Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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First of all, I was referred to Tripawds from our Oncologist at Port City Veterinarian Referral Hospital in Portsmouth, NH…and I’m so glad she did.
Our (almost) 8 y/o female Bernese Mountain Dog Kahlua, started limping on her right hind leg a couple weeks ago. It got pretty bad very quickly and I had assumed that she had maybe torn her ACL because she’s a little crazy and always slipping around. Long story short, after some imaging, we found some spots in her leg which turned out to be osteosarcoma.
A little more background on Kahlua. She was diagnosed with a liver shunt at a little after her first birthday and had life saving surgery in NYC to fix it. A month after her surgery, she got a E. coli infection (unrelated to her surgery) that almost took her life. About a year ago, she was diagnosed with an abscess on her kidney which was fixed through surgery.
Our sweet girl has been through it, but just loves life! When you get a large breed dog, you just know that they typically don’t have a long lifespan and things like cancer are a high probability, but it still doesn’t make things easier.
She’s been able to get around pretty well since she’s on some pain meds, and after sharing the news to our family, she’s set for her amputation on Jan 3rd. I have gone back and forth in my mind about a million times in the past few days questioning if this is the right decision for Kahlua…or if I’m just being selfish because I’m not wanting to lose her. That’s where you all have been so helpful. Reading through many posts, I’m more convinced that removing the source of her pain is absolutely the right thing to do.
Now here’s where I’m still conflicted. Our Oncologist also recommended chemo treatments post-surgery as an option that won’t “cure” the cancer, but may help to slow down the spread and possibly give her another 6 months to a year. I know there’s no guarantee either way, but for a dog who’s spent so much time at Vets, and gets very anxious every time we’re at one, I’m not sure that’s the right decision for our girl. I just don’t know if the stress of multiple visits, and tests is the best for her quality of life…especially since there’s no guarantee one way or the other?
I know that this is a very personal decision, but I’m hoping that some folks with much more experience than we have can weigh in with their thoughts.
Thank you very much.
Hi Craig and Kahlua, welcome. Your future posts wont need to wait for approval so post away. We are glad your oncologist referred you too, it's an honor and we hope to be able to make this easier for you both as you embark on a journey nobody ever expects to be on. But we get it!
Sounds like you are well-prepared. Have you seen the Tripawds Recovery Shopping List or our What to Expect articles yet?
You're right, chemo is a very personal decision and a dog's quality of life and temperament is absolutely the #1 priority to address when making the decision. If she doesnt like being at the vets and its a stressful experience, it may not be the right way to go. Chemo can up the odds of longevity but it makes no guarantees. We see it go either way. Some dogs do beat the odds with chemo, some do not. Some don't get chemo at all, like our Jerry, and they beat the odds anyways. It's a real crapshoot and ultimately you have to decide what is right for you and Kahlua. There are no right or wrong choices and we will support you either way.
Here are some posts about "the chemotherapy decision" that may shed some light for you. Stay tuned for feedback from others.
It's a pleasure to meet Kahlua, even under these circumstances. It's. Clear ahe has no intention of throwing in the towel and wants a chance at extended quality for more loving and more spoiling 👍
but just loves life!
questioning if this is the right decision for Kahlua…or if I’m just being selfish because I’m not wanting to lose her.
Wanting to have Kahlua with you as long as possible is called LOVE. Nothing selfish about that.♥️
removing the source of her pain is absolutely the right thing to do.
Good for you for embracing the main reason we do what we do.
You clearly love Kahlua and have always made the "right" decisions for her ever since her first year. She is definately a fighter and has a zest for life that has helped her to be her best self all these years. That same spunk will help her move through recovery and back to veing Kahlua again.....but with no pain!!
Keep things chunked down for now. Just focus on completing he surgery and getting through recovery. You have a lot on your plate right now and you can decide on chemo or not later, okay? Part of each decision we make about chemo is how well dogs tolerate Vet visits. As Jerry said, no right, no wrong. If you do decide to start it, you can always stop if it's too stressful or if she has side effects, etc.
For now, back to focusing on recovery. What questions do you have? Do you have stairs she'll jave to naviga6 for potty? If you have hardwood floors you'll want non slip scatter rugs for traction .
Stay connected! We are here eight by your side, okay?
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!
Welcome.
I've had 3 cancer journey's with two different Pugs. TriPug Maggie lost a rear leg to a mast cell tumor. Pre-amp tests indicated that there was a good chance the amp would be curative. Unfortunately after the pathology report came back her prognosis was downgraded to poor and she was given 6 to 9 months WITH chemo. I did chose chemo in this case, maybe partly because I was so surprised with her poor prognosis. Mag beat the odds and lived almost 4 years after her amp. But when she developed a second cancer, oral melanoma, the treatment recommended was surgery to remove the tumor and part of her jaw as well as follow up chemo. Because she had other serious health problems and she didn't like going to the vet I chose palliative care.
Mag's little sis Tani also had mast cell cancer but most of her tumors were on her torso. The vets wanted to do a drug called palladia which was fairly new back then. Because Tani had multiple health issues I again declined treatment. Tani lived many years with multiple mast cell tumors and did not pass from the cancer.
One thing I did do in all cases was to get information on all available options so I felt like I was making informed decisions. But my final decisions were based on what I thought was best for my dogs accounting for age, other health issues, how they coped with multiple vet visits, etc. You need to do the same for Kahlua.
I would suggest you write down why you reached whatever decisions. I did that with Maggie when I chose not to do aggressive treatments. I was confident in my decision making process but Mag passed just 3 months later and being human I did wonder 'what if...'. Looking at my notes reminded me that I had made the best choice.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls or Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Thanks for the responses. As I type this, our girl is joining a “club” that I’m sure no one wants to join…but thanks to you all, we know it’s the right thing to do. We’re a little scared about the post-surgery process, but I think we’re prepared.
We’ve also decided to NOT go with the postoperative chemo route. Kahlua gets very anxious going to the Vet, so if we’re being realistic and looking out for her quality of life, I think for us, this is the best decision.
I guess the next posts will be in the Treatment and Recovery threads!
You are so welcome!
Totally understand your choice about chemo, we all do. Every situation is different and not everyone goes that route (we did not).
Best wishes today! We are sending tons of pawsitivity your way, and healing thoughts for a speedy recovery. Yes, do start a new topic over in Treatment, we'll see you there.
You are always doing the right thing when you make decisions out of love. You know Kahlua better than anyone and she knows you want the best for her. All of us will take quality of oir days over quantity any day... and there's no reason she can't have both!
We'll look for your update.👍
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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