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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Hello everyone,
So, my dog Zoe had a liposarcoma on her right hind leg last year. My vet was unable to get clear margins when she removed the sarcoma. It is located right in the crook of her hauck and there is no muscle there. I took Zoe to Washington State University, last June to their vet school to see what we could do to help Zoe. She is just turning 12 in a few days, but she acts like she is 2 and is otherwise as healthy as ever. WSU suggested 3 options. 1st was amputation, which had the greatest chance that the cancer would not come back. 2nd was radiation, 23 sessions of therapy and also had a high chance of the cancer not returning. The 3rd option was chemotherapy. They told me there was a 50/50 chance of the cancer returning with this therapy and it was not as successful. My husband and I opted for the radiation therapy, thinking if we amputated her leg she would not be able to play, run, walk, jump on the bed, swim, etc. She would just be laying around with no "life" in her. Zoe did awesome with the therapy and recovered nicely. My vet was surprised that her scar looked so good and healed fast. I continued to check Zoe almost daily for new bumps to pop up but she hasn't had any until....a week ago Saturday, I found a small pea sized lump just below the radiation site. My heart sank! Last Monday, our vet took 2 biopsies and blood work. The results confirmed that the cancer had come back, but has not moved to her lymph nodes. She does have high calcium in her blood.
I leave Sunday for WSU again, with Zoe's appointment with the oncologist on Monday morning. My vet told me Zoe could not have more radiation - she had her life limit already. I don't think I would go this route even if she did. She could have electrochemotherapy where they inject chemo directly into the tumor and give electrical pulses to charge the chemo. I was wondering if anyone has had this procedure done to their animal and if it worked? What kind of reaction did your animal have to the therapy and what was the recovery time period?
Then I found this website. Now I am on the fence about amputating Zoe's leg. Has anyone had an animal with a liposarcoma on a leg and had it amputated? I mostly see dogs with osteosarcoma. After reading the stories on this website, dogs can have a life after amputation. I just need to convince my husband that they do! Thankfully(sort of), he has to stay home and won't be going with us on Sunday.
Any advise would be much appreciated! I will let you know what I decide and what the oncologist has to say.
Thank you!
Patty
Hi Patty, thanks for joining us, your future posts won't need approval. Since you're in the early stages of figuring out what's next I moved your post here to "Presentation and Diagnosis" so our members would know more about the status of things when seeing your post, hope you don't mind.
I know amputation is a scary decision. We almost didn't proceed with it for our dog Jerry, we were on the fence thinking the same thing. Had we not, Tripawds wouldn't be around today. It's hard to imagine what your dog's life will be like but just look around and you'll see that the majority of dogs and cats don't have major issues, they get along fine afterward, it's the humans who have the harder time coping. Our "Size and Age Matters' forum has some great stories about senior dogs living life on three legs, be sure to go there.
Many of our members are dealing with some type of bone cancer, but whether they're coping with a more or less aggressive one, what matters is preserving quality of life, whether that's on 3 legs or 4 if they're not an amputation candidate. It sounds to me like Zoe is a good candidate? If so, that's awesome and can make your decision easier.
Be sure to check out Jerry's Required Reading List and the Tripawds e-books library for answers to your most urgent questions. Other members will chime in soon so stay tuned. You're in great care at WSU, you can't go wrong with whatever route you take with those dogs & students. Hang in there.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Patty,
My 10 year old lab, Tucker, had his right front leg amputated seven months ago due to an invasive sarcoma. Tuck had the sarcoma removed last April (with no other treatment) but it grew back quickly and by September (after he had tried to remove the tumour himself one night) my options for him were palliative care or amputation.
Thankfully - a wonderful veterinary surgeon near my home was available and, despite some earlier concerns from my regular vet, declared Tuck a good candidate for the amputation.
Tuck has done amazingly well since his surgery. As a front leg amp, Tuck's walks are shorter hops around the neighbourhood but he still loves going for walks and enjoys all the same things he did before his surgery.
I am not familiar with the other option that your oncologist is suggesting and it may well be a good choice for Zoe. Whatever you decide, our furbabies - both dogs and cats - adapt really well to life on three legs.
Linda and Tucker
Hi Patty, welcome to Tripawds......I, as well as most here, know how heartbreaking the diagnosis of cancer in our beloved dogs and cats can be. My personal experience with my Polly was a soft tissue cancer, but not liposarcoma. We dealt with a very aggressive form of cancer, hemangiosarcoma. From what I have read and learned personally about liposarcoma, is that it is a very treatable, and usually a very contained type of cancer. My very first Lab had this particular type of cancer, that grew on her midsection, on her side by her waist. It grew very fast but my vet was able to remove all of the growth and she lived another 8 1/2 years.
As far as amputation, you would be very surprised to see how well our pups do with the surgery. While they may take a week or two to get past surgery, and pain meds, etc., they usually do absolutely great. Even at 12 years old, your Zoe will really surprise you. It is a hard decision to make, and one not done without guidance from your vets and much thought by you. However, if there is a chance to completely remove this cancer by amputation, it would be a much easier decision to make, if it were me. That is always our ultimate hope is to rid our beloved pets of this awful disease......sometimes it works out for a long time and sometimes, not so much, but it is/was still worth it to the great majority of us.
Keep us updated on your sweet girl, Zoe, and what you decide......only you and her vet will know what is in her best interest, and any decision you make will be the right one.
Thinking of you and Zoe,
Bonnie & Angel Polly
Hi Patty. The first tumor my Jake had was a nerve sheath tumor, which is very similar to a liposarcoma. A NST affects the nerves running through the muscle and it branches out in threads in a similar way to a LS. The options our onco gave was something that sounds very similar to what you have been offered with having the tumor directly injected, radiation and removal. I opted to have the tumor removed b/c NSTs have a really high incidence of returning. The tumor had branched out so much that while in surgery they decided the entire leg and shoulder needed to be removed. Jake was 11 at the time, and b/c they excised it completely, he never had another issue with it. He healed great and did great as a front leg tripawd. I do not for one second regret my choice. I will say that my BF was against it at the time. He has said probably a million times how wrong he was, and after seeing how great Jake did that he'll never think that way again.
Like Bonnie, my Jake passed from a hemangiosarcoma which the onco said had nothing to do with the NST. I just wanted to mention that b/c I didn't want you to read some of my posts and think he passed away from the NST. Jake was a rockstar in beating the NST and in becoming a front leg tripawd.
You are right Osteosarcoma is highly represented here, but there are a few of us that have dealt with the soft tissue sarcomas. Not sure if anyone has actually done the procedure you were asking about but I'm sure they'll start chiming in soon. Either way, no decision is an easy one but glad you found us here! Keep us updated.
HUGS
Mom to Tripawd Angels Jake (2001-2014) and Rosco (2012-2015) and Tripawd Tanner. “Whatever happens tomorrow, we had today; and I'll always remember it”
Hi Patty, welcome to the club no one wants to be a part of. But now that you're here....I'm so glad you found us! As you can tell, so many of our Tripawds have a marvelous life. Sure, Jackson can't scratch his right side by himself, but that's IT. He's here and he's fabulous! If your girl is candidate for amputation, it can be a life saver and giver. It's certainly worth considering. If Jackson had the kind of cancer where "simple" amputation would take the whole cancer away, I wouldn't think twice about. Imagine never having to wonder if it'll come back???
Good luck with your decision. Keep us posted!
~ Katy & Jackson
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
Hi Patty, I'm so sorry you are having to deal with the dreaded cancer again.. its awful. We (like many others) were dealt osteosarcoma and we chose to amputate. Cody is a little over 2 months out from his amputation and is doing wonderfully. They really do recoperate well and bounce back like you would't believe! We have posted quite a few videos in the forums of Cody playing with this brothers and just running by himself! Good luck with your decision. No matter what you choose it will be the right one for you and your family.
Cody and Family
Cody is our 7 year old Australian Heeler mix boy. Diagnosed on 2/20/14 and became a tripawd 2/21/14! We chose a homeopathic approach and he is being treated by Dr. Loops our of NC.
Update on Zoe ~ I spent the day at WSU with Zoe today. The oncologist wanted me to move forward with the electro-chemotherapy, but I opted for amputation even though it will cost a lot more, but Zoe is worth it! In order for her to be amputated, they needed to do a CT scan of her chest and abdomen. I knew something was wrong when they wanted me to go back into the examination area instead of telling me the prognosis out in the waiting area. Her lungs are clear, but they found a large mass on her spleen - 5x6 cm. They can't biopsy it because it might rupture and cause internal bleeding and Zoe would die. They want to do a spleenectomy instead and then have the spleen tested for malignancy. If it is malignant, they want to do chemotherapy. I am on the fence on that decision. She will be 12 years old and has had a very spoiled life. I cannot put her through more treatments just to try and keep her alive for my sake. I have cried so much today it is not funny! She is my best friend and has been there for me for so many things. She can always put a smile on my face no matter what. After listening to the doctors today going over all of these options, my brain is fried!
As for the amputation of her leg. That is now on the back burner due to this mass on her spleen. Liposarcoma's are one of the better cancers (if there are any) to have because it takes a lot of time to spread to other organs. I think my decision is to wait and see how she does after the surgery tomorrow. Take her home and let her live her life for awhile. If she continues to do good, I will move forward with the amputation. I know, like everyone else here, the decision to put her down is unbearable. But after today, talking to all the doctors and going over so many options, I think she would be just as happy to live without any treatment.
Thanks everyone for your input about amputating. I know now that I would never second guess doing it. I wish we were moving forward with it tomorrow instead of removing a spleen instead.
Again, thank you all,
Patty & Zoe
Oh Patty, I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm sending lots of positive thoughts your way. There are quite a few people on here that chose not to do chemo and the collective knowledge on here about options is amazing. Please let us know how Zoe does tomorrow! We are all cheering for her!
HUGS
Mom to Tripawd Angels Jake (2001-2014) and Rosco (2012-2015) and Tripawd Tanner. “Whatever happens tomorrow, we had today; and I'll always remember it”
Hi there,
My girl, Shelby, also presented with a spleen mass (she had broken her leg in June and we plated/fixed it b/c of no evidence of cancer) - then in Sept, mass on the spleen and it had to come out. She did great and unfortunately, that spleen was cancer - hemangiosarcoma. We started chemo and she did great. Then in Jan, her leg was so weak we had to remove it as it was being eaten away and come to find out, same bloody cancer. Shelby did great as a Tripawd until a month ago when she earned her wings (the cancer spread to her brain).
BUT my point is - spleens and leg removals CAN be done. It IS a lot of surgery but dogs are so resilient -she will surprise you! I am not a vet nor would I have put my girl through anything her vets didn't approve but Shelby was indeed a fighter so I fought hard for her. She had 3 major surgeries in about 7 months time ...
Oh and she was 13 at the time of the last 2 surgeries.
Shelby was my soul mate, my heart dog and I miss her very much. Her life was amazing and everything I did for her, I did with her best interest in mind (as I know you are doing as well). But ultimately it is your decision how to proceed. I know that pain all to well... Wishing you all the best and feel free to contact me if you have more questions about recovery, treatments that we received, etc...
Alison & her Shelby fur-ever in her heart
Shelby Lynne; Jack Russell/Shiba Inu mix. Proud member of the April Angels of 2014.
October 15, 2000 to April 8, 2014
Our story: Broke rear leg in June 2013 - non-conclusive results for cancer so leg was plated and pinned. Enlarged spleen in September 2013 and had it removed and was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma and started chemotherapy. Became a Tripawd January 8th, 2014 and definitive Hemangiosarcoma diagnosis. Three major surgeries in 7 months and Shelby took them all like a champ only to lose her battle to cancer in her brain. We had 8 amazing extra months together and no regrets. #shelbystrong #loveofmylife
Hello all,
Zoe went thru her surgery today with no problems. The doctor called me and told me she did real well and there were no issues. She is currently in ICU and will be moved to the regular ward tomorrow. I will be able to visit her tomorrow. The doctor said she should stay at least 24-48 hours in case there is any internal bleeding, they would be able to stop it right away. She also said I should get the results back from pathology either Friday or Monday. The tumor will be benign. I know it will. She is one tough pup and nothing gets her down. If I didn't find the recurrent tumor on her leg, no one would know her cancer has returned. She acts like a 2 year old with an enormous amount of energy.
After yesterday's emotional and physically exhausting day, I have thought a lot about what to do next. I am going to move forward with the amputation because her mass on her spleen is going to be benign, right? Right! WSU gave me a quote of $2500-3500. I am going to look around in my area to see if I can find a hospital that is 24 hour staffed, has an ICU unit, and is qualified to do the surgery. I want to get a quote from them to compare against WSU. I will probably have the surgery done here at WSU just because they have everything and everyone at their finger tips. Plus, they are one of the top vet schools in the country.
I want to thank everyone again for your encouraging comments and advise about what you went through. I am glad I found you all. I need to vent and get advise. This is the place to do it! You all have been through these steps and are a great resource for a newbie who has lots of questions!
I will let you know tomorrow how Zoe is doing after my visit with her. I can't wait to see her. I feel empty without her here next to me.
Have a good night,
Patty
Oh Patty I don't know how I missed your 5/5 update, I'm so sorry. Wow I'm glad she made it through the surgery, that's fantastic. You are doing so much homework and checking all of your options, I am so impressed, you are an awesome dog mom.
We too vote for
B9! B9! B9! B9!B9!
WSU's price seems to be in line with other vet schools. Much of that price is for their excellent, super safe anesthesia protocols. But if you're anywhere near Puyallup, our fairy vet mother Dr. Pam Wiltzius is an AMAZING vet who I believe can do the surgery. She's at River Road Animal Hospital, and has been a Tripawds community supporter for many years. Here's some info about her:
Video Interviews with Dr. Pam Wiltzius
Give Zoe a smooch from us and tell her the entire community is cheering her on!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I got to visit my girl Zoe today. She is doing really well. A little stubborn and not drinking water because they provide metal bowls and not plastic, but she finally drank when she saw me there. I got to spend a good hour with her, and she made it very clear to me that she wants out of the hospital ASAP! She is eating even the bland soft food. She looks like a race horse with bandages on both front legs where the IV lines are connected to her. I get to pick her up tomorrow at 9am and drive 4 hours home to Leavenworth. My husband has the house already set up with ramps for the stairs to get into the house, and a baby gate to block Zoe from going up to the second level of our home. The doctor said the test results will be available on Friday, which will be benign, and then we can move forward with amputation after she heals from this little set back.
Can't wait to get us both home!
Patty & Zoe
Of course the biopsy results will say B9!
I'm thrilled she's doing so well. And what a kick, you live in Leavenworth? We have some really great members who also live in your little town! Do you know Cathy and Buff Boughey? Their Tripawd Rocco was sooooo sweet, we had the pleasure of meeting him and staying with the Bougheys for a night a few years ago, here are two stories and a video about him.
Anyhoo, I hope your homecoming goes well! Keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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