Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi, I posted my question back in September but somehow it semed to be lost and had maybe one message so here I go again. Since fall I have been following so many stories and I learned so much so thank you for sharing your stories.
I have a golden who is now about 8 - 8.5. In spring '10 he had a slight limp and swelling on front left limb. My regular vet tested for blasto and something else while treating for a sprain. no results so he did an ultrasound but still nothing definitive so I took Harley to UW Madison and they said very possibly an infiltrative lipoma and recommended a CT scan followed by surgery to remove the tumor. Only with surgery and biopsy could they be certain. They also were the first to give me the Tripawds website and said amputation is recommended with this type of tumor. Because Madison is almost a 2 hr drive for me, I had the scan done locally and they felt there were clean margins and felt they could do the surgery. Surgery was done July '10 and biopsy showed no signs of it being infiltrative. But Spring '11 it was back so late summer an MRI was done followed by surgery to de-bulk again. surgeon said this time it showed signs of being infiltrative and surgery would just buy comfortable time and that amputation was the only cure. As I knew it would be, the tumor is back and now my only option is amputation so I plan to have this done soon. Because it is infiltrative and these are benign tumors that remain local, there is not the same urgency as osteo or other cancers.
So here are my questions. I haven't really seen any posts on infiltrative lipomas, so if anyone has more knowledge on these, let me know. then like everyone I have the basic fears. I see so many success stories but I still so scared. I'm all set to do this, then I just put on the brakes. Harley is about 86 lbs and manages well and still loves to give the squirrels and rabbits a good run but only he knows how that leg feels. It's just me so should I get a car ramp to help get him home? I only have 2 stairs on front porch so I assume he should be able to hop up those with a little help. But then I have 5 stairs in back hall and that is entrance I use 99% of time with him since the yard is totally fenced . I see the harness is really for later on when incision is healed so use the towel sling to help get him in the house?? Oh, and he likes to sleep on a human bed so with his tewo previous surgeries I took the bed apart and put mattress on the floor so he could just walk up. I will do that again for 2-4 weeks but eventually I wonder about that jumping up like he is used to . . .
Advice, suggestions, anything is welcome right now. And you have heard it before but I don't think I could ever have gotten this far without your website.
Harley is an 8 year old Golden Retriever. Amp surgery for an infiltrative lipoma canceled due to two masses in chest. A rescue, he found his forever home on 3/18/07 and left for his eternal home on 1/09/13. His story and medical history are at http://myharley.....pawds.com/
I can't offer any knowledge about the type of cancer, but I do have a couple of thoughts on the other questions.
After amp, Zeus (front right amp) immediately did fine with two steps out to our front yard. You mention that you use the back since it is fenced, however most vets recommend leash-only walks for the first month to keep them from being too active. Maybe you could take him on-leash in the front yard for the first month and then try the back after that month? From the posts I've seen here, most dogs are fine with several steps after the first month.
Zeus has always been allowed on the furniture, including the bed with us. He has never been extremely graceful and we were also very concerned about him jumping around since the remaining front leg would take the brunt of the landing. I have to admit that to date, five months after amp, we still have the furniture blocked off and our mattress is still in the floor. 
However, he is only 45 lbs, so it is more of a jump for him than it would be for a bigger dog. I'm sure others with larger dogs will chime in soon. Since he is smaller we are able to lift him into the car but if he were any larger I definitely would have purchased a ramp for use with getting in the car. Please note that a few members have posted just within the last few months about their experience with ramps (including the best non-slip material as well as what they did to keep their dog from slipping off the side since the amp causes dogs to hop crooked). Might be worth searching the forums for "ramp" and reading those.
Good luck with the surgery and keep us posted!
Lisa
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
Our dog Max was a left front amp. He also slept on the bed with us, and I was worried about him hurting himself getting up/down. My husband John built a ramp for him to get up on the bed. There's a photo of it here somewhere on the forums, but I have no idea how to post it here. (Perhaps Admin or some other clever Moderator can find it and post it??) Max passed away in January 2010, and I have to say, we are still using the ramp to this day. Our devil dog, Bernie, uses it regularly, and John and has now started using it as a seat when he gets dressed.
As for a ramp for the car, we never used one. We both had mid-sized SUVs. Whenever we took Max somewhere, he had his RuffWear harness on. We would always load him in via the rear passenger doors (with the back seat down), as it was a slightly lower threshhold than the cargo area. We let him exit the car via the cargo area, but we always had hold of his harness so that he would literally barely touch the ground when he landed.
Good luck with Harley! Keep us posted!!
Max, here's that photo of your nifty ramp, it's in this post:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Kathy, we're glad you posted again, sorry your last one got lost.
We've had lots of dogs with out of control lipomas here. I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. Is it cancerous at all? If not, that's a reason to celebrate, even though it's hard to right now.
OK, so if you haven't seen our Required Reading List or our ebook, "Three Legs & a Spare" yet, please check them out. I believe they will answer your questions and help put your fears to rest.
It's easy to let human fears consume you but try to remember that it's always worse for the human than it is for the dog. Dogs are so much more resilient than you think! There's an excellent chance that Harley will have a smooth recovery. It will help to keep his weight down if he's at all overweight, so should can start now if he is. He may not be, and that's great! 86 pounds is large but we've had lots of dogs much bigger than that do great on three legs.
As for helping him get around after surgery, the towel thing is a pain. Instead we've found that you can create a great sling by cutting open a canvas grocery bag, placing the fabric under his belly and lifting the handles to support him.
If you haven't trained him to use a ramp, he may or may not use it. Ramps are great for arthritic, older dogs and here's a great article to help train him to use one. But if he's not arthritic, you may find that a Ruff Wear harness is more convenient to help him get in and out of the vehicle and learn how to navigate stairs. He may or may not need assistance with the steps after he heals, so try not to worry about that until you get there.
As for sleeping on the bed, rehab vets tell us that it's never a good idea for a three or four legged dog to jump up and off of a bed, into or out of a car, etc. It puts too much stress on their joints. But honestly, we give in to the sleeping on the bed thing a lot, since our bed isn't high off the ground, and we know lots of Tripawds who still sleep on the bed. If your bed is low, you probably don't have to worry. If it's high up, you may want to do what Max did and create a step, like the ones seen here.
Thank you for returning and sharing Harley's story. We are here to help however we can, and look forward to following your Tripawd journey.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We were dealing with a cancerous soft tissue sarcoma that invaded the bone, so I am afraid I cannot help on the lipoma issue, but I did have a golden retriever who was almost 9 when his front left leg was amputated (roughly the same age and size as your Harley). He was up hours after his surgery, peeing and pooping, etc. He did super on 3; he literally jumped into the car (minivan) leaving the surgical center (no ramps for us) and coped well in a house with stairs and hardwood floors (we didn't use rugs or runners either- he just didn't need them). Scout could jump onto a bed or sofa when he was in the mood to snuggle (which was always), so I expect Harley will be able to too.
Scout: January 31, 2002 to November 7, 2011
Scout's diagnosis was "poorly differentiated sarcoma"; amputation 1/11/2011. Scout enjoyed 9 fantastic years on 4 legs and 9 glorious months on 3 legs. If love alone could have saved you…
Thank you to everyone for their advice. There is just so much to absorb. I've read so many of your stories but still keep learning new things. I need to order the book and probably should get a harness and ramp and practice using these just in case I need them, then pick a date for surgery.
My understanding has been that infiltrative lipomas are not malignant but are aggressive and in Harley's case surgery could not be done again without doing nerve damage (and we now know it would be back so . . .) This tumor does have a different feel though. In past they were below the muscle so his leg felt like concrete; this time it has a softer feel.
Everyone who responded has given me hope, especially OK Scout who is same breed, size and a pretty amazing guy!!
Harley is an 8 year old Golden Retriever. Amp surgery for an infiltrative lipoma canceled due to two masses in chest. A rescue, he found his forever home on 3/18/07 and left for his eternal home on 1/09/13. His story and medical history are at http://myharley.....pawds.com/
Hi Kathy L,
I hope everything went well with Harley. I have experience with Infiltrative Lipoma. My 2 1/2 year old cattle dog INDY was diagnosed with Infiltrative Lipoma in the front right leg about 6 months ago. The diagnosis was lengthy and expensive. Alot of tests were inconclusive so a biopsy was eventually taken from the middle of the tumor. The Tumor was quite large and her leg split upon incision which resulted with 10 stitches and 4 weeks healing. I dressed the wounds twice a day after a lot of skin died off from the trauma and she was on various meds and had to wear a horrible cone on her head. The tumor wrapped from top of her thigh down to her foot around muscle. Vet suggested debulking her entire main leg muscle and radiation cleanup or specialist treatment. Removing the entire muscle would render her leg virtually useless. After researching online i was aware of the 240 day return rate if surgery wasnt successful. After a lot of consideration I sought a second opinion, this vet was familiar with infiltrative lipoma, he thought removal would be unsuccessful and amputation a definite cure. He also suggested waiting to see how it progressed as it was not hindering her mobility. I prayed it would not grow and waited but after 4 weeks I saw that it was growing quite fast. I took her back to vet and he said amputation was best.
The surgery was yesterday, very stressful for me to make the decision. The main reason i opted for amputation was my fear that it would somehow grow into her chest due to the rapid growth rate.. I picked her up 9 am this morning, she walked to the car, had too small stumbles but otherwise good. She jumped into the car and out of the car herself without falling. I am still very sad but I am happy the lipoma is gone. I continue to question my decision not taking her to the cancer specialist but I could feel the areas the lipoma invaded and believed successful excision to be very very difficult. I didn't want her to go through all the trauma just for the lipoma to return within the year. No decision is ever easy but you have tried many avenues and as long as Harley is alive and loved and has food in his belly he will be okay. It is very very tough!!! 
Roxy k said
Hi Kathy L,I have experience with Infiltrative Lipoma.
Welcome Roxy, thanks forthe feedback. Please consider registering to take full advantage of the benefits this community offers members.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi, I was surprised to actually see a post that someone else has had this. Harley was scheduled for an amputation the tuesday after Memorial Day but unfortunately when they did the chest xray, they found two masses and the surgery was canceled. Harley is now on metronomic chemo (chlorambucil) for past two weeks.
I am so very happy that your vet recommended amputation and you followed through. the tumor would have come back faster and larger with just debulking and you have removed the possibility of it spreading.
If only I could go back and change things.
Harley is an 8 year old Golden Retriever. Amp surgery for an infiltrative lipoma canceled due to two masses in chest. A rescue, he found his forever home on 3/18/07 and left for his eternal home on 1/09/13. His story and medical history are at http://myharley.....pawds.com/
Roxy L, thanks for taking time to share Indy's story. Making that decision to proceed with amputation is never easy nor is it always right for everypawdy, but once you go through it and share your experience with others, it can help another pawrent at some other time decide if it's right for their pack. I'm glad to hear Indy is doing great. Aren't Tripawds amazing?
Let us know if we can be of any help and consider starting a new topic in the Forums so we can learn all about your story. Thanks again for sharing. Best of luck during the recovery and aftward too.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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