Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello everyone,
I'm looking for confirmation that amputation would be the way to go, a few details on my boy Riley. He's a 10 year old boxer mix who weighs about 67 lb. He has a large mass on his rear leg around his knee. We have not had it tested for cancer, but it seems due to size that removal would be difficult as it feels firmly attached to muscle and also has a lot of blood vessels/veins around it. The vet suggested amputation and I'm having a really hard time deciding if this will be the right choice. I assume leaving it on him would just be troublesome and create more problems down the road, he's already not always putting weight on it. He lifts it up if you touch it and I see him lifting it while he's eating. We did have X-rays and the vet doesn't believe there are any other issues with him aside from this one tumor.
Is it normal for possibly non cancerous dogs to have a limb amputated due to a tumor?
Hi Bryan, welcome to you and Riley. Your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
To answer your question- yes, we do see a few amputations here when the mass or leg damage is not caused by cancer.
Some questions-
Is there a reason you haven't had the mass biopsied?
How fast was the mass growing? If it was de bulked how long until it would grow back?
Is the leg so damaged that no matter what the mass is the leg isn't salvageable?
If the leg isn't salvageable no matter what the mass is then proceeding with amputation without knowing what it is might be OK. I think I would want to be sure that there are no other less drastic treatment options. It sounds like Riley is in pain so you do have to make a decision soon.
I want to be clear that I'm not making a judgement! No matter how you decide to proceed we will be here to support you and Riley, it just that we might be able to give you better guidance with some more information.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
So sorry you and your sweet Riley are going through this. We all know how difficult it can be to decide to amputate or not.
he's already not always putting weight on it. He lifts it up if you touch it and I see him lifting it while he's eating.
Just want to add that one of the main reasons for amputation, in addition of course to hoping to remove the cancer, or slow it down, is to remove the pain. He is clearly in pain, especially if he is holding the leg up. Did the Vet offer pain meds in the meantime...maybe Gabapentin?
Also, many opt out of biopsy as it can often be inconclusive and often a painful procedure . Now, that said, I don't know if a needle aspiration would be warranted for this type of mass.
Keep us posted. As Karen said, we are here to suppprt whatever path you take.
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie!
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 Bryan, welcome. I'm sorry you are facing this decision. We know how hard it is, nobody wants to see their dog lose a leg, or can even picture their dog as a Tripawd. Your worries are totally normal and we'll do our best to help you decide.
It sounds like there is not much of an option here when it comes to treating the cancer. Those types of tumors can get really ugly and difficult to remove without taking the whole leg. I agree that his pain signals mean it's time to do something. Dogs do whatever it takes to hide pain.
If your vet is not an oncologist and it would make you feel better to get another opinion, and you're able to do that, I recommend doing so, to help put your mind at ease that you covered all your bases. And if that's not possible, no worries, you're already doing right by your dog by asking good questions and acting on your vet's recommendations.
Riley is older but if he's otherwise healthy and your vet thinks he's a good candidate, there's no reason why he can't have a great life on three. We've seen many dogs of all weights, breed types, and ages, go on to enjoy lots more quality time.
Not sure if you saw our What to Expect articles , but those might help put your mind at ease. Also check out what questions to ask before surgery.
Hi Bryan,
Glad you are here and so sorry to hear about your sweet boy Riley. I was in your shoes not even 3 weeks ago with my 8 year old boxer, I emotionally struggled with what was the rite choice for her and I feared I would be taking something away or was unsure of how she would adapt or live a normal doggy life. All these thoughts were going through my head. One thing that did help me was telling myself I needed to give her the best quality of life pain free so we did move forward with the amputation. When we picked her up after surgery I knew in my heart at that moment we had made the right choice. I think the initial finding out and making the decision is and was the hardest part in all of it. She is doing very well and bouncing back fairly quickly and she is teaching me many lessons in this whole new journey. I think whatever decision you decide for your sweet boy will be the best for him. 
Thank you everyone,
I have not had it biopsied previously as at the time we were dealing with other health concerns such as tumors blocking his rectum. All of this adds up quickly and available money at the time it didn't seem like it was growing. He's had the tumor for a while now, but it feels like in the past couple of months it started growing more aggressively. I do wish I would have gotten it biopsied earlier, however if it isn't cancerous I would have put it off all the same anyways still ending up with the giant tumor on his leg.
Their main concern seemed to be that the mass is firmly attached to his leg at the muscle, and to remove the mass and areas around it, they would need to remove some muscle. Along with that they detailed all of the veins that are clearly running around it and that the removal could be quite messy and they're unsure how well they could close up the skin post removal.
With his current health it does seem like he's got quite a bit of life left in him and I'm upset with myself ultimately for not acting sooner when it was smaller. But I believe he can thrive on 3 legs. It's gonna be hard with recovery and any issues he may face but currently it's clear that he is bothered or in pain by it. He's super careful in which way he lays down and has had to adjust to different positions he did not previously lay in. Along with already not putting weight on it all the time. He does still get around very well overall though but I guess since the vets don't seem to think removal will go as well as amputation we have little alternatives. Plus I would hate to have the removal take place only for the recovery to not go well and get a nasty infection where ultimately it costs him more pain and ends up amputated anyways.
You're doing an excellent job of processing everything, getting advice from the Vets, etc.
As you noted, biopsy or not, sooner or not, amputation is the most likely result regardless, especially with that level of pain..
It's one and done. One surgery, one recovery and onto living life to the fullest.
You'll feel relief once you make a decision as you move forward. Karen always suggests making notes of why you decided to proceed with one path or the other. That way you can always be reminded why you took the path you did.
Again, we are here with you no matter what👍
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!
It's tough when you are dealing with multiple health issues at the same time, deciding what to do and when to do it is very hard.
And try not to spend too much time on regrets- I think we all do that as humans! One thing I tell myself when those thoughts come up is that no matter what choices you make you can never know what would have happened if you chose differently. You are doing the best you can and making the best choices for your boy.
All that being said it sounds like you are at the point where the leg is not salvageable, and Riley sounds like he still has life left to live.
If you do decide on amputation what we see here often that older pups take a bit longer to get their sea legs after surgery. So you have to have a little extra patience during recovery.
One suggestion I would make- no matter what path you choose write down your thought process, list pros and cons and anything that went into your decision. I've used this method a couple times when making big decisions. Being able to review my thought process has been really helpful when the inevitable 'what if' questions pop up.
Keep us posted.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
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