Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I have a little 7 month pitbull that I rescued at the beginning of May from a bad situation. Hugo had a little deformed left front leg that was curled up like a hotwing (we called him Hugo Hotwing). We had planned on an amputation, but before we could schedule it, he was running around and broke his little hotwing. We decided to amputate the next day (last Wednesday) since he was already cruising on three legs and the vet didn't think it would be a hardship for him. He was a rock star coming out of surgery and I had to leash him to keep him from overdoing it at 100mph, and then on Sunday he started walking funny on his back left leg and sticking it out to the side a bit. The next day he started walking very crooked and veering to the right constantly and his hips shifted so that the right hip is now a few obvious inches below the other. He's become very unsteady on his feet and has fallen down a few times (this has never happened before to him...). He no longer wants to play or engage with our other dog, who he couldn't keep away from before. He still has a great appetite for food and water, but just goes out the door 5 ft, does his business, and wobbles back inside to lay down and be depressed. He was on Tramadol, Rimadyl and Cephalexin and the vet told me to discontinue all three on Tuesday evening in case it was a drug thing. He did not improve and he is now at the vet for tests. Xrays have showed no abnormalities with his spine, he is still wobbling about and now has a 103.5 fever. Any ideas on what may have happened? The vet is stumped for now and is doing blood tests and keeping him for observation. I'm very scared because I love my little man! Hs this come up with anyone else's dogs? Will he get back to his normal wacky self?
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Oh Hugo, we are so sorry! We hope this can be figured out asap. Your pawrents are saints for adopting you, by the way.
My original thought was that it could be a neurological thing and I was going to recommend you see a neurologist ASAP but with the fever now I'm not sure. Maybe it's a combo neurological issue and infection from the surgery? I don't know, unfortunately I'm not a vet and we've never had anyone here have that kind of reaction so soon after surgery.
So, my biggest recommendation is to get a second opinion STAT. Is your vet at another clinic where they can consult with other vets? If not, are they sending your case out for consulting with others? That is what I would expect at this point, and if they're not consulting with others, go elsewhere quickly.
I'm so sorry, I wish I had something else to offer to make this better. The good news is that you are young and your size is to your advantage, which is a HUGE help when living life on three legs.
Please keep us posted OK? We want you all better soon so we can hear more about you. xoxo
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We met someone in the waiting area of the vet hospital whose dog had a stroke after surgery. The symptoms he described sounded like what you are describing. That might be something to inquire about with your vet.
Thanks for the good thoughts! Blood work just came back and everything is in the normal range; kidney & liver, white & red cell count, phosphorous, blood sugar, etc. Neuro tests are also normal--Hugo tracks with his eyes, has responses with remailing limbs, etc. They did take xrays of his spine and hips and am waiting for the radiologist's report this afternoon. We've only had him for two months, but he is so far in our hearts it's not even funny. Our other dog Chica, who has lived by herself for 9 yrs because she hated all other dogs is depressed now too! (she is the one who saw him and loved him to start with). Maybe he fell down when we weren't looking and injured his spine? Just has interest in food, but pretty much nothing else. Hope we hear more soon!
hope you find the answer soon and he is back to normal
Dizzy diagnosed with osteosarcoma 24 may 2011 amputated same day doing fine hopping around on three legs giving the neighbourhood cats what for
OH DEAR.
I'm so sorry. I just hate reading this.
I, too save a deformed leg dog as a puppy. We didn't do amputation because she got pneumonia and it took a long while to heal. SO I know too well how they creep into your heart in a short while!
I'm not a vet nor do I even know much - but I'm going to throw this out there since the symptoms *may* be similar. Has the vet thought of discospondylitis? It's infection of the vertebrae disc.
Please let us know what happens. Deformed 3 legged dogs are a super soft spot for me.
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.
Also -
Did the vet recommend keeping him off of the meds after seeing that wasn't the problem? He is obvious discomfort and needs something.
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.
Bo is a bit older than Hugo, so his recovery may be different, but he was fine for the first 5 days after surgery. Then, he became depressed, had a low appetite and was very uncomfortable walking...very shaky. He weened him off of the Gabapentin (nerve meds) and the Vetprofen. He is down to 3 Tramedol a day and feeling much better. It may be hard on your pup to go from taking lots of meds to none at all...may want to ween off slowly.
You are all so nice! Like a family I will never meet!
Well I just heard back from my vet. All tests for stroke and other neuro disorders have come back negative. His xrays all came back normal--they only found a very small narrowing between T11/12, but nothing too exciting. They did check for diskospondylitis (thanks for the heads up Comet dog!) and also for mega-esophagus and other things I could not pronounce. He is able to walk on his hind legs when he's excited and jump on people (he loves the ladies at the vet!), so the vet thinks that at this point there just may be more compensation for the lopped off hotwing than he thought would happen. He wants to keep him for two more nights and days so that he is in a very controlled environment, but has done all the tests so far that he and the other vets he's consulted with can think of. Wants to wait two more weeks and call it the end of his amputation recovery. Hopefully he is better after that and if not, he says 'specialist-hunting we will go!'
Thanks for the update!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Well, I'm hopeful since he is still eating!!!
You know, Comet's hips were crooked from compensating for her leg. They looked crooked but actually, she pulled one back leg under her. It made it look like her other back leg was shorter. I just wonder if this little one had that extra weight from the hotwing leg aand he's now trying to get his balance down? That hotwing leg had weight to it and he may be just trying to figure out how to re-hop?
Here's a pic of Comet's funky looking hips:
I'll look for some more pics of her to show you how her leg look shorter because of the way she carried her body.
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.
Here's some pics that dramatically show how she stood:
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.
Holy crap! Comet was one cute puppy!
I can totally see what you're talking about. Hugo's hip on the left is sticking way up right now too and he straight-legs it to the side. It was never like that before (when he did have his hotwing), just happened four days after his surgery. I just visited him at the vet's and he was very happy to see me, and went on a little walk, but didn't want to. Maybe his brain just needs to snap out of it and get him back on track. That's what I'm hoping for anyway since tests are all coming up normal so far. Here's some cute pics of my baby boy...
HotWing! We get it now... 
Thanks for sharing the pics.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
That's the cutest hotwing I've ever seen!
But you'll be happy it's gone. I spent 12 years worrying about Comet's deformed leg (more like a drumstick!) since it didn't have any feeling and didn't have a bendable joint. I just knew it was going to latch onto to something and break and she'd never know it. Luckily it didn't! We loved that leg!
I sure hope this is just a balance issue for Hugo and it will all work out. Chica and Hugo look so happy!
Awww. Thank you for the compliments of Comet. Those are horrid pics but the best ones I could find of her stance.
Here's one of most fav pics. Her little brother is here user name: "Monkeybutt-Bunny Vampire Pirate"
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.
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