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Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

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Member Since:
6 August 2016
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10 August 2016 - 8:46 pm
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So happy.  He is doing great.  Fingers crossed this "normal" continues!

Virginia



Member Since:
22 February 2013
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10 August 2016 - 9:29 pm
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Such a great update. It's really good that he's resting well and eating and drinking. The hospital meds will be out of his system around day 3, so there may be a slight crash...or not!

I love his avatar picture! Can't wait to see .more pictures!

Looking forward to more good updates!

Hugs!

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

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!


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11 August 2016 - 1:27 pm
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Hi thereheart

Just joining in and so happy your boy is doing well!

Recovery is no picnic but you seem to be keeping everything under control so before you know it your baby will be his old self.

Sending you a big hug and cuddles to your furry babyheart

Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-) 

Member Since:
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11 August 2016 - 5:34 pm
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Thank you all for your kind words and support.  

So, we are day three since surgery (it seems so much longer....).  Ted is up, walking (hopping), can go unassisted up the two stairs from the family room to the kitchen and also up to the porch to get into the house after going outside (i don't let him go down on his own).  He has become my shadow again - good but also a bit precarious.  He can actually poop without assistance poopicon_png.. 🙂  He ate a big bowl of food tonight and last night he came upstairs and slept in the bedroom like he normally did before.  He is a happy camper.  I am a happy mom.  fingers crossed this continues...  


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11 August 2016 - 5:41 pm
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Lovely to hear how he is progressingclap

But I would add a little word of caution.

It is only day 3 and it seems to me he is doing a bit too much.

He still has all the meds in his system so is full of beans but it is easy to overdue it without noticing.

Keep a good eye on him and try and make him rest, he can hop as much as he wants in a not too distant future.

Bug hug and tummy rubs to your gorgeous boyheart

Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-) 

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11 August 2016 - 6:08 pm
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Eurydice,  thank you for your post.  You are probably wise to say that.  I do have his meds going on a regular basis and he is/has been tired after his little jaunts outside.  I will watch him and heed your advice.  Thanks so much.

w

Virginia



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22 February 2013
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11 August 2016 - 10:16 pm
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Ted is a happy camper and that makes us all so deliriously happy too!

Yep, ditto the "take it easy" part! Lots of rest. Sounds like you have the pain meds balanced, so that's really good!

Try and get some sleep! Not inly is the recovery exhausting for Ted, it's exhausting for you too!

Hugs!

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too

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!

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12 August 2016 - 12:06 pm
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Thank you....  I am really making sure he doesn't over do it - and so far so good.  Last night he insisted on coming up the stairs to the bedroom to sleep with us so I helped him.  That's a done deal now - and that's okay, it makes him happy and he sleeps really well in our room.  

Now for the interesting part of my day.  My vet is great and she's told me to shoot pictures to her and she will call me if she has concerns, etc.  I shot her pics of Ted's incision this morning just to make sure I'm not crazy and all looks well.  She called and agreed that all looks well.  She also told me the pathology on his lymph node came back - completely negative of any metastazation (sp?).  Holy cow.  I'm thrilled but cautious about what that means?  She said we should continue with the periodic chest X-rays and watch his breathing, etc. but she was completely shocked too.  Wow. Today is a really good day.big-grin

On The Road


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12 August 2016 - 3:49 pm
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Thanks for the great update!

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Michigan
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2 April 2013
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12 August 2016 - 5:12 pm
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Yeah for Ted! clapclap

Donna

Donna, Glenn & Murphy 

Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17  
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs

Donna.png

Member Since:
15 July 2016
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12 August 2016 - 9:03 pm
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Great news for Ted!  Love those clean lymph nodes!

Milo snuck upstairs for the first time on Day 4.  He started going up the 2 steps outside on Day 3 or 4, and gave up on the ramp and started doing the 2 down steps on Day 5 or 6.  They are who they are.  That said, we still don't trust him on the downstairs in the house.  He was klutzy when he had 4 legs!

We did not hit the 3-5 day wall that many hit, but we did hit a Day 9 wall.  That's when the fentanyl patch came off and he changed his meds.  We did get into a nasty spiral where his body was sore from using new/different muscles.  Meds changed so he hurt.  He didn't want to move, so he tightened up.  So he hurt more.  Even as we were trying to find the right meds, he was struggling due to tightness.  It was a tough 3 days or so.  The break through was actually a long day at the hospital that required an incredible amount of walking, including fast walking. It got him stretched out and he's been fine since.

We're Day 15 and things are still good.  He had a mini-walk in the neighborhood last night.  He played his favorite hunting game tonight (only 2 rounds instead of the usual 5+.)  The heat index of 111 today in Mass has us all wiped, though.

If Ted wants to move, go for it.  It seems that was the breakthrough for Milo.  Just sharing our wall story in case you have the same.  Hopefully, you don't.

Peace,

-Jenifer & Milo 

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6 August 2016
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12 August 2016 - 9:16 pm
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Thank you for your post!  I'm pretty happy about the pathology report and am being cautiously optimistic.  Because of what I read on this site prior to his surgery, I declined the Fentanyl patch for Ted.  He had morphine prior to and I think during the surgery and our vet sent us home with a morphine syringe the first night (same day of surgery) along with Tramadol and Gabapentin.  He has done very well with the meds and I've been home with him all week so I've been able to get a really good rhythm going on the medley of drugs.  

I have been letting him decide what he wants to do and he's been pretty good at taking breaks.  He had surgery on Monday afternoon and didn't really sit up and start trying to get moving until Wednesday.  After he did that he really started moving.  He's doing two stairs up on his own (I won't allow him to do any down stairs on his own yet) we are taking him out in the yard and his his hopping around on his own and doesn't need help peeing or pooping and he wants to be with me (like he always normally has) wherever I am.  I have helped him upstairs into our bedroom where he normally sleeps for the past two nights - and he wants to do that.  I have been prepared to sleep on the couch to stay with him but he had other ideas!  I'm anticipating a wall, and if it happens we will deal with it.  For now, I think he's been doing a pretty good job of letting us know his limits.

I hope Milo continues to improve - he is adorable.

w

Virginia



Member Since:
22 February 2013
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12 August 2016 - 9:44 pm
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Just loving hearing how well ADORABLE Ted is doing! And I love how his name justs fits him to a tee! 🙂

There is a healing value (in my opinion), to letting a dog get back to sleeping with his humans in bed just like he did before surgery.way-cool

YAY for no lymph node involvement! That's good! And not every dog experiences any kind of "crash". I think Ted my be o e of those who avoids thatclap

Extra smooch for Ted!

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

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!

Member Since:
14 February 2016
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13 August 2016 - 3:38 am
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Great news for both Milo and Ted!  Wonderful that they are both doing so well!

Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016.  Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016.  Lung mets August 25, 2016.  Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016.   Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.  

Wherever they are, they are together.


Member Since:
21 May 2016
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13 August 2016 - 8:57 am
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Ted is such a lucky boy, he gets to sleep with you as before clap

He is doing really well, I am thrilled !!!

Sending you a big hug and cuddles to your cutie boyheart

Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-) 

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