Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

Thanks for the replies. Yes, her name IS Maggie and she couldn't be any sweeter.

I found this site Sunday after getting the unexpected news of "possible bone cancer" on Saturday. Maggie had had a couple of bad days where she didn't walk to walk, was pretty mopey and didn't have much appetite. I did speak to her regular vet on Sunday and he laid out some options (though he didn't mention amputation). He said their surgeon would be in today (Tuesday) and he'd have me bring Maggie in and meet with them.

Maggie was pretty mopey all day Sunday, but showed some signs of "coming around" that evening. She heard some early fireworks and kind of trotted outside to bark at them like normal. Then, yesterday, she was 90% normal. She wanted to walk, was happy all day, played with her toys, etc. Appetite still not quite normal, but she ate OK. Today, she seems 100%. She does this thing where she kind of howls when she's happy, like when she gets a new toy or when she hasn't seen us for a while. She did that as soon as she saw me this morning. Needless to say, THAT was pretty great. She was very anxious to walk, and we had a pretty normal, albeit slow, walk, along with our Great Pyrenees, Murphy. She's still favoring the right hind leg, but seems much better.

Still planning to meet with vet and surgeon today, but hoping this IS just an infection and that her meds are working.

I do appreciate the "quality of life" advice. I will do nothing that isn't in Maggie's best interests. Thanks.

Met with Maggie's vet and a surgeon yesterday. Surgeon is 90% sure it's cancer. Maggie will go in tomorrow and they'll remove the plate in the bad leg, get a culture and biopsy and go from there. The good news is her lungs are clear and the leg and hip on the other side are good, whereas, they said the hip on the bad sign isn't very good.

Maggie had her biopsy surgery yesterday. Pretty rough night as she didn't sleep much and was pretty whiny. Vet said this was a painful procedure so I kind of expected that. She's getting around "OK", but certainly doesn't want to lie on her bad side. I've gotten her to go potty and she's had some chicken with her meds. Not real interested in "regular" food, but I did hand-feed her some dry food. Vet said that how she tolerated THIS procedure would be a good indicator of how she'd handle a potential amputation. He said bone biopsies wouldn't be back for maybe a week, but he was 99% sure of the cancer diagnosis. 

Really glad I found this website. Thanks, everyone. 

VERY happy with Maggie's progression after the biopsy. First trip for potty was kinds of scary. She walked around for a few minutes as if she were afraid to squat, but she finally did and peed a lot! Next couple of trips were progressively "normal" and now it's like pre-surgery. She even pooped yesterday! Still very tender and tries not to put much weight on the bad leg, but we're very happy with how she's handling this. She's even starting to lie on the bad side. Appetite is much better and she's letting us know we're doing the right thing for her.  I remember that she bounced back from her knee surgeries very well also. We're kind of anxious to get the "big surgery" done. I keep thinking that she'll be out of pain. Can't wait for that. 

And, yes, it's not as though steak and chicken weren't part of her diet before. She's been a very spoiled girl.

Thanks everyone!