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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Hi Riley, hope you are home and feeling well. We are all thinking about you! Like Zeus I am almost done with my chemo. Have 2 more to go and then whoo hooo I think I am taking a vacation. My next chemo is next week and at that time the vet is going to do some chest x-rays to make sure we are still on the mend and that everything is still looking good. so far all my bloodwork has come clean and good so I am confident that everything will look great. I hope that all your tests come back with good news and just know that if you do need surgery you will still ROCK!!!! We tripawds rock all the time. Jerry taught us that through this site. Keep us posted!
Kellie
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to update everyone on Rileys surgery. He is doing really well. The first day home he was a little needy wanting to follow me from room to room. I layed down on his new orthopedic bed with him and he finally relaxed as I stroked his little face. His staples looked better than I expected. He seems relative pain free due to good drugs i guess.
I just got the prelimenary test results back and they are so far negative for synovial cancer of the tissue he biopsied from the tendon . He wants to get all the bone tests back before finally diagnosis. I am a little confused as this is what I was told maybe you guys can fill me in on what it actually means.
Synovial reative inflammation of the tendon or tissue that attaches his pectoral muscle to his shoulder. During surgery he did cut his bicep muscle all the way down from the top to the bottom to release pressure. The vet has no idea what has caused this or what we are going to do yet either. I want to jump and down and say yeah no cancer but he wants to be sure with the final bone samples as those tests are not in yet. ( he did say his bones looked good and we have had a bone tap that already was negative). I asked him if we would do cortisone shots? He said normally those go in a joint and this is definitely his muscle and tendon not a joint. I don't know why one day he limped on the left leg and now his right leg is the infammed one. I thought maybe over stressing it from his left leg not being as strong but then why is his left leg doing so well now when for 3 years it limped? Riley is turning into DR. HOUSE for dogs. Right now riley is a tripawd dog with a limp 4th leg dragging behind him.
I was so thrilled to see all the well wishing and thoughts for my riley I was beside myself. It is just comfort to know other dog owners who view their dogs as family members and know the grieving process of loss is real and we need support. It helps just to talk......without the added well you know he is old .......and your crazy to pay for surgery for your dog...... and I am sure you have all heard it before. I just look at riley's big brown eyes and hear his thumping tail of love and I lose it.
I should hear more results in the next 24 hours. The vet just told me to keep his meds up and let him know if he starts to improve otherwise I have 12 days until he gets his staples out. I am going to give him glucosaime and his adequann to see if that helps the inflammation.
Thanks everyone
lol
Riley and Linda
linda friesen
lalla, moderator said:
I was just thinking what wonderful names you guys have … Riley and Zeus…
Thanks,
I call him riley kiley man alot of the time. His official registered name is O'Rileys Luck as I thought if I showed him in sheep herding when they announced his name it would sound Cool. he he
So far with the test results he is living up to his name sake.
Talk with you soon
linda
linda friesen
jerry said:
Hi RileyDog,
Thank you for registering, and welcome to the forums...
Best wishes for the best results from your tests!
Hi Jerry,
Thanks for starting this awesome website as it was great to know about all the options and to have a supportive network as it seems easier knowing someone really knows how your feeling as you have experienced it yourself.
Prelimenary tests are looking negative just waiting for the rest of the bone samples to come in. So far so good. Yeah. Riley's injury is a mystery right now of what to do as he is limping and not using his right leg at all. Maybe time will heal him.. They did remove some bone chips but the vet said the chips were to the back of the shoulder not anywhere near where is inflammation is. I just rambling on trying to make sense of it all. I want to be excited but at the same time with no diagnosis its just as bad as the pain is still evident. Will let you know what I find out in the next day or so.
Best paw forward,
Riley
linda friesen
Genie said:
For the time being, to help him move around after you pick him up tomorrow, try use a bath towel to wrap him around his chest ...
Jessie
Thanks for the towel Idea. Thanks for your thoughts as they are working we got intial good news. Hey by the way I like your name as I named my horse Jessie. He's just the best too.
LoL
Riley
linda friesen
Genie said:
Linda,
Hang in there. I know it is hard to wait that many days for result. Let’s just hope for the best.
For the time being, to help him move around after you pick him up tomorrow, try use a bath towel to wrap him around his chest, give him some support by semi-lifting his front body. A bath towel would be a bit more gentle on the incision.
I will be thinking of Riley and you.
Love,
Jessie
Jessie
Thanks for the towel Idea. Thanks for your thoughts as they are working we got intial good news. Hey by the way I like your name as I named my horse Jessie. He's just the best too.
LoL
Riley
linda friesen
Hey Rileydog,
Good to hear that all are good news. Keep my fingers crossed that the official diagnosis is good as well. Keep us posted!
Love,
Jessie (not a horse) 😉
rileydog said:
Thanks for starting this awesome website as it was great to know about all the options and to have a supportive network ...
You're welcome Rileydog! But we really musty thank you – and every other forum user – for making this site what it has become.
You can do us all one favor, though. Please use the "Reply to Post" link – at the bottom of each thread – unless there are specific comments from another post you want to address. If you do use the "Quote and Reply" feature, please edit the original post you are quoting so it does not appear in its entirety again. (Like I have done here, and how I editied your quoted replies above.)
Thanks! And ... "Best Paw Forward" ... I love that! 
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Linda & Riley,
You might want to try Dog Gone Pain
In my opinion & experience,No, it is not unusual for vets to misdiagnosed initially. In my case my Buster wasn't properly diagnosed till about 6-7months later. I had to take HIM 2 ONE OF The big teaching hospitals. He was diagnosed with inflammation, then bacteria infection then eventually the cancer. I'm just saying go with your gut instincts in regard to Riley... Being prepared is half the battle... It sounds like you have it under control.
PS for the record I once asked my primary vet at the time about another VETs misdiagnosed & he replied " that is why it is called a veterinary PRACTICE"...
Get Well Soon,
BUSTER&KIM* praying for good results and a pain free Riley*
Kim & Angel Buster
"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."
–Anatole France
Hey riley,
you know, vets are just people and they do the best they can. They misdiagnosed me for many months, and mom fretted that she lost her chance to save my life when it was finally found. My surgeon is top notch, mom's read all his research, and he was equally sad and frustrated that no cancer was found on biopsy but found when pathology was done later ont he leg. he said "where was it? i took samples EVERYWHERE"
Mom trusts he did the very best he could and made the best decisions he could and that is all we can expect of one another, and should trust in one another.
You have taken great care of that cute riley and things will be fine! Jerry turned mom on to Doug B and the boys( in my posts somewhere) and it has helped her immensely in dealing with guilt.
keep us posted, I am certain the news is good and when you see riley less painful you will be so happy.
scout the wonderdog
lauren
OKim1 said:
You might want to try Dog Gone Pain
, from the Harmony Co,
Dog Gone Pain
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I also wanted to add that the very reputable, non-advertising magazine – Whole Dog Journal –
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
That is a great price , it pays to shop around. As consumers, if we start asking for these type of products for our pets ... they should stock them. Along with holistic dog food & treats... Also food for thought they should start having our pet food inspected like we have the FDA... never knew before there are no regulations on the pet food industry. Only fit for humane consumption as this point is what Buster eats..."Let medicine be your food & food your medicine"... (sorry to side track)
BTW picked up 2 really good books at the library. "The Complete Holistic Dog Book," by Allegreti & Sommers points out acupressure points on dogs. The other book is "Natural Dog Care
Great article on DGP!!! thanks! Will check out the magazine... 🙂
KIM&BUSTER
Kim & Angel Buster
"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."
–Anatole France
OKim1 said:
That is a great price...
We just discovered VitaPal also has great pricing on Dog Gone Pain!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Everyone from The Rileydog,
I just wanted to lick everybodies faces for thinking of me and keeping me in your thoughts. My mom and I found out good news today for round 2 of cancer tests. Both the tissue and the bone biopsies were negative for Cancer. Woo Hoo... or should I say Bow Wow!!! My vet took a large sample right on the scar tissue of my tendon that goes from my pectoral muscle to my shoulder as well as several large bone samples and no cancer. My vet is perplexed as to what to do as the official diagnosis from both the pathologists and my vet is that they feel I am suffering from reative inflammation ( got it wrong on my original post) in my soft tissue especially the pectoral muscle and tendon. They suspect it is from an old injury due to the thickening of the tendon or scar tissue the vet saw in surgery. My mom is perplexed as she can't remember any injury i suffered on my right shoulder as I have always limped on my left leg when i ran around too much in my old age. Right now I am only on Previcox 1/2 a pill a day for inflammation and he's taking me off the pain pill tramadol. i think i will look into the holistic pain medicine. I am going back on my glucosamine and hylauronic acid supplements and going to stick with adequann 1 a month for now to see if it helps.
My swelling is down and I am actually holding my right paw normal every now and then when i start to limp or 3 leg it. For now I am going to give myself sometime to heal from all the surgery and testing. They did slice my bicep muscle to supposingly release pressure. That will take 3-4 weeks to heal. I am looking into a holistic vet to see if we can find some anti inflammatory medicine to help me. The had said we could try cortisone injection but its not my joints its the tissue around it so he doesn't think that's a very good idea.
Right now i am the new House Show for dogs and sometimes i feel like a pincushion with all the parts they have sliced and taken to test. How soon would you guys think some physical therapy would help? I have a pool and a hot tub. I asked the vet about icing and he said no for now. my owner is confused as I don't look like I am in pain but yet I don't use my leg at all. I am also getting a plopping down sore on my left elbow as i fall to the floor instead of laying down gently and i push off to get up. I am getting my elbow wrapped to help it heal but it is open now and hurts. Any suggestions for techniques for keeping wraps on?
Thanks for all the ideas I am going to go buy some holistic pain medicine.
have a great night
Keeping my best paw forward
Riley or aka rileydog or now they call me roba riley
linda friesen
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