for two weeks in September, but we canceled that trip after we got the diagnosis, in part because this 
is expensive and in part because we just would feel terrible leaving for two weeks knowing our time with him is limited. But after his chemo treatments are done (~October), we were hoping to be able to take a weekend trip here or there, or maybe a weeklong roadtrip with Wabs in tow, in order to give ourselves something to look forward to. At this point, it seems like if we take him with us, the yoga mats have to come too, as do any contact numbers for emergency vets along the route, and if we leave him at home, we'd need to find someone VERY patient to housesit so he doesn't have to go somewhere unfamiliar.
Maybe we're babying him too much, though! Let me know what your experiences have been, even if it means I just need to put any travel on hold indefinitely.
Hi Wabs and family 🐾💕
Angel Eurydice here 🐮🌟😉
Please tell your pawrents it is a MARVELLOUS idea to take you along with them on a holiday 🏖🎠🏰
No matter where they are going or what they are planning to do, you are fit to go, baby 💪🏽
Tell them: the more quality time and fun we have with our family the better and happier we feel 🐶😍 and this is what life truly is about 💓
Sadly I don’t know how to copy the link to my travels here (and Mom is sleeping now) but tomorrow I will ask her to do it for me so they can see with their own eyes what a happy traveling companion looks like, ie, me!
I cannot wait to hear all about your holiday Wabs, please make sure your family takes lots of pictures and videos of your lovely, gorgeous self and post them here !
I’m sure you are VERY excited, Wabs, you’re going on holidays, mate, whohooooooo 🚗💨💨💨💨
Woof woofs from the sky 🐮💫✨🌟🌹
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 :-)
Oh, and just one other thing.
If they are worried with you not being incredibly fit for the job, tell them in October you’ll be five months after amputation, the exact time where Mom started her travels with me and boy oh boy are you going to be fit and ready to have fun by then 😉😎
And I have to add you are a GORGEOUS fella, you and your cute squirrel 🐿 (you’re taking him too, right?)
Cannot wait to show your picture to Mom tomorrow, she is going to scream with joy saying how gorgeous you are 💘
Sleep tight cutie, sweet dreams 💕💕💕
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 :-)
Well congrats on getting hitched! I can't see why Wabs wouldn't be OK with you guys going away for a bit. Check out this great article, you may find some tips to help you find a good sitter:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We took our first vacation with Fallon (and Maggie) in December (Fallon's surgery was October) and it went well, so we went away all together again in April. Finally in May Paul and I got brave and took a long weekend away with the girls at a pet sitter. We got pretty lucky, I asked friends on Facebook who they recommended locally, and our greyhound group leader recommended an awesome sitter who was savvy about greyhounds and also willing to take on Fallon's needs--not too substantial right now, but the diet we feed and various supplements she takes. She also texted pictures a couple of times a day, which was vital. It went really well, and we talk about going away again sometime. Added bonus--the girls stayed with other greyhounds and seemed to have a blast! So think of it as a vacation for Wabs as well!
Fallon 8/28/06--9/6/18. My Heart.
Fallon's left front leg was amputated due to osteosarcoma on 10/11/17.
Nothing But Love in Her Heart - dawn3g.tripawds.com
BTW, love the picture. Wabs is such a stunningly handsome boy.
So, just throwing out another thought. IF you have someone Wabs likes and who can stay at his house , then you may want to try a short week end trip to see how he does. As Dawn said, you can get texts and poctures a couple of times a day. Even Skype.
Then, after trying that, you could also take Wabs on a short week end trip and see how he does.
And then, you may have a better handle on whether you want to take him on a week long trip, or if he would prefer staying home.
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 Wabs and family 🌸🐾
I was instructed by my darling Angel Eurydice to add the link to her travels so here it is:
http://tripawds.....mputation/
Of course, all advise from others is really great, in case you prefer to leave your gorgeous boy at home.
It just happens me and my Angel luuuurved to travel together so take it as a little bit of a "biassed" advise from us.
Our travels were the highlight of our cancer journey together, the happiest of times 💞 and the most perfect moments for both of us💓
Sending you lots of hugs and cuddles 😘🐮💫✨🌟🌹
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 :-)
TriPug Maggie's little sis Tani had a seizure disorder so I was not ever able to board her, therefore Maggie was never boarded. I was lucky in that my parents lived nearby and were always willing to take the pug girls when I traveled for work or pleasure. I don't think that I traveled from the time of her amp until she was done with her chemo regimen. I only took the pug girls on a couple of overnight road trips with Maggie as a Tripawd and her being a Tripawd wasn't an issue.
In the rare times my parents were not available I had a friend stay at my house to care for the pugs. I made sure they were comfortable with the girls and all the meds required. Tani's seizure meds were critical, and both got twice daily eye ointments so I had to be sure whoever stayed with them was capable. I made sure that the person staying with them knew where my vet was as well as the emergency vet, and I let my vet know that I was out of town and someone else might be contacting them. When Maggie's second cancer was diagnosed and she was in declining health I did not travel at all.
With the girls both having health issues I got in the habit of knowing where the nearest 24 hour emergency vet was even for day trips, I still do that today.
Now I live with my dad who is older and not able to get around too well, I'm retired and with my dad's health I don't travel much. And Elly is a small, young, rear amp Tripawd not dealing with cancer so there are not as many worries with her. I have been able to go for a couple two night trips to visit relatives leaving Elly and Obie with my dad and that has gone OK, but Dad isn't able to walk both dogs and he can't play with her too much so more that a couple nights right now isn't possible. I've been thinking about getting a friend to come over and help out so I can go on a longer trip. I also have taken Elly on a couple of two-night overnight trips this year and those have gone well. Elly has separation anxiety which is much more of an issue for us than her being a Tripawd.
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
When i was a vet tech we had a handful of patients that needed special care whose pawrents travelled. I was one of the few that made home visits, administered meds, cleaned litter boxes, fed them, took pups out, walked them, etc. The fee was higher than kenneling. If you trust where you go for vet care, call and ask if any of their techs make home visits. Worst that can happen is no or you don't feel comfortable. I would def check them out well, but there are some good people out there that do that kind of thing.
So happy for you and l I'm glad you're trying to plan and seek options. May or may not be an option for you but i thought I would throw it out there for you. People sought us out, i never advertised, and i was good with or with out the extra work. That was a while ago so i don't know how much times have changed. Good luck, I'm so happy for you!!
Jackie and Huckleberry ❤️
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
We've never really travelled much with our dogs, so it hadn't come up for us as much. However, we do vacation. Murphy had his surgery and 3 weeks later we left for the Dominican Republic. We debated about cancelling, but everything was already paid for when we decided to go ahead with his surgery. We were lucky that our adult son was still living at home (well, one lucky thing anyways! lol). We were able to stay in close contact with him through Facebook and FB messenger since we didn't have any phone service.
We did travel one time with Murphy, to Chicago on a road trip to meet other Tripawds! By that point he had been a Tripawd for about 3 1/2 years. He did great in the car and at the hotel. You can pick up some Paws boots either from Amazon or the pet store - they're great on slippery surfaces, but can't be left on long-term. They're sort of like a latex balloon, and they provide great traction .
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
By the way I wanted to add that there's no need to put off your travel with Wabs if everything is otherwise going pretty well. We traveled with Jerry for two years while he was fighting osteosarc and there was no problem finding him quality vet care when he needed it (which was rare). It was the two best years of our life with him, and we think the new experiences had something to with his longevity as well. Take a road trip together, go have fun!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thanks all for your words of encouragement and advice! I'm feeling emboldened about packing up the boys and hitting the road, and we'll certainly keep you all posted whenever we go. Leaning toward an anniversary trip toward West Texas, and we'll honeymoon some other time.
YAY 🚗💨💨💨💨💨
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 :-)
Sounds like a lot of fun, good for you!! Don't forget PICTURES!!! 📸📷📸📷📸📷📸📷
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
1 Guest(s)
