Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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We discovered a lump under our greyhound Dylan's armpit a few weeks ago. Being under a scar and only having had Dylan 5 months, we at first thought it was scar tissue. When we realised it was growing we took him to our vet who requested a biopsy the following day. The results came back as the vet suspected, it was a soft tissue sarcoma, but thankfully x-rays revealed it had not spread to his lungs.
The position of the lump means removal will not be straightforward and our vet got the opinion of an oncologist. We take him to see them tomorrow for a consultation where we will hopefully learn more, but from discussions with my vet they have suggested he will have a full limb amputation and 4 to 5 ribs removed. He is only 2 years old, which is an advantage for him in some respects, but also seems terribly unfair. We are dreading tomorrow, we have been told to starve him tonight and be prepared to leave him with them tomorrow for treatment. At the moment I think the lump is a little sore but it doesn't really bother him, he is his usual funny, happy self. He is not going to know what hit him 
We have had him such a short time but feels like forever...
Oh my gosh we are so sorry! Cancer sucks but it's especially sucky when it happens to a young kid like Dylan. Welcome.
You are being super proactive though, and it sounds like he has a great medical team on his side. I know all this hits you like a ton of bricks, but things will get better. And in the meantime that's what we're here for. You'll find tons of support and insight from others who have been through amputation and cancer treatment.
Have you checked out our Required Reading List or our eBook, "Three Legs & a Spare" yet? They can help put your mind at ease and prepare you for what to expect.
Is he a retired racing dog? How did he come into your life?
Good luck tomorrow, we'll be thinking of you. Please keep us posted on what happens tomorrow OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Dylan's family! Glad you found this site - it contains a wealth of information that will be extremely helpful to you in the coming weeks. The members here are so supportive and have been incredibly helpful to us during this mess. Is Dylan actually having the amputation tomorrow? If so, rest up as much as possible before you bring him home. You likely will have a few sleepless nights (even if he does well, paranoia will make you wake up at every sound!)
Good luck to you!
Lisa and Zeus
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/
Welcome Dylan and family. We know how you feel. We'd only had Abby 11 months and she was only 15 months old when we found out she had bone cancer. But younger dogs tend to bounce back quickly. He will most likely do really well on 3 legs. I can't really speak to the addition of having the ribs removed as we didn't have that issue. Hopefully that doesn't complicate things and will just be similar to the amp recovery.
I'm sorry you had to find us, but you won't be sorry you did. Be sure to let us know what happens at the appointment. Lots of supportive folks here who can help you get through the rough recovery period.
Your boy is so handsome! Please keep us posted,
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!
Welcome Dylan and pack,
Sorry you had to find us here. I can relate to the little or no pain part- my pug Maggie had a mast cell tumor in her knee. When I found the tumor she was not showing any signs of pain like the pups with bone cancer do. And she would have let me know, she was quite a drama queen!! So when the vet diagnosed it I think the bigger shock was the word 'amputation' not that it was another cancer tumor. How could that be the only option, she's not even limping!!
Being so young I bet Dylan will bounce back pretty quick, that seems to be the trend around here. Maggie was 7.5 at the time of her amp and quite obstinate, so she took her time getting used to the new normal.
Good luck tomorrow if it turns out to be surgery day. Let us know how he is doing.
Karen and the pugapalooza
so sorry to read about dylan. we too, had a soft tissue sarcoma, although it was farther down at the wrist. paws crossed that the surgery is successful and dylan has many, many great times ahead. this is so very scary we know, but you have found a great family of support here. gather all of the information you can, knowledge is your best ally. sending our best!!
charon & spirit gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
So sorry to hear about Dylan! His has wonderful family and sounds like you have great medical team.
You are in our thoughts and send positive energy and huggs.
Let us know know how everything goes.
Joanne& Lylee
http://lyleegir.....ipawds.com
Thank you everyone for your kind words of support. Dylan was from small racing kennels, but never raced as he was attacked as a pup by littermates which set him back a bit, and his owner thought he was a little small for racing and wouldn't appreciate being bumped around on the track, so she hung on to him and decided to find him a home instead. We keep in touch and she too, is very upset. It's just gone 6am here, we set off in about an hour... I have already been reading quite a lot about amputation, as it was mentioned at the outset when the biopsy was done so wanted to prepare for the worst.
Once we know what we are up against I will be able to prepare better - for example I want to get the ruff wear webmaster harness but as yet do not know if can wear it straight after surgery if he has ribs removed etc. I will definitely get one but gotta watch unecessary spends at the moment so if he can't wear it for a few weeks anyway it can wait til payday.
Jerry thanks for the links, I will give them a read this evening
I guess he may well have the surgery today, and if so I have no idea when I can bring him home. I have arranged time off work as necessary though so I'll be able to look after him. At the moment I just worry it has advancced in the last week or two and so the outcome may be different. Trying to think positive though..
Dylan is just having a snooze in his armchair, we will stop off for him to have a quick walk round a local pond on the way. Unfortunately the vet is 2 hours away, and Dylan gets car sick without ginger biscuits beforehand - and he's nil by mouth.
I will update you when we get back, thanks again.
We are back with Dylan, it is not good news, he had a CT scan and nodules were seen on his lungs and so we are not going ahead with the surgery. Depending on whether it is haemangiosarcoma or not, we are hoping to have the lump removed to make him more comfortable so he enjoy walks, but our main priority is making what time he has left with us as good as it can be, and he will be having weekly checks with the vet. When decided to getDylan when we did, partly to help us through the inevitable time of losing our other two dogs, one of which is in heart failure and the other which went into heart failure the same week we got Dylan's biopsy results (both those two our now stable on medication). I think the only thing worse than losing a friend is waiting to lose them. That said I don't regret getting Dylan for one second, I couldn't have hoped for a better dog to share our life with, even if only a little bit of it.
Thanks for everyone's support, and I am absolutely gutted I am not joining the tripawd club.
I'm so sorry- its really hard when you were hoping there was something you could do…
I can relate here on some level- although Tripug Maggie beat her first cancer- she developed a second cancer. Because of other health issues I could not aggressively treat that cancer- it is hard to come to grips with the fact that you can't really do anything. But we had a very special, though intense three months after the diagnosis.
I hope you will consider staying here, Dylan can be an honorary tripawd. Cancer sucks and the journey is hard, there is lots of experience and lots of strong shoulders here if you want the support.
Karen and the pugapalooza
Oh, I am so sorry about Dylan... That's very sad. We'll be here for the support if you need it...
Micki and Rio
 |
~ ~ Rio ~ ~ |
I'm so sorry to hear the news about Dylan. He can definitely be an honorary tripawd. Lots of supportive folks here who can help while you are going through this.
I know what it's like to lose a young pup, having just lost Abby before she even hit 2 1/2. Our time together was short but incredibly special. You can make this time special with Dylan too. It is hard to not think about The Future, but try to enjoy every day you have with him. He doesn't know he is getting the short end of the stick. He's just happy to have a loving family.
Please give him a kiss on his beautiful nose from me.
Hang in there. We are here for you if you need us!
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!
Oh. I am just so very sorry about Dylan.
You did join the Tripawds...in spirit. And Dylan will forever be one with us.
I'm so sorry that you weren't gifted with time. But there is still time to make memories with Dylan. Memories don't need lots of time to make.
Please feel free to join us anytime here. We are glad to be here for you and Dylan.
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
we're sorry to read this news. of course, dylan doesn't know about cancer, or such, he just knows you have taken him in and loved him with all your heart. we hope you can make lasting memories and give many, many belly rubs and get a zillion puppy kisses in the time to come. you guys will always be part of the tripawd family, please let us know what we can do to help with questions..or if you just need a place to blow off steam.
charon & spirit gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
I only just started reading this forum and am sad to hear how the events have transpired. Enjoy each day you have with your Dylan and we know that he will be spoiled with love until the time comes. Hugs and sloppy, wet dog kisses to you both.
-Nicole and Chloe
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
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