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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Good Morning All,
I'm new here and I just wanted to say thank you. Our 1.7 year old Pitty/Rottweiler mix was just diagnosed via x-ray on Friday with a malignant neoplasia in her leg bone. She started limping a few weeks ago at which point we brought her in for x-rays. Other than what looked like a small tendon issue, they were totally clear. We rested her but the pain got worse to the point where she wasn't using the leg at all and had all but stopped eating. A second x-ray was taken on Friday which showed a moth eaten type tumor on her hind leg, which was confirmed by 2 resident vets and a board certified radiologist. Fast forward to today.. we are less than 24 hours out from her hind leg amputation. The considered this extremely aggressive, so they will be doing the chest x-rays and blood with shortly before the surgery. We are understandably devastated by the the prognosis but this forum has given us hope and comfort that we may be able to provide her with as many pain free months as possible before this inevitably takes her far too soon. That being said, the stories of pups in here beating all the odds and living a full life have giving us a source of optimism that we were not expecting.
Thank you again for everything and we hope to have some positive news to share soon!
Hi and welcome to you and your pup. We are so sorry you are having to join our club but glad you found us. We'll be here for you every step of the way.
What's your pup's name? She is so young! And that means she has the energy and attitude to bounce back from surgery before you know it. You're moving quickly, which is heartbreaking but important so you can help her get out of that terrible pain from bone cancer.
Please bark at us with any questions you have, don't be shy. If you haven't already you might want to check out our What to Expect articles and Jerry's Required Reading List . The Tripawds Recovery Shopping List is also helpful to get your home Tripawd-proofed!
Thanks Jerry!
Her name is Molly and she is literally the star of the show at the vet with her big goofy smile and insistence on belly rubs despite her current condition.
For us, the amputation part isn't heartbreaking at all. She had completely stopped eating due to the pain and our vet was extremely clear that with her age and current condition amputation was a must for continued survival. Thankfully we found a board certified surgeon 2 hours away that had an opening for tomorrow. In our initial consult call, our surgeon even told us to literally double the dose of pain meds that she is on.. which got her appetite back. Although we are scared at what we may see on the chest x-rays before surgery, we still advised our surgeon that our primary goal was to at least celebrate next Halloween with her so she can be a proper pirate with a peg leg 🙂
I'm not sure we have totally come to terms that the prognosis is touch and go regardless of what we do, but this forum has done a tremendous amount of good for us already in the short time we have been here.
Thank you so much.
Your beloved Molly clearly has a strong advocate in you. Even though this was a gut pinch to hear, anout the tumor, you have a good attititue about what needs to be done and why. That kind of solution focused energy 2ill have a pawsitive impact o. Molly and help her feel strong and confident during recovery.
As you've seen here, dogs do not listen to "statistics" , do. not listen to "prognosis" and don't count days on a calendar. Wjat they do though, is get on with loving life to the fullest once thst painful leg is gone
Recovery is no picnic for couple of weeks. Just short leashed potty breaks and lots of rest. Mobility adaptation varies from sof to dog. Some are able to "hop" out of the clinic with assistance, some need a few more days. Molly will recover at her own pace I her own way.
Let us know how things go and update when you can. We are here to cheer for Molly and to help support you in any way you need..
Give Molly some extra treats for us, okay?
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!
Aww you are so welcome! Your awesome attitude will make a huge difference in Molly's recovery. She is going to FEEL how pawsitive and optimistic you are, and that is such great medicine.
We are cheering you on, and sending tons of Tripawd love your way. Keep us posted on how things go tomorrow!
Hey everyone,
Just a quick Molly update. Before her surgery they did some chest xrays that turned out to be really bad. At least 8 nodules spread to her lungs in such a short time. The bright side is that her quality of life is still quite high and amputation/chemo could extend that quality for up to 9 months.
She's headed back into surgery now and we can't wait to see her again!
I know that's not the news you wanted to hear, it definitely is not the end of the road, that's for sure! In the past surgeons decided not to operate if there were mets. That thinking has evolved now thankfully
. You are removing a painful leg, restoring quality, and giving Molly a chance at a pain-free quality life. Just the fact that she will be feeling better when she recovers is therapeutic in a way that cannot be measured.
Will check in later but just wanted to drop a quick note to send extra pawsitivity to your amazing girl and her amazing hooman
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 there thanks for letting us know. I'm really sorry she has the mets, but as Sally mentioned, thinking has changed and many vets understand that dogs can go on enjoying life much longer than anyone thought possible even when mets are present. The most important thing is to get rid of the pain first and foremost. Anything after that is icing on the cake!
Also, be sure to look into the MIMIC study to see if Molly qualifies and if it's feasible. I'm publishing a story about it soon. It's the newest breakthrough for treating lung mets.
Keep us posted on how she's doing!
Thank you so much Jerry and Benny!
Our surgeon just called and she made it out of surgery with flying colors. Pathology came back with 100% osteosarcoma, which means that they are able to start chemo immediately tomorrow. We pretty much expected that.. but now we at least know the enemies name.
I know we probably won't beat this, but we are going to fight like hell for Molly and make sure her remaining months are as comfortable as possible.
Jerry - thank you so much for the link to the study! We just submitted an email to them to see if we can get in. It would be a cross country road trip for us, but Molly absolutely loves the car.. so who knows? 🙂
We're obviously devastated with this turn of events and how quickly it evolved (4 weeks!) but providing the best life for her is now our only priority.
Again, thank you so much for everything. I will most likely post some more updates Molly recovers from the amputation 🙂 We're already making a list of things to do before it is too late!
YAAAAAY FOR MOLY!! SURGERY IS DONE and her pain will be gone!!
When you do go pick her up, don't even bother to draw any attention mto the inc. She just wants to see your Happy smiling face (through her druggy eyes) and hear you telling g her she's a food girl and going home!!! She will definitely feed off your upbeat, confident energy.
It sounds like you have a cery "up to dare" surfery/onco team. They are proceeding with pain elimination and getting a head start o. the chemo. Definitely helps her blow statistics out of the water.
Drinking and peeing are important. Eating and pooping may be off a few days. Some dogs gain their sea legs fairly quickly, some take more time.
The chemo (carboplatin?) may, or may not make her not want to eat, so stock up on any yummy foods she'll ear. They'll probably give you anti nausea med just in case.
If you have hardwood floors you'll need non-stop scatter rugs for traction .
Try and get some solid sleep tonight while she's at the clinic sleeping off some good drugs.
And yes, continue to Be More Dog and follow Molly's lead. She's living in the moment tin the now. And it sounds like her nows are going to be the best evvvver!! That's how you "beat" this crap. You don't waste one second of your time together worrying about the tomorrows. Now is all that matters. You're got that handled👍
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!
Good news! 
Molly is on the move and getting her mojo back real soon! How cool that your onco team is jumping straight into chemotherapy. It's a new way of tackling cancer based on the newest science, and one that makes total sense. Let us know how she does afterward. Yes, make sure you have some anti-nausea medication on hand, and lots of stinky meats and food she loves to eat. She may have a decreased appetite so don't be surprised if that happens, it's quite common.
Yes, it is good to know what you're dealing with. Sorry that it's for sure osteo, but soon you'll have a plan to tackle that beast and show the world that Molly will not be stopped!
I'm so happy you emailed about the study. I just finished the post about it, scheduled to run next Wednesday. It's an incredible therapy and so promising.
We are sending tons of love to you guys for a smooth recovery and chemo treatments!
Good Morning!
We're waiting to hear back, but it looks like we will be able to pick her up today at some point.
The folks from the study actually called us within a few hours of reaching out! They want to let her heal from the amputation first and asked us to send over as much information as we can (xrays, charts, results.. etc.). We are hoping that she may be considered!
Thanks again for all of the advice. As soon as we get home we are going to set up her "home base" on our ground floor so she doesn't have to worry about navigating stairs until she is ready. We've also got a trunk full of yoga mats so she can zip around with a little grip. We can't wait to see her! 🙂
Hey everyone! We are moving this party over to the recovery forum that that Molly is home.
Come on over and follow along if you are interested!
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