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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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Member Since:
5 August 2009
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6 August 2009 - 7:14 am
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Please help! I have a 2 year old Golden Retreiver who is my best friend in the entire world. About a month ago Bailey developed a limp while staying at the vet s for the weekend when I was out of town. I took her back and they said they did not notice a limp. They gave me some pills that would help with the pain and inflammation of her right front leg. Then about a week later I brought her back and told them she was still limping I was concerned. They then put her on two other mediciations becuase they felt it was a muscle that had been pulled. After about a week and a half I took her back and said she is still limping and something is wrong. They finally took xrays and discovered she has bone cancer. The vet said he would send the xrays to a speciailist and make sure but he is 100 % sure that is what it is. Then he told me she will only have around 4 months to a year if she is really lucky. I still havent heard back from the speciailist so now I am just waiting and I am so scared for her. I have been doing research and finding out all I can about bone cancer and treatments but I was wondering if anyone has anything they can tell me as far as if they have to amputate the leg-is there hope that she will live longer than they think? She is in great health and still runs and plays and jumps and attacks my cat so its just hard because she is only 2. Please help with any information and guidance I want to make sure I do what is right for my best friend..I can not let her down! Thanks so much

ashley shafferman

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6 August 2009 - 7:44 am
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Welcome Bailey and Ashley,

You have come to the best place possible for support, advise, and encouragement. First, let us tell you how sorry we are to hear of Bailey's diagnosis. I know how devastated I was when I heard that Cherry, my essentially eleven year old Standard Poodle companion, was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma. For us, there really never was any choice regarding the treatment. An amputation, which removes the cause of the pain, followed by aggressive chemotherapy would provide Cherry with the greatest chance for a return to the quality of life that had defined her previous eleven years. When I say aggressive, I mean aggressive in that the first treatment was hours after the amputation. We have had many ups and downs, and while many have had an easier time, many have had a harder time. Our local vet, who is also a family friend, told us that two others were diagnosed with Osteosarcoma but either could not or would not aggressively treat it like we did. Both of them were gone within months while we are more than eight and a half months post amputation and doing extremely great.

The estimated life expectancy most often quoted with even this type of agressive treatment is a year. However, that is just a generic average. Jerry, who was the inspiration for this web site, lived two years before they let him go in the Greater Yellowstone Area. This morning I replyed to a posting celebrating their seventh month ampuversary. (You will have to get used to our coin words like pawrent.) There is Nova, a great dane, and Trouble, a pitbull, who celebrate their ampuversary just days before and after us respectively. While we all still have down days, there are many more great days that we can celebrate. For us, it was less about the quantitiy of days but more about the quality of those days. However, we are getting both. I will never be ready to let go of Cherry but will find the courage when necessary. There are many Blogs regarding these journeys and I have kept a journal of Cherry's journey with photos at http://home.com.....ryjourney/

Above all, you know Bailey better than anyone and know that you will make the best decission possibe for Bailey. With paws crossed, and sending the best positive thoughts possible, we look forward to hearing of Bailey's journey and helping wherever possible.

Bob & Cherry

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Northern CA
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6 August 2009 - 9:20 am
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Oh Ashely and Bailey ,

So sorry you are going through this, but you are in a good place here with us at Tripawds. There is so much experience and wisdom here.  As you will see here these numbers the vets give you are only numbers. Many dogs ( with Jerry as our hero/leader) beat them and lasted far longer than anyones "prediction".  So please don't let those numbers on life expectency get stuck in your head and keep you from making a decision that is what you feel is best for your dog.

In our situation Wrigley was diagnosed with with Osteosarcoma in her front left leg. We were told the same thing... the same statistics. We went ahead with amputation and then tried some chemo. We fell on the short end of the statistics and Wrigley only lived 3 months after her diagnosis. BUT I need to tell you if I had to do it again I would do the exact same thing. The three months we had with our Wrigley were pain free and wonderful. She recovered quickly from her surgery and in a short time she was back to doing the things she loved to do. ( things she has stopped doing when she was limping prior to the amputation) like going for walks, swimmng in the river...  She taught us so much in that short amount of time... like learning to live in the moment and take each day as a gift. I have absolutely NO REGRETS on the path we chose, even if it was a short one. It was the quality of life that mattered most, not the quantity. I wouldn't have traded that time for anything.

Follow your heart and make the decision that is right for you and right for Bailey. Follow Bailey's lead and see what she wants to do.  Sounds like she's a fighter.

I send you good thoughts and prayers.

We are all here for you on this journey.

Seanne and Angel Wrigley

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Winnipeg
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6 August 2009 - 9:44 am
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Ashley and Bailey

Welcome, and very sorry you have to be here. I am especially sorry because Bailey is so very young. Of course, it happens to young dogs, but that is always even more sad. Bailey is much younger than most of our pups.

And thanks to Wrigley's mum for staying involved even though Wrigley is no longer around. It is really helpful to hear that you would choose the same path because you succeeded in having some good months after surgery, despite Wrigley falling on the 'short side' of the statistics.

I hope you find a good vet to look after Bailey and give you the information you need at this time. Cherry's dad outlined the treatment that many (probably most (?), but Jerry did not have traditional chemo) of us follow. Amputation, then chemo (about 4-6 treatments, approx 3 weeks apart). Most of our vets begin chemo about two weeks after the surgery, although Cherry began hers right out of the operating theater!

It sounds as though you noticed the symptoms relatively early, which is great. A month passing between first limp to diagnosis is pretty short. (Many of our dogs are older and were treated for arthritis before it was figured out.

Susan & Tazzie 2

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Kirkland, WA
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6 August 2009 - 9:53 am
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Your situation sounds EXACTLY the same as mine.  My dog was only 4 when he started limping around October of last year.  We took him to the vet and she thought he had some shoulder strain.  The limping continued on and off for a few months and then in May we found a lump starting to grow on his right wrist.  We took him to the vet but she did not have time to x-ray that day and sent us home for the weekend with an anti-inflammatory.  The swelling seemed to go down, so when we went back the next week for the x-ray we were just expecting to find an infection.  Well...it was a tumor.  We were devastated.  Like you, I spent every waking moment searching on the internet about bone cancer and statistics and all looked very grim.  I thought we only had a few weeks left with Jack since he had apparently had cancer developing since at least October when he started limping.  We went directly to the oncologist our vet recommended after seeing the x-ray (which lucky for us was about 2 doors down on the same street, so I was able to make it there while still distraught) and amputated the next week.  We started chemo 3 weeks after surgery and just had our third treatment yesterday.  Although we weren't able to afford the x-rays yesterday, we still got a clean bill of health on the bloodwork, heart and lung sounds, and lymph node presentation, so if mets have started already, they have not begun to affect his quality of life.  I have to say, since the amputation and since starting chemo, Jack has been happier than I have seen him in such a long time.  He is perking his ears and even initiated play time with his little brother last week for the first time.  Seeing him running after his ball, jumping in the air, gobbling down his food, and snuggling in bed, it just warms my heart to know he is feeling so much better!  As dog parents, our job is to make sure our babies have their best quality of life we can provide.  Remember...Bailey doesn't know she has cancer!  She just wants to be able to run and play like she always has, but wants to be able to do it without the pain of her nasty bone tumor!  Please don't worry about letting her down.  She doesn't know what's going on.  We humans try to project our emotions onto our dogs, but they don't worry about stuff like cancer, being let down, or what their prognosis is.  They just want love, food, and toys.  We have only known about the cancer for 2 months now (we just entered our third month post-diagnosis), but Jack must have had it for at least 10 months now.  Don't let the statistics on the internet get you down...each dog will battle their disease in their own way.  If I remember correctly, Jerry didn't even have traditional chemotherapy and still lived nearly 2 years after diagnosis (if I am wrong about this, please correct me!).  Do what you think is right for Bailey, and she will love you no matter what!!!  Please keep us updated 🙂

<3 Laura and Jackers

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Madison, WI
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6 August 2009 - 10:18 am
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Glad you found Tripawds.com!  It's been a lifesaver for me!!

Yoda's limp took about two months to diagnose, his regular vet thought it was tendonitis, then a calcification, then tendonitis again and she was focused on his shoulder, when it was really in his foreleg.  Then when they did find the cancer, first one vet told me that Yoda probably only had two months (without treatment, but she also gave me the impression that treatment wouldn't be worth trying) and then the next told me another patient she'd had made it 4 months (I think this was again, without treatment, though she didn't specify and I didn't ask), and only the second vet even mentioned amputation as she went through what the specialists might suggest at the vet school, where they would refer us if I wanted (I sure did!), and what she told me about it was: "...amputation is a very painful procedure and Yoda is already in a lot of pain."  This was very confusing for someone who had already seen Jerry on PBS!  So I made myself keep an open mind until I saw the oncologist and she confirmed what I expected, that amputation was the best way to relieve Yoda's pain and give him the best quality of life as he continues, with or without fighting the cancer with chemo or whatever.

Yoda has been doing awesome over all.  He's had his two month ampuversary and his chest x-rays were clear this past Thursday.  He had no perceptible side effects to his first two chemos, except for an eye allergy that they think may have been brought on by something in conjunction with his chemo, but that's been easily treated with an ointment.  He had vomiting after his third chemo, but some anti-nausea pills cleared that up no problem

Results vary, of course, both with chemo and amputation, so it's never and easy choice, but for what it's worth, this is how it has been for Yoda.   You may notice my recent post today, that Yoda's oncologist was a little concerned today that Yoda looks like he's favoring his back right leg.  Hopefully it's nothing, but hypothetically if it's another tumor and Yoda takes a downward turn after just these two months, a variation on what Seanne had to say about Wrigley, amputation was still the best choice for Yoda's quality of life.  AFter his recovery from his amputation (which took a little over 3 weeks), he has been back to the park several times and played with other dogs, he wants to take long walks, he's playing ball again, and he visited his best dog buddy in Minnesota and did lots of wrestling together.  He can do everything he did before, he just takes more rests and water breaks, and lately he's taking breaks a lot less on our walks.  So just this past month would have been worth the amputation.

Yoda&Mom united: 9/5/06 …….… Yoda&Leg separated: 6/5/09……… Yoda&Leg reunited: 10/14/09 ……… ……………….………….………….……. Yoda&Mom NEVER separated! …………………….….……....….…… Though Spirit Yoda currently free-lances as a rabbit hunting instructor for tripawds nationwide

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Livermore CA
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6 August 2009 - 10:29 am
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Hi Ashley

Your experience with limping and having it mis-diagnosed for awhile is pretty much the norm here.  We all know the shock, fear, indecision and all of that when you get the diagnosis and the statistics.  You certainly aren't alone.  My vet told me not to make a decision for 4 days--do research (which is when I found this site) and do lots of thinking.  I went ahead with amputation to take away the pain and keep from breaking the leg, which is a great danger in a big dog with a weakened bone.  Recovery is rocky for the first two or three weeks, but then you get your dog back.  What a happy day when Cemil wagged his tail for the first time.  Then when he played with the other dogs.  He's a happy guy right now, pain free...we don't know for how long, but every happy day is a victory.  Lots of dogs here have outlived the statistics; some haven't, but in most cases, there are no regrets about the decision to amputate.  It takes away the intense pain.  Chemo was not an option for me, but I do what they call "alternate" treatment--supplements, diet, and herbal remedies.  Dogs live in the moment, so we, moment by moment, try to make their time as good as it can be.  There are many lessons to be learned by living this way and that's another of the rewards.

I hope you can make sense of all the information you're having to take in right now, and make your decisions based on what's best for you and Bailey.  Share your concerns--we'll help you as much as we can.

Hugs and an Anatolian lean

Mary and Cemil

Cemil and mom Mary, Mujde and Radzi….appreciating and enjoying Today

Cemil's blog

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Kirkland, WA
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6 August 2009 - 11:02 am
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One other thing...where are you located?  We have people here pretty much all over the US, in England, Canada, and Australia.  Hopefully we can recommend specialists who live in or near your area.

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6 August 2009 - 12:22 pm
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To everyone who has replied only in the last few hours since my post, thank you so much for the support. This is a scary time for me more so than Bailey. I live in the Orlando,Fl area and am planning to visit the specialist tomorrow since it is taking a long time iwth the vet. I would like to start the treatment if that is an option as soon as possible, however, the vet said they may tell me there is no option for Bailey. It is such a hard time and there is a lot of information out there. I would really appreciate it if anyone has used the medicine, K9 Immunity to let me know. I mentioned it to my vet as for the past few days all I have done is research bone cancer in dogs. This seems to be a pill that can help build a dogs immune system when they are going through chemo etc. My vet said he felt it hadn't been scientifically researched enough and people can put stuff on the web and it may not be very good. I was just curious if anyone knows. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers! I am so glad I found this websiteLaugh

ashley shafferman

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6 August 2009 - 12:22 pm
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To everyone who has replied only in the last few hours since my post, thank you so much for the support. This is a scary time for me more so than Bailey. I live in the Orlando,Fl area and am planning to visit the specialist tomorrow since it is taking a long time iwth the vet. I would like to start the treatment if that is an option as soon as possible, however, the vet said they may tell me there is no option for Bailey. It is such a hard time and there is a lot of information out there. I would really appreciate it if anyone has used the medicine, K9 Immunity to let me know. I mentioned it to my vet as for the past few days all I have done is research bone cancer in dogs. This seems to be a pill that can help build a dogs immune system when they are going through chemo etc. My vet said he felt it hadn't been scientifically researched enough and people can put stuff on the web and it may not be very good. I was just curious if anyone knows. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers! I am so glad I found this websiteLaugh

ashley shafferman

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Kirkland, WA
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6 August 2009 - 1:31 pm
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We have had Jack on K9 Immunity and Transfer factor since right after his amputation.  It may just be a coincidence, but his blood does not seem affected at all by the chemo and his counts have been right on every time they test it…I like to attribute it to the K9 Immunity .  We also have him on Pau d'Arco, Astragalus, and Flax Seed Oil (I have a post in the eating healthy section about the different supplements and what they do).  I talked to our oncologist about them yesterday and she is familiar with them and gave Jack the green light to keep taking them.  I believe there is always an option.  Amputation will immediately get rid of the tumor and any neighboring cancer cells, and depending on what the x-rays show concerning any mets in Bailey's lungs or elsewhere, there are options you can try to supress the growth (many dogs here use the metronomic protocol and there is some belief that the supplement Shark Cartilage can also decrease blood vessels in tumors…can't hurt to try!).  Tika on this site has also recently started a new treatment option for lung mets.  Good luck with the specialist tomorrow!

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6 August 2009 - 3:42 pm
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Welcome to a wonderful web site  group that no one wants to belong to.  I am sorry for what you are going through with Bailey.  We have all been there and know how hard this is for you.  I am sure that you will make the best decision for Bailey.  When we first found out Emily was sick I coud hardly breath.  It is so scary.  Emily is only five but not as young as Bailey.  I think it doesn't matter what age our dogs are they are our babies.  At first we were against amputation.  We thought it would be too hard on Emily but when we realized without amputation she would be in continual danger of her bone breaking time and time again we knew amputation was the only answer for us.  We also made the decision to have chemo and Emily is enrolled in a drug study as well.  She is not on K9 immunity because of the drug study.  We have been blessed that as things go Emily is doing very well.  Yes, there have been hard days (then I run back to this site and ask everyone's advice).  I would without a doubt do the amputation again.  Good luck with your decision.  Where are you located?  I know everyone would love to give you a recommendation for a specialist.

Debra

Debra & Emily, a five year old doberman mix, who was diagnosed with an osteosaecoma. She had a right rear leg amputation on May 19, 2009. On November 10, 2009 she earned her wings and regained her fourth leg.

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My heart lives at Rainbow Bridge
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6 August 2009 - 5:23 pm
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Hi Ashley & Bailey!  I'm glad you found this sight, it was a life saver for me .  This is the place for all the support you can stand, wonderful, caring new friends for life, and the only place you will find others who have been right where you are and have had all the same feelings as you.  We welcome each new member but wish you really didn't have to be here :0

It is a long and trying journey and you will always appreciate the advice and love you find here.

Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul.  Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.

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6 August 2009 - 7:39 pm
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Hi Ashley - Welcome to our family - as everyone as said, you will find mountains of support and lots of love and understanding and hopefully answers to many of the questions you will struggle with. Most important - you have to listen to YOUR heart...YOUR gut and BAILEY. You are your Bailey's bigget advocate and cheerleader. I cannot stand it when I hear that a vet is so negative and pessimistic...true, that they have to give you facts, statistics and most likely the worst case scenario, but at the same time they can also be supportive and helpful in getting you answers as quickly as possible so you can make your decisions...AND tell you what other OS survivors are trying and succeeding with EVEN IF THERE IS NO SCIENTIFIC evidence yet. Ugh!Yell

Zeus is a golden too...10 years old when diagnosed and he is now 16 months post amputation with no evidence of cancer anywhere. We, too, had a limp for a few months before diagnosis and we amputated within a week of receiving that heart stopping, stomach sickening, dreadful news of bone cancer. Remember that only a biopsy will determine OS...Zeus' leg was biopsied after amputation and it confirmed OS. You may not even be dealing with OS, but possibly a less aggressive form of bone cancer. How can that vet be such gloom and doom when he/she doesn't even know what you're dealing with exactly? Unless I've missed something in the posts...?

We did chemo (4 treatments of carboplatin 3 weeks apart) and then we did 2 treatments of pamidrinite (bone strengthening treatment) each a month apart. Our oncologist said that there was NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE that the pamidrinite would help keep the cancer at bay, but all her patients that had the treatment survived much longer than those that didn't have it. That sold me. Zeus' supplements are very simple - dasuquin for joint support and 6,000mg of fish oil with omega 3's. That's it. I always want to try different things to "help", but my onocologist said she doesn't want to change a thing because obviously something is working well! Each dog is different and you'll try things here and there and figure out what is going to work for Bailey...and you.

KEEP THE FAITH...live in the moment as best as you can...stay pawsitive that you will BEAT THIS EVIL Evil disease...and then turn the rest over to your higher power. Life will unfold the way it is supposed to and the important thing is to cherish the moment and have no regrets. Lean on us...we will be here for you every paw step of the way.

Good luck tomorrow - please keep us posted.

xoox

Love and hugs,

Heather and Zeus

Heather and Spirit Zeus - Our life changing journey…from the earth to the heavens…one day at a time…always together

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7 August 2009 - 6:16 am
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Heather and Zeus,

Since you have a golden I was curious, my vet told me because Bailey is a large breed dog and amputation isnt what he would recommend because it would be hard for her to get around. Has Zeus had a hard time moving around? Does he play or do any of the things he used to? I want to do what is best for her but I also want to make sure its the right choice for her. I am just praying that they tell me today there are some options and the vet said to be prepared for the fact that they may tell me there is nothing they can do, I guess it just depends howfar along everything is etc. I would really appreciate any feedback you can give. I am so glad I found this website, everyone has been so wonderful and supportive and I cant thank you enough. It has helped me feel less alone in this situation. Thanks to all.

Ashley and BAILEY

ashley shafferman

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