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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Wow - thank you all! I am so glad to hear about all of your experiences.
Shari - Our dogs sound fairly comparable. My wife will be happy to read your story. I am leaning more and more towards the AMP... I know that some of my hesitation is the actual fact that I am the one who is taking away something from him. Thank you all again.
MM
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mafiamike said:
I know that some of my hesitation is the actual fact that I am the one who is taking away something from him. Thank you all again.
Hi, Mike (and welcome!) I could not agree more with the posts encouraging you to make the decision that is best for your family. But, if you decide to proceed with amputaiton, please do not feel that you are taking something away from him. Our dog, Zeus, is 11 years old and was already slowing down quite a bit before his diagnosis of OSA. We struggled with the decision of whether it is fair to subject a "mature" dog to this type of major surgery and recovery. He has surprised us in the most beautiful ways. I most certainly don't feel that I have taken anything away except the pain. He is happy and he gets around very well on the three legs (our uneven yard does tire him a bit, but he does not have trouble navigating it - he is just older).
Whatever your decision, I wish you the best of luck (with your pup and with the impending arrival of your two-leg child)!!
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/
Thanks..
I love hearing about the older dogs as it fits our situation. Anyone else with older dog and heavier dog? I've been walking him as much as I can (limited by my time as he could walk for 20 miles if I let him). just trying to get his weight down while we still can. Every pound counts.
MM
Hi Mike,
I can comment on amputation on a large lab and during pregnancy! My yellow lab, Winston had his right front paw amputated April 11 when I was 5 months pregnant. He is a big boy and weighed 95 lbs at the time. Winston had no problems adapting to being a tripawd, his leg had become so painful that he had actually stopped using it and constantly held it off the ground. We have a step down into our garden and he was fine with that. I put Winston on a strict diet and he lost quite a lot of weight, sadly he know has lung mets so have took him off his diet so he can enjoy the time he has left. I don't know what he weighs now but I suspect it is more than his previous 95 lbs! I was distraught when he was diagnosed and spent days on end crying, I was desperate for him to meet the baby and thankfully he did when my baby boy was born in August. Winston had never been around children until then, he was very vary at first and kept his distance, he has accepted our new addition now and the baby absolutely loves Winston. He laughs every time Winston walks past him!
Feel free to ask me any questions, good luck in whatever you decide
Rachel & Winston x
Winston started limping in Feb 11, diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his right front paw in March 11, amputation April 11. Six rounds of carboplatin. Diagnosed with HO and lung mets September 11.We sadly said goodbye on 24 May 12, sleep tight Winston dog xx
I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but can we see a pic of his face in his avatar? We all have pretty strong stomachs but the tumor is a bit creepy and we'd love to see face instead!
And yes, I am the avatar police...come to think of it! I like happy pics! 
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.
Lylee and I think a smiling Twixx avatar would great
http://lyleegir.....ipawds.com
Unfortunately I can not offer much advice on having a tripawd while pg I can and do know exactly how you feel with the financial aspect of it all. We have a 6 month old 40lb pup who got hit by a car and had to have his right front leg amputated and we were considering having to put him down simply because we could not afford it. The night it happened I took him in and other then the bandage on his foot you would not know he was injured so I turned to my husband and said there is no way I can out this dog down hes not even in any pain or anything and at this point we were only out $150 for the visit. We have 4 kids so money is an object for us and we were blessed to have found a vet that was willing to do the surgery for a down payment and we will have a payment plan set up for the rest so I am happy to say our pup had surgery friday morning and will be home on monday.
As for the age of your dog we do have an older dog who is going to be 12 in June and both me and my husband said it would have been a totally different story if it was her and not our pup. I know everybody says the older dogs do fine but if it were me I would look at the overall health of the dog is the leg the only thing wrong and also with the type of breed what is the life expectancy of the breed. I know for our pup since he was involved in an accident we asked the vet the same question because it is alot of money to pay if you go through with it only to lose them a few weeks later to some other problem. As a mom of 4 I feel as if both our dogs are my children as well and my self my final thought was what if it was in fact one of our children money would not stop me. Also wanted to let you know there are some links to many places that will help with the financial part of it on the Tripawds Facebook Page I found them very helpful and actually will be appling to some to try and get help. Good luck in your decision I know all to well it is not an easy one to be made
Just wanted to weigh in on the mature dog aspect of your dilemma. Jewels was 11 years old when diagnosed with osteosarcoma. We had the amputation done three months later. The vet oncologist and vet surgeon both agreed that she was a good candidate for amputation in spite of her age. She did not have any other problems that would be a major factor for her such as hip dysplasia, major arthritis, etc. She was over 80lbs before surgery. After about two weeks post amputation she was doing beautifully and adjusting really well on her three legs. Unfortunately, osteosarcoma is pretty aggressive and lung metastasis came and took her from us just 3.5 months after the amputation. I do NOT regret doing the amputation. At the time of the surgery she was in so much pain that the only other option would have been to euthanize. She was not ready to leave this life at that point, therefore I was not ready to let her go either. We just happened to come up with some extra cash just before the amputation and could afford to go ahead with the very expensive surgery. The amputation allowed us a little extra time with her which is priceless.
I am very sorry that you had to be in this situation, but know that this is an awesome place to get the support that you need to get you through this. Good luck and give Twixx lots of belly rubs for us!
Spirit Jewels' Mom Geraldine
Jewels was a gorgeous Lab-Shep mix that found us at the pet rescue when she was just 3 months old. Born June 2000; Diagnosed OSA on June 1, 2011; L-front Amputation September 12, 2011; Crossed Rainbow Bridge December 30, 2011. My "baby dog" will always be in my heart. Now she is running fast and free on all four legs after the rabbits and squirrels! Jewels was loved by her crazy-busy mom, even-keeled dad, pesky twin human brothers and monkeydog sister Aspen. Read about Jewels' Tripawd Journey here.
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