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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We were hit by a drunk driver 2 weeks ago and our precious 2 year old American Eskimo Mix was ejected from the car. Her tendons were cut in half and the initial surgery was to repair those, but this Monday we found out that the trauma also caused a loss of blood supply to her foot. She went into surgery again on Tuesday to have the dead skin removed and it ended up being worse than expected. The vet gave us two options: 1) Continue to try saving the leg through laser treatment that will require sedation every 3 days for 8-12 weeks or 2) Amputate. We were undecide until we brought her home. She will not eat, she is in a lot of pain even with the pain medicine, and she is depressed. We decided that putting her through this every 3 days without a guarantee that it will work was not fair to her. So our amputation is scheduled for Friday. I hope we are making the right decision. I look forward to reading through the forums to gain more insight and I am thankful that there is a community and resource that we can go to.
Oh my gosh I'm glad you all survived this awful accident, I'm so sorry that happened to you! Ugh, nothing makes me madder than drunk drivers who harm innocent people and pets! 
How are you yourself doing? Did you make it through OK?
Whew. OK, I'll breathe now . . .So as you can see here, dogs can have great lives as Tripawds. Sounds like you have a great vet who was willing to give you some options, that's really helpful at a time like this. Now, your little gal should also do just fine after surgery. Her size and age will really help her bounce back but you'll need to remember to be strong, and believe that she will be OK, and I'm gonna bet that she will. Recovery can have its ups and downs but in the end, you'll make it through and life will go on. Your gal will amaze you with her resilience, just wait!
What's her name? Got any pics?
We're glad you found us. Please let me know how we can make this easier for you. Oh, your future posts won't require moderation, thanks for registering!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you. My husband and I are recovering from relatively minor injuries (concussion, bruising, whip lash). I couldn't figure out how to post pics so I made Jersey's picture my avatar.
Jersey is a beautiful girl with a great name. I'm betting there is a story there.
First, I am joining Jerry in anger towards this person who has hurt you all. I am greatful that you and your husband are recovering.
I am sorry you had to find this site, but considering what you are facing, I am glad you found us.
We will send good energy your way, Friday. I'm sure she will adjust faster than you can even imagine.
Keep us posted. Feel free to ask as many questions here as you need to. I am constantly amazed by the generosity of this community. They, or I guess we now, will cheer you on, share our stories, and provide a safe place to vent frustrations. Where else does every little victory result in treats for every one?
Hugs from far away friends, you are in our heart this week.
Samdog and his mom.
Samdog was a 10 yr old Golden and retired SAR dog. We found a bone mass on 8/17/12, needle biopsy showed sarcoma 8/22/12, amputation on 8/23/12, post-amp biopsy confirmed osteosarcoma on 8/28/12. Sadly, we found lung mets on 11/27/12 and my Spirit Sam earned his wings on 12/2/12.
We didn't know where we were headed and we don't regret a single step along our path. It all happened too fast, but he left a legacy of love that we will always cherish. Good bye my heart.
You can find our story at http://samdog.t.....ipawds.com
Welcome, although I'm sorry you needed to find us. I'm glad you all made it through the accident.
Most all pups here do just fine as Tripawds, and her young age will work in her favor. Most of us experienced lots of ups and downs during recovery, so don't get discouraged if Jersey isn't herself at first.
There is lots of good information here, lots of experience to share, and lots of support to be found.
Keep us posted on how Jersey, and you guys, are doing.
Karen and the pugapalooza
Oh my gosh! Your story brought tears to my eyes! What a lovely pup and family. Jake and I have you in our thoughts and hearts. You will find strength in this wonderful group of people as I have. Best to your family!
Oh my goodness, how horrible. But I'm so glad things weren't worse.
As others have said, Jersey should do great as a Tripawd. Our 15 mo old pup did great - once we got past the rough recovery period.
Try to rest up before the surgery! When she comes home, you might not sleep much - not necessarily because she will need you in the night, but because (if you are like the rest of us worrier pawrents) you will be listening for her every little movement. Once you get sleep deprived, if you hit a rough patch in the recovery, everything seems worse. Sometimes folks think, 'What have I done?' at that stage - but be assured that it gets better!! Hopefully she'll breeze through her recovery - some lucky pups do - but if she seems depressed, that's normal.
She'll recover and adapt amazingly fast and you will be inspired and awed by her! It's a great thing to be a Tripawd pawrent, as you'll soon see.
Welcome to the club!
Jackie, Angel Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
Thank you all so much! In preparing for tomorrow, I do have one question. I spoke with the vet techs today to ask them if we get to bring her home tomorrow. They said probably not because her surgery will not begin until noon. I asked them if someone will be monitoring her overnight and they said that they do not have someone on staff overnight. I will speak with the vet before the surgery to understand what our options are, but I do not feel comfortable leaving her unsupervised on her first night out of surgery. My husband and I have cleared our calendar for the next 4 days and we have an emergency 24 hour vet specialist 1 mile away from our home. Is there any benefit to keeping her at our vet overnight? Will I have trouble convincing them to let me take her home?
Oh wow. I'm so sorry to hear this. I'm glad you found this site though. Everyone here is amazing and you'll find a lot of help.
I believe you're making the right decision; doing something that may not work, all the while potentially causing pain, is, most of the time, not worth putting your poor dog through. I found that out the hard way. I regret every day that I put Jack through the surgery to attempt to fix his leg, especially when I see how completely happy and pain-free he is as a Tripawd.
Good luck with the surgery! Let us know how it goes!
Jack - adopted with a crooked leg at 4 months old, managed for six years, and now much-happier Tripawd as of 5/24/2012!
Samdog actually stayed in the hospital two nights... mostly to focus on getting him up and around during the day and an extra day of anethesia directly at the surgery site. We didn't visit because we didn't want to get him all excited and then have to leave him.
I know that some pups here were picked up by their people and taken to an overnight care facility. It might be worth talking with your emergency vet that is near by to see if they would care for her overnight. You could pick her up and take her to the overnight place. That way they can put her back on the pain meds and make sure she is comfortable through the first night. I know that Sam needed that extra bit of help to get up and move the first time, but many dogs are mobile much faster. Sam was also 86 lbs and I knew I couldn't carry him if he couldn't get himself outside, so I was grateful for the extra help.
Either way, you should be able to take your girl somewhere with overnight care either home or another facility. I know I would be worried if he were alone that first night, but I am always worried. 
Good luck and good health tomorrow, you are in our thoughts and prayers.
-Samdog's mom
Samdog was a 10 yr old Golden and retired SAR dog. We found a bone mass on 8/17/12, needle biopsy showed sarcoma 8/22/12, amputation on 8/23/12, post-amp biopsy confirmed osteosarcoma on 8/28/12. Sadly, we found lung mets on 11/27/12 and my Spirit Sam earned his wings on 12/2/12.
We didn't know where we were headed and we don't regret a single step along our path. It all happened too fast, but he left a legacy of love that we will always cherish. Good bye my heart.
You can find our story at http://samdog.t.....ipawds.com
I am a vet tech, and it is pretty standard for pets to stay overnight even when there is not 24 hour care. It is always the best for them to have 24 hour supervision by trained veterinary staff, so if you have the option of transferring your dog to an overnight facility after surgery, you should at least do it for the first night. Most of the time, the reason a pet stays overnight is so we know that the patient will stay safely crated and also so the patient will be there in the morning to get an exam, medications (often they need injectable drugs for at least the first day), and bandage changes. Sometimes, the patient will also be kept on IV fluids throughout the night. Unfortunately, often people who promise to keep their dog crated simply do not, and then you wind up with a bad situation (example: a small dog jumps out of bed right after a major surgery and does severe damage to its incision, all because the dog was sad and the owners thought it should sleep in bed with them to make it happy) Please do not take this as insensitive, we know that the person would never have done something to intentionally hurt their pet, but too often, people do not see the accidents that could happen until it is too late. If you can explain to you vet that you will pick your dog up at closing and bring them back at opening, and follow ALL care instructions, I wouldn't see the problem of you taking her home for the night. I cannot speak for all vets, but many of them will make exceptions to the overnight rule for people who are responsible, understand the risks, and have a plan for care in place. You seem to meet all of these qualifications. Hope you get this in time to help!
Thanks for the advise. Just dropped her off an hour ago. The vet knows that we are responsible and will take measures to make sure she is safe tonight so he really wants to see that she goes home tonight. However, if she needs an IV or something of that nature, he is going to help us transfer her to the emergency clinic. I will keep you all posted on how it goes. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. You have no idea what your comments and support has done for us!
I'm so glad you all survived the accident. Geez, something like that really turns your life upside down, I'm so sorry. Jersey is adorable, by the way!
We will be keeping our paws crossed that surgery and recovery goes smoothly, please keep us posted!
I wanted to add that I feel your instinct is right; leaving a dog unattended overnight is a scary situation for both dog and human alike. We realize that not everyone is fortunate enough to work with or live near a vet with 24-hour care, and I can see how there is a risk of an accident happening if someone takes their dog home after surgery and doesn't follow doctors orders, so Bertram's people are right. We always encourage people to ask for their animal to go to a 24-hour clinic if their vet can't provide that level of care, so you are very smart to ask about it.
With much respect to folks like Bertram's who work in a vet clinic without overnight care, we do want to mention that we, along with progressive well-known veterinarians like Dr. Nancy Kay, believe that it's far better for a dog to be monitored overnight after major surgery like amputation, even if its their humans doing the monitoring. Other surgeries probably aren't so critical but this is big stuff. Humans would never be left alone all night after major surgery like this; neither should our animals. Far too often something tragic happens during those several hours when a dog is left alone after amputation; we've seen it happen and it breaks our heart. So yes, please make sure your dog has some kind of overnight care even if that means you taking her home OK? If you do, please get strict instructions on how to care for her and follow them to the letter.
Good luck today! Let us know how things go.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We took Abby from the vet and moved her to overnight care. We could have taken her home, but we were worried about it and wanted her to be able to stay on an IV. Some here have taken their pups home that first night and done okay. It sounds like you have a good plan in place.
Keep us posted ad let us know how the surgery goes!
Jackie, angel Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
The vet said that her surgery went well, but she is not handling the pain well. We just transferred her to an overnight facility and they are going to do a continous morphine drip. They are hoping she can come home tomorrow, but she is in pretty rough shape so they said it may be Sunday or Monday. She was shaking uncontrollably and yelping non stop. They told me it is normal, but I am scared. Did anyone else experience this?
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