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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Another late 2 cents... First, best wishes and warmest thoughts to Beamer and her family. I'm still finding my way around Tripawds 8 days after my Roxie's amputation, which happened 1 day after diagnosis - YIKES - and am very grateful to have found such a community. Roxie is an 11 1/2 year old Samoyed in otherwise (we thought) excellent health. The oncologist had no hesitation or doubt that amputation and chemo (once the biopsy results are in but it's likely osteosarcoma) is the best course for her. During a long and detailed discussion of options and realities and %ages, I asked how to factor her age into the decision (I'm a tax accountant so I was trying to run numbers-sheesh!). The doc said she is much more comfortable telling the pawrents of an 11+ year-old dog that they can give her another year than telling the pawrents of a 3-year old dog that a year is the best they can hope for. Different perspective, but it made a lot of sense to me. And hearing that the limp she's had for the last 3 months was not because her back leg wasn't functioning properly but because she had pain in every step she took was sobering to my husband and me. I'm the one who stays with our furries until the end, and she told me pretty clearly that she's not going anywhere yet. We don't know what's next on this journey, but it's helped me a lot to know that the terrible bone pain is gone. She's adjusted amazingly well; we're lucky that she doesn't really have any arthritis or any other complications at this point. I hope your Beamer does as well, and I'll keep you all in my prayers (can't hurt, might help).
I am so glad you have decided on a plan. Not knowing what to do can be so debilitating.
Beamer is a gorgeous girl. She will be so happy once she is free of that painful leg.
Karen and Spirit Magnum
Magnum: 30th May 2002 to 5th May 2012. Lost her back left leg to osteosarcoma on 5th Sep 2011. Lung mets found on 20th Mar 2012 but it was bone mets in the hip that ended her brave battle. Magnum's motto - "Dream as if you'll live for ever, live as if you'll die today" (James Dean). Loyal, loving, courageous and spirited to the end. My beloved heart dog, see her memoirs from Rainbow Bridge ...... http://princess.....pawds.com/
Wow! So glad to see that you decided Beamer's lack of lust for life might be at least partially due to the cancer... Best wishes for her speedy recovery and a new lease on life. 
Online
Glad you and Beamer have each other on this journey and glad to hear your wife is on board. The more support Beamer has the better! I'm aure he will love all the extra care and attention he'll be getting. Once he's on the road to recovery he will feel so much betterwithout that piercing bone eating away at the very essence of who he is.
Everyone here is cheeri g for you and walki g with you on this journey.
Sally and Happy Hannah
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Thanks for the replies, everyone.
Beamer had her surgery Friday afternoon, and the hospital called on Saturday (yesterday) morning to let us know that she was doing great (moving around a lot better than most younger dogs at that stage!) and was ready to come home. So I trekked out and picked her up, and I swear, she tried to jump (nearly successfully!) into the back of the car ('07 Tahoe)... Luckily I grabbed her immediately and kept her from hurting herself, but I was beside myself with disbelief that she was so foolhardy. But then again, that's my Beamer.
So we got home, and figured out a routine with going outside (our main living quarters are on the second floor of the house, so it's a little tricky, but doable), and we're well on our way to recovery. When she's laying down, you almost wouldn't know that she's even missing anything (her t-shirt covers up her gnarly scar and shaved patch)-- that's how naturally she's taking to her new body shape.
So yeah, doing well. Here's a quick pic taken yesterday afternoon, about 6 hours after I picked her up.
Thanks again, everyone!
Regards,
Jon Heese
She looks GREAT! So alert, so pleased, so in love with you! Great update. Thanks. Keep 'em coming! We can't wait to hear how her recovery progresses.
YEY!!!
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
So glad the surgery went well. I agree, she looks fantastic and clearly adores you.
Please let us know how she goes and if you have any queries you know where we are.
Karen and Spirit Magnum
Magnum: 30th May 2002 to 5th May 2012. Lost her back left leg to osteosarcoma on 5th Sep 2011. Lung mets found on 20th Mar 2012 but it was bone mets in the hip that ended her brave battle. Magnum's motto - "Dream as if you'll live for ever, live as if you'll die today" (James Dean). Loyal, loving, courageous and spirited to the end. My beloved heart dog, see her memoirs from Rainbow Bridge ...... http://princess.....pawds.com/
Beamer looks wonderful! Libby sported a t-shirt for the first week too. My husband said it looked like Libby had her hand in a pocket.
What a beauty she is. I too look forward to your updates.
Liberty (Libby) was diagnosed with OSA on 1-22-13. Right front amputation on 1-31-13. No IV Chemo. Metronomic Therapy started 2-19-13 along with supplements and some home cooking. Lungs clear until 1-06-14. She's still her happy, hoppy, bossy self. Living the dog life to the fullest and a proud Winter Warrior. :) RIP my Libby 4-21-03 to 3-19-14
I know you are feeling a sigh of relief having Beamer home and on the road to recovery. Such an adorable dog. You may have ups and downs, ebb and flow, but he is with you feeling your love and your attentive care giving and that makes Beamer a happy boy. We are all pulling for you and holding you in our thoughts. Don't hesitate to come to this site for any concerns. Pretty such there isn't anything here someone hasn't experienced.
Update when you can, Sally and Happy Hannah
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Beamer you look terrific! How are you doing today? I hope you haven't tried to do any crazy stunts lately!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
What a journey you have been going through!!! I am so happy to hear that you decided to go with the surgery, especially after seeing the first photo you posted of Beamer...he really looked like he was ready for his new journey and your second photo just proves it 
We look forward to hear more about his progress and seeing more photo's and hopefully some videos!
Cheers!
Roxy…Border Collie cross born on approximately October 27th, 2011;
Rescued in January 2012 by Oops a Dazy Rescue & Sanctuary;
Right hind leg amputated on January 20th, 2012 due to a severe spiral fracture;
Adopted on February 21st, 2012 by Teena, a devoted human & Charlee, a purebred BC.
Hugs, tail wags & sloppy kisses
Well, *she* is doing fine for the most part, and thanks to everyone for asking.
Speaking of crazy stunts, I left Beamer downstairs this morning (she was outside) for a moment to get some treats from the kitchen upstairs (our house is laid out in an unusual way, don't ask), and I forgot to put up the gate at the bottom of the stairs. Well, a minute or so later, I heard her coming in through the back door, and then I heard thud-duh-thump, thud-duh-thump (her three-legged hoof beat ) coming towards the bottom of the stairs!
"Beamer, don't you dare climb those stairs!"... as I'm running for the stairs, I lean over the banister and make sure she hasn't tried yet. I can just see it in her face: "What? I can do it, you know..." Luckily she stopped short of the first step. Whew!
The fact is, I have all the confidence in the world that she can climb the stairs at this point without a problem, but we're following doctor's orders 100% to make sure there are no avoidable issues here, and that means no stairs until Saturday (1 week after surgery).
New question: Beamer seems to have very little to no pain during the day, but at night, she's having some bad issues... Monday night (night 4 after surgery), she woke up a few times (10:30pm, midnight, and 1:45am) whining like she was in discomfort or even slight pain. I got up and comforted her, checked to make sure nothing was obviously physically wrong, but found nothing. After 10-20 seconds, she seemed to be okay, stopped whining, and went back and laid down on her bed. Each time, the same story-- whining, uncomfortable, I comforted, she quieted down, eventually went back to bed.
Tuesday night (night 5), same story, but 20 times worse... She woke up around 11pm whining for a few seconds, and then it escalated into howling or screaming, like she was in intense pain (VERY alarming). I searched frantically for something wrong, but saw nothing, so I just tried to comfort her, and after 10-15 seconds, she calmed down and everything was okay again. After a minute or two, she would thump-thump-thump back to bed. Around 1am, same story-- very loud yelping/screaming like she was terrified or in great pain, then 10-15 seconds later, she calmed down.
I called the oncology vet that has been on Beamer's case at CSU (Dr. Deanna Worley) yesterday to ask her about this behavior, but she said nothing stood out as a possible cause and that this was a very frustrating symptom to hear about (I got the feeling that this was not something she'd ever heard of before). I mentioned phantom limb pain, but she basically shrugged that off as an undiagnosable, and possibly non-existent condition. She suggested a warm compress before bed (which I had already been doing) and upping her Tramadol from 1.5 pills to 2 pills before bedtime.
I followed her instructions last night (night 6), and there was no more screaming, but we were back to the whining, this time at four different occasions over the night. My wife had read that sometimes stimulating the remaining "stump" can help with phantom limb pain as the brain tries to remap the nerves that used to exist in the missing limb, so when she started whining, I jumped out of bed and gently but firmly put my palm against her incision area, in hopes that it would help stop the pain. It seemed to work (although I don't know how much of a difference it actually made) because the whining didn't escalate to screaming like the night before.
So, finally my question: Does anyone else have experience with these night screaming episodes after recent surgery? If so, any suggestions on what might help us? My wife and I are finding that our sleep is not as restful the last few nights because we're worried about her waking up, and our REM cycles are undoubtedly being interrupted by these episodes. But above all of that, of course I'm worried that she's in great pain when this (whatever it is) happens, so I'd really like for it to stop.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or ideas.
Regards,
Jon Heese
Yey, Beamer! You good girl, waiting for daddy to get you from the stairs! I remember holding Jackson back, but eventually he went past us and did the stairs solo (like day 4 post-op). He was VERY slow and very cautious - a good boy. When he made it to the top and bottom, he was beaming! He was so proud of himself and so happy he could do it! Same emotions expressed when he did the couch for the first time. I look forward to her big day on Sat when she's allowed to master the staircase. Go Beamer, go!
I think most folks here will absolutely attest that phantom limb pain is real and real for dogs. Luckily, Jackson never expressed such symptoms. However, he'd bump his stump and that'd clearly hurt (duh!). He's a momma's boy, so he'd drop whatever he was doing and come right over for some comfort. We both found that Jackson's "pain" was immediately eased when I cupped his stump and gently stroked it or put pressure on it. What your wife describes is what I've proffered, too: nerves in their stump, when bumped (in Jackson's case), fire all over the place and it's a darn weird sensation for them. By putting my hand on his stump, it gave his nerves something concrete to fixate on. So I think when Beamer screams out, absolutely go to her stump, hold it, rub it, and/or compress it (warmth or cooling, whichever she prefers, now that she's nearly a week out). Good thinkin' Lincoln! More tramadol may help, as it may help knock her out to sleep better. But as time goes on, too much tramadol can cause whining and other weird behaviors. It sounds like you're on the ball and aware of all the issues. What a loving family!
Post more pics of your pretty lady!
~ Katy
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
jonheese said
Each time, the same story-- whining, uncomfortable, I comforted, she quieted down...
Notice a pattern? 
It is our experience that many dogs play the sympathy card very well. Some will literally whine just for the attention and comfort. Dr. Kramer from CARE suggests we focus on healing the body and if we want life to be normal again, we must act as though life is normal. She recommends "tough love" for a speedy recovery, by not rewarding needy behavior.
Of course, we are not vets, so please consult yours with any concerns about pain. Thank you for the detailed updates! Please keep 'em coming.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
jonheese said
Each time, the same story-- whining, uncomfortable, I comforted, she quieted down...
Notice a pattern?
It is our experience that many dogs play the sympathy card very well. Some will literally whine just for the attention and comfort. Dr. Kramer from CARE suggests we focus on healing the body and if we want life to be normal again, we must act as though life is normal. She recommends "tough love" for a speedy recovery, by not rewarding needy behavior.
Of course, we are not vets, so please consult yours with any concerns about pain. Thank you for the detailed updates! Please keep 'em coming.
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