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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I have a 9 yr old Frenchie diagnosed with a MCT. I want to say it grew overnight. My vet basically told me to contact an emergency vet. By word of mouth, I found a vet 12 miles away that actually has surgeons as part of their practice. I am changing vets and got in to see him yesterday. Because of the location, rear leg around the knee, and the margins needed, amputation is his only option. His blood work came back normal, so I hope that is a good sign. We are devastated, but want to do anything possible for him. Thanks for reading this and keep Arnold in your thoughts. He goes in on October 15th!
Hi Arnold and family, welcome. Your future posts won't need to wait for approval so post away.
It's good that you were able to get in to see a vet so quickly. I'm just sorry that you found yourself facing amputation. But we are here to help any way we can. Since you have some time to prepare, be sure to check out Jerry's Required Reading List , the Tripawds e-books library, and our What to Expect articles to learn all you can about life on 3. And let us know what questions you have, we'll try to answer them and keep you calm and pawsitive!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
An adorable Frenchie dog named Arnold..PERFECT!!
Aprry you find yourself here, but you are definitely surrounded by a community who understands all the emotions and fears and uncertainties when first hearing the diagnosis. As you can see from Jerry's post, we also have tons of information to help you navigate through recovery and onto celebrating all his victories!
By proceeding with amputation you ARE doing everything possible for Arnold to give him a quality pain free life!
Is Arnold on any pain meds now? Suggest that to uour Vet if not. And YAY for good bood work up!
You'll want nonslip scatter rugs for traction if you have hardwoods. Nope, don't think you need raised food bowls for your little guy
After you catch your breath and get a chance to read thru the links Jerry gave you, let us know what ways we can best support you.
And remember, Arnold isn't worried about a thing. We say Prognosis schmognosis around here, because it means nothing to our dogs and cats.
Stay strong, stay connected! And when you can, we would love to see pics of your Arnold. Here a link to help. adding images
Higs
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!
Hello and welcome to you and Arnold.
My Pug Maggie lost a back leg to a MCT in her knee- way back in 2006. You can read her story and about her amp and treatment if you are interested, the links are in my signature below.
MCTs can be wildly unpredictable- grow or shrink in a day. Some can metastasize while others never do anything. My second Pug Tani, Maggie's non-litter mate sister also had multiple MCTs throughout her life.
Have they done any other pre-surgery testing? Mast cell cancer can go to the liver and spleen so Mag had an abdominal ultrasound done. I think they also checked several lymph nodes. Mag was also on pepcid and benadryl before and after surgery since MCTs can release histamines causing a type of allergic reaction which can also cause stomach issues.
All the pre-surgery testing showed no spread so I thought the amp would be curative. Unfortunately in Mag's case the lymph node removed with her leg showed lots of cancerous mast cells. Her prognosis was quite poor- she was given 6 to 9 months with chemo. Mag actually beat the prognosis and lived almost 4 more years and she did not pass from mast cell cancer.
Does your new vet practice have an oncologist or have you met with one? I would recommend it because mast cell can be so tricky. The good news is that it is one of the most treatable cancers- but as I said before it can be unpredictable. There have also has been some progress made in the treatment of mast cell since I last dealt with it- and oncologist should be able to discuss all your options if further treatment is needed.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
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