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
Hi there! I'm glad you found this community, I know its been a life saver for me. My guy lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma. Money was an issue for us too - I financed his surgery through Care Credit, you might want to look into that. The plan that my vet subscribed to was 6 months no interest. I could not afford to do chemo, and even if I could have, I might not have done it for Clyde. He doesn't love going to the vet, and having to go for treatments would have been stressful for him. I've been very lucky so far, we are just about at a year since diagnosis/amputation and he's still here 
One of the very best things about this community is no one judges the choices that each person makes. Everyone who is here is making the best choice they can for their pet, and those choices are all being made out of love and wanting what's best for our non human family members. Good luck to both of you and your lovely Zuzu (that's such a great name) and ask any questions/vent or whatever. It really helps.
So, a bit of an update... We found a different vet and she feels confident about limb sparing surgery. All the other vets weren't comfortable with this as they were concerned about closure, since the mass is on the knee. This Doc is planning to use a skin flap from her abdomen to assist in closure.
We're afraid that if we wait to figure out the money for amputation surgery that it'll take too long and that the cancer will have a chance to get worse. In the past week Zuzu has started walking much more gingerly up the steps, so it appears as though this nasty disease is starting to take its toll, although Zuzu is still in good spirits.
I wish we could go the "curative" route, but I think it's best that we just get this nasty tumor off before it does any more damage.
Does anyone have any experience with this type of surgery?
11 year old Australian Shepherd with soft tissue sarcoma.
http://princess.....ipawds.com
Hi there! I've not been online much lately so am just catching up with Zuzu and your posts.
First, I wanted to suggest a baby pool for the porch potty. They are easy to find this time of year and are inexpensive. I think Petsmart even sells them!
Second, I'm *not* super familiar with limb-sparing surgery as my Izzy had to lose the whole leg, shoulder included. She's done incredibly well since then, having a knee repair a year later on a remaining limb and now fighting last cell cancer on a hind foot. Our oncologist did briefly discuss a partial amputation as the tumor is between the pads and toes and cannot be removed without taking her foot. This definitely would have been our path if she were not already a Tripawd but we all agree it's just too much for a nearly 14 year old to have to learn to walk with a prosthetic.
All of that said, I wanted to ask if you are particularly partial to the limb sparing procedure? Is it what most were recommending? Is it less expensive? (Not being intentionally nosey, but for me, cost was a HUGE factor.) Dogs do really well on 3 legs, so unless there is a compelling reason to do limb sparing, it may "easier" to just amputate.
Anyway, as I said, I'm just catching up so am very sorry if I've missed a critical tidbit here!
Wishing you luck with whatever decision you make!
Amy & Izzy, too!
Momma to the world's most beautiful American Bulldog, Izzy!! Lost her front leg to OSA 9/18/15. Diagnosed w MCT in June 2016. Celebrated her 1 year ampuversary with knee surgery on 9/18/16! MCT recurrence in Dec 2016. Happy & hungry til nearly 14, earning her wings on 7/31/17.
Honestly the biggest factor in deciding this route is finances. We can't afford the amputation surgery and it'll take too long for us to save up the money. We don't have credit cards, aren't approved for care credit and have exhausted all other means of trying to come up with the cash. Like I said, I wish we could go the curative route, but at this point we just need to focus on stopping the cancer as much as we can. The cost of limb sparing surgery is about a third of the price as amputation surgery, so even though it's still going to be hard to come up with that it's actually attainable within a reasonable amount of time.
I have no idea what to expect with this surgery and recovery and I'm kinda freaking out about it.
Our ground level neighbor has offered to let zuzu stay at her apartment while she recovers (and me, though I'm not sure about overnights-so we'll have to figure that out). Since I'm unable to work I'll be able to stay with her and monitor her closely.
My wife and I are really considering doing this as zuzu will be about to walk about 5 feet out the door and be able to potty in the courtyard, so the potty patch may not be necessary, but if I were to use the pool how would I drain it? I have no way to drain it off the side and it can't just drain onto the ground because the patio area is carpeted.
Thank you for your kind words and wishes.
Ashley,Noelle and Zuzu
11 year old Australian Shepherd with soft tissue sarcoma.
http://princess.....ipawds.com
Ashley (Noelle & of course Zuzu, too!) -
I was thinking you could put the soil and sod in the pool - easier than building a frame and lining it. I'm lazy and frugal lol
I totally understand about the cost of amputation. I was freaking out when faced with it for Izzy. All the estimates were around 3000-3500 and that was totally impossible. I road tripped to Helping Hands in Virginia ... It felt crazy to go so far and take her home the day of surgery, but it was $700. You read that correctly.
Maybe there is a similar low-cost surgery clinic in Colorado? Maybe you find a pet friendly hotel in Richmond and spend the first few days out this way? Just spitballing ideas ... I know how scary and tough this all is.
Anyway, no matter what you decide, we are here to cheer you on!! 
Amy & Izzy
Momma to the world's most beautiful American Bulldog, Izzy!! Lost her front leg to OSA 9/18/15. Diagnosed w MCT in June 2016. Celebrated her 1 year ampuversary with knee surgery on 9/18/16! MCT recurrence in Dec 2016. Happy & hungry til nearly 14, earning her wings on 7/31/17.
Amy-
OMD, 700$ for amp? That's incredible! That's about what it'll be for the limb sparing surgery, and that's about half as much as what most vets in the area charge for the same surgery.
We've been quoted anywhere from $1700-$3300 for amp surgery here in Colorado springs(some include overnight stays/ med inclusive, some just surgery). I wish we had the 3k- they were offering a two night stay with improved surgical procedure (I can't remember what she said it was, but not the typical way of doing it) as well as cold laser therapy to aid in recovery and in house rehab and acupuncture. Sounds like a trip to the spa!
There is a place in Denver (a little over an hour from us) that'll do just the amp for a little over 1k, but that doesn't involve any sort of after care, meds, etc. So actual cost is probably closer to 1200, not including aftercare, which is still a pretty competitive price but unfortunately too much for us. Maybe if the first FNA came back positive a year ago and we had that time to save for surgery we could do it but right now we gotta get that crap off our girl ASAP.
Colorado also has a competitive price clause which doesn't really allow for a whole lot of discounted prices. I feel lucky to have found the place we have. Our doc routinely performs soft tissue and orthopedic surgery and we feel confident with her and her abilities.
As far as the pool- we wanted to use real sod, which will require watering. Don't you think the water/urine never draining would cause a bit of a mud issue? Also I wonder if there would be any type of odor problem from the urine just continuing to absorb into such a condensed area. The area where we would put this doesn't get any sun.
Thanks and sorry it's so long. Insomnia causes rambling,lol.
-ash
11 year old Australian Shepherd with soft tissue sarcoma.
http://princess.....ipawds.com
Have you tried asking the Vet School about the cost of a student doing the surgery versus a faculty member and/ or whether there are any special funds they may have to assist? Many vet schools have client advocates who may assist you through the process. I know there were several folks ( maybe UC Davis?) where this became a viable option? (Also, from what many have read and said, there is not an unlikely chance that limb sparing surgery requires further surgeries in the future: Amy and Izzy have a great idea to expand the search:)
And maybe just get heavy mil plastic to put under the sod so that you can water it but then the water ( and pee) will run off and you can then just wash down the porch and the sod won't turn to mud?
Sorry if I am missing anything...my tablet keeps crashing so can only see part of your thread...
Ashco maybe it's too early and I read your response incorrectly but did you say you were told limb sparing surgery is LESS than amputation? If so, then I'm not sure we are talking about the same procedure. Limb sparing surgery is incredibly expensive and somewhere in the $8 to $10k range. It requires far more extensive post-op care than amputation surgery.
Amy did you try the baby pool idea? That's interesting!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Ok the more I thought about this the more I realized that I think you are confusing tumor resection surgery with limb sparing. The first is when they remove as much of the tumor as possible to save the leg. The second is when they remove the actual bone in order to implant a donor piece of bone and attach it to existing bone. I'm sure you mean tumor resection.
I've never heard of a competitive price clause in Colorado. Interesting.
Meanwhile please keep in mind you can apply for the Tripawds ASAP Grant and if you are income-qualified you can get a $500 grant toward the price of surgery.
Regarding after care, there are many people who take their dogs home the same night, which saves on costs. It's not easy for you or the dog but when price is a major factor it's an option.
Have you talked to your vets about arranging any kind of payment plan? Or discussed your financial situation with CSU? Many vet hospitals have financial assistance. They might have a program, or at least a clinical trial you can get into to save on costs.
I'm sorry that you're faced with the heavy financial burden, I know it's not easy when you have so many other things to consider.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
The baby pool idea comes from living in Florida - sometimes hurricanes made for long stretches with no real access to the outdoors. I thought of filling a baby pool with kitty litter for Izzy ... AFTER a major hurricane during which she refused to go potty on the porch (to her, it was still "in the house"). I let her out as the eye passed over and she managed to pee/poop with time to spare but fell into a neighbor's in-ground pool as all of our fences and their pool cage had come down.
Suffice to say, it was scary as Izzy cannot swim.
Also, +1 in the cost remark. Our onco nurse told us about a Rottie's family who went the limb sparing route and he said it was more expensive (and they ended up needing more surgery to take the limb as recovery was complicated). So maybe they mean just the tumor will come off?
Ash - translate for us! LOL
Momma to the world's most beautiful American Bulldog, Izzy!! Lost her front leg to OSA 9/18/15. Diagnosed w MCT in June 2016. Celebrated her 1 year ampuversary with knee surgery on 9/18/16! MCT recurrence in Dec 2016. Happy & hungry til nearly 14, earning her wings on 7/31/17.
Oh and I wanted to add - I took Izzy home day of surgery. It is part of why the cost was so low!
Momma to the world's most beautiful American Bulldog, Izzy!! Lost her front leg to OSA 9/18/15. Diagnosed w MCT in June 2016. Celebrated her 1 year ampuversary with knee surgery on 9/18/16! MCT recurrence in Dec 2016. Happy & hungry til nearly 14, earning her wings on 7/31/17.
Ok guys, my mistake. Not limb sparing, but just tumor removal. Sorry for the confusion. So many different terms combined with severe lack of sleep is making me confused I guess!
11 year old Australian Shepherd with soft tissue sarcoma.
http://princess.....ipawds.com
Ashley and Noelle,
Wow! 700 for the resection and skin graft? Thats a great price!! If it makes you feel any better we paid 1813.75 for the tumor resection surgery alone at a teaching hospital here in CA
and ours was not as complicated since there was no skin grafting going on! But the cost was significantly less than the estimate they gave us so we counted ourselves lucky. Especially since I am sure it would have been twice that or more in a specialty private practice here. Of course we had additional costs on top of that as well
, which I plan to document over on my forum thread.
It just sucks that finances have to play a role but they did for us too! We all do the best we can for our pups and that is all we can do!
xoxo,
Martha, Travis Ray and the OP
Yeah, so glad we found this place. I hate that finances are such a concern, but we're doing what we can.
Got the surgery scheduled today, it'll be on June 14th. We will be staying with our neighbor for a week or so after surgery so Zuzu won't have to deal with stairs or potty pads.
Thank you everyone for all your support and answers through this, even though Zuzu won't be becoming a tripawd(at least not yet) we'll try to keep everyone up to date.
-ashley
11 year old Australian Shepherd with soft tissue sarcoma.
http://princess.....ipawds.com
Ok guys, my mistake. Not limb sparing, but just tumor removal. Sorry for the confusion. So many different terms combined with severe lack of sleep is making me confused I guess!
Not to worry- a little more time dealing with this stupid disease and you will be spouting medical jargon with the best of them 
Thank you everyone for all your support and answers through this, even though Zuzu won't be becoming a tripawd (at least not yet) we'll try to keep everyone up to date.
Maybe we should have a disclaimer on this site- see, once you post here you are family so you are stuck with us! We have several members who still have all four, the cancer journey is a tough one and being here makes it a bit easier. Besides, your experience may be just what someone is looking for some day.
Best of luck with the surgery next week, keep us posted.
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
2 Guest(s)
