Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi, my beautiful 71/2 year old great dane , Lucy, was just diagnosed with osteosarcoma to her front leg. she is limping around with pain. on pain meds which help somewhat. i have an appointment in two days to talk with an oncology vet. my vet is suggesting the best course of action to give her a year or more to live is amputation with chemotherapy once a month since she is in good health and there is no evidence of mets to lungs. She does have some arthritis to spine and hips, but nothing that ever kept her from going . i dont know what to do. doc says amputation alone will give her six months. do nothing and she will have to be put down in a month or so from the pain. I am so devastated. she is truly my angel dog. i need some thoughts. i dont want her to suffer because i want her with me longer. thanks for any input. Dawn
Hi Dawn,
Welcome to Tripawds. I'm sorry you have found yourself and Lucy here. The OSA diagnosis can be devastating, and there seems to be so many decisions to make in a short time. But you can take a day or two and do some research. You can go ahead with amputation if you think it is best, then decide about chemo while Lucy is recovering. There is no 'only' answer in this situation. You know Lucy best- you have to do the best thing for her.
You should definitely read through Jerry's Required Reading List. This is a compilation of good info from this site on what to expect from amputation, recovery, and treatment.
And check out Nova's Blog. Nova is a blind Great Dane who has been surviving a front amp and OSA for well over 2 years.
Others will chime in with their experiences. Take full advantage of this site and read through the blogs on gear and nutrition when you have a chance.
We have all been where you are now and understand. We are here to help!
Karen and the pugapalooza
p.s. your future posts will not need to wait for moderation as long as you log in, only the very first post from a new member has to wait.
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welcome, we're sorry to meet under these circumstances. we had a soft tissue cancer, amputating the right front leg feb 2010. from what all others have said, OSA is extremely painful, and the chance of a break is very, very high. amputation, to remove the pain gives lucy time without all the pain. there are many many danes that have posted here, she can do this!!! we did opt for chemo, some do, some don't. like karen said, you have alot of decisions, but some aren't as 'right now' as others.
good luck with your decisions - whatever you do, if you do it out of love, it's the right decision. hugs to lucy!!
charon & gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
Hi Dawn, welcome to tripawds. Lucy is a pretty girl and I am sorry she has had to go through this. Cooper was diagnosed with osa in his left front leg last October. He was 9 at the time and although getting up there he wasnt ready to leave us yet, one thing admin has pointed out often - statistics are not carved in stone, I guess they can be used for rough guidelines , but every dog is different. Cooper was not supposed to be a good candidate for amputation, but after two opinions we decided to go with amputation , no chemo, but a diet change. in 9 days Cooper will celebrate his 7month ampuversary and we have had no regrets. You know Lucy better than anyone between the two of you , you will figure it out, one thing I can attest to is the huge relief from pain after the amputation and since then we have just enjoyed to the fullest one day at a time. Good luck and please keep us posted.
Coopsdad
Coopsdad/ Kenneth Blackburn
http://cooper.t.....ipawds.com
the monkeydogs only THINK they have invaded the tripawd state
Hi Dawn,
I'm sorry about Lucy's diagnosis. You don't have to make all of your decisions today. OSA is extremely painful and doing nothing can put Lucy at risk for a devastatingly painful fracture. Separating your amputation decision from the treatment can help. Chemo is not mandatory and the statistics you're seeing are mean survival months. There are many dogs on both sides of the treatment spectrum who have survived much longer, and just as many who have lived a only a short time. Much of this depends on the growth rate of the tumor…and there is simply no reliable predictor.
I opted for Holistic therapy for Isabelle. She is a least 13 & also has arthritis in her spine. For my dog, my funds and energy were best channeled into aggressive rehab (which she had already been doing for her arthritis), acupuncture, chiro, supplements, etc. The goal of chemo in dogs, particularly with OSA is palliative. Veterinary medicine simply cannot support the treatment and medical resources required to seek curative treatment. It isn't realistic, given a dog's life expectancy and most importantly preservation of quality of life. Chemotherapy is stressful, it's complications even more so. This takes a toll on their immune system at least as much as the disease. Everyone has to decide what is best for their individual dog and circumstances. Be comfortable with your plan because there isn't any right or wrong one. Just know there are alternatives.
I was given the same direction and statistics nine months ago. Isabelle is still doing well and as of today's CXR does not have visible lung mets. Her abdominal ultrasound was negative a few weeks ago and we're not seeing anything elsewhere right now. You just never know what the outcome is going to be or when it is going to change .As difficult as it is, I always have to keep in mind, that cancer aside, she is very near her normal life expectancy. Like our friend Cooper, these months have been a blessing and there is nothing I would alter.
It is the oncologist's job to provide information relevant to his specialty, not necessarily to provide other options. Do you have access to an integrative practitioner? They can be incredibly helpful in sorting out your choices, often have more experience outside the narrow math you are likely being presented and are usually comfortable with a multidisciplinary approach
Best of luck with your decisions. Be at peace with them.
Cynthia
You have had some great advice already...just know you are in my thoughts as I know your head is spinning right now. I totally agree with Cynthia's post above. Good advice Cynthia.
Good luck with your girl, we're here for you.
Tracy, Maggie's Mom
Maggie was amputated for soft tissue sarcoma 10-20-09
Maggie lost her battle with kidney disease on 8-24-13
Lucy is a beautiful dane, she has my favorite color pattern. As far as your concerns you definately came to the right place. I had decided to do the amputation when my newfie mix was diagnosed, and before his operation he fractured his leg. It was very very painful for him. We had to wait 3 days before he could get the operation.
I agree with everyone else, there is no set answers, no perfect equation. I am glad I did chemo for my boy, other than the last couple of treatments there were few side effects. He now is on metronomics and is a healthy happy dog. I suggest reading through the blogs and also stories of so many others that have traveled this road.
Good luck and I am sorry you had to come find this place, but we are glad you are here 🙂
Elizabeth and Sammy
Diagnosed with osteosarcoma in the right front leg 8/23/10,
leg fractured 8/27/10,
leg amputated 8/30/10
http://sammyand.....pawds.com/
I couldn't begin to say how special Sammy is to us. Living and laughing with and loving this wonderful boy is priceless.
Welcome to Tripawds. I don't have much to add, as everyone else has given you great advice. Please keep us posted on Lucy, and we'll keep you in our prayers.
Sending you lots of golden hugs,
Cathy
Dawn and Lucy,
My apologies for moving your post but since you're wrestling with the diagnosis, I thought it was more appropriate to move your post to this discussion forum topic. Would've done it yesterday but my pawrents were out celebrating their wedding anniversary!
We are so sorry you got the bad news, but rest assured, there are options and there are many success stories of dogs who have beaten those sad odds that doctors have to give us when it comes to osteosarcoma. We're here to help any way we can. We'll be honest though, and as you can see, amputation recovery is no cake walk, but it's also not as bad as humans make it out to be. If you proceed you'll learn that Lucy is soooo much more resilient than you thought!
Ok, first off, let's start with that amputation decision:
My pawrents' inspawration for proceeding with my amputation was in fact, a Harlequin Great Dane named Moose! You can read his beautiful story here (be sure to follow the links in the story to read about his background). If it wasn't for Moose, my pawrents never would have believed that I could make it on three legs, and I was about half his size!
Since we started this site, we have seen many more dogs larger than Moose who did just fine on three legs. There are exceptions of course, and the super-sized dogs like Saints do tend to have a harder time, but overall most Danes and other dogs don't let losing a leg stop them. Keep in mind that you are getting rid of the horrible pain of bone cancer, not getting rid of a leg.
Now, about treating osteosarcoma:
Whether or not you choose to pursue chemo is entirely up to you. There are no "right" answers here. The only right one is the one that works for your family. Some dogs have chemotherapy, others don't. Our Tripawds Amputation and Cancer Care Survey can give you a snapshot of what kinds of treatments people pursue. Statistically speaking, chemo will give dogs a better shot at survival. But one thing we've learned here is that stats are often wrong and don't apply to each and every dog, because each dog is different. Some who have chemo do live longer, while others don't. Some who don't have chemo live longer than anyone ever thought pawsible. We have seen dogs thrive for two, sometimes three years without chemo. It's amazing.
Try to look at cancer therapy as like cooking pasta. There's really no way to tell what will guarantee longevity. You just take all those treatments and throw them up on the wall to see what sticks. Some of us try one type of conventional chemo, others take a full spectrum approach with a combination of Western and Eastern therapies.
You can watch my story on a PBS show I was on, "Why We Love Cats and Dogs"
I hope this helps somewhat. If you want more reading, you can download our Tripawds eBook, "Three Legs and A Spare," which can give you an overview of options.
Remember, breathe. Don't get overwhelmed with too much information right now, and remember, no matter what, it's all about quality of life, not quantity.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
dawnw2600 said:
Hi, my beautiful 71/2 year old great dane , Lucy, was just diagnosed with osteosarcoma to her front leg. she is limping around with pain. on pain meds which help somewhat. i have an appointment in two days to talk with an oncology vet. my vet is suggesting the best course of action to give her a year or more to live is amputation with chemotherapy once a month since she is in good health and there is no evidence of mets to lungs. She does have some arthritis to spine and hips, but nothing that ever kept her from going . i dont know what to do. doc says amputation alone will give her six months. do nothing and she will have to be put down in a month or so from the pain. I am so devastated. she is truly my angel dog. i need some thoughts. i dont want her to suffer because i want her with me longer. thanks for any input. Dawn
Amputation is the most hearbreaking decision I made. My 10 year old Golden, JuJu was diagnosed on April 20th, We were just devasted. We had just gone thru our other Golden, Andrew's lymphoma back in October and unfortuately the chemo did not work. We put Andrew down on December 20th. Four months later we are in the same situation except now osteosarcoma in his right front leg. JuJu was 91 lbs and all muscle. He had severe arthritis in that leg and also his other front leg, and his spine. We were treating him for the past 2 years with adequan injections and for the past 7 months tramadol and deramax. We went to an oncologist and they confirmed the diagnosis. Yes we had 3 choices, do nothing, do radiation and a drug, or amputation and chemo. All the vets told us it was caught early, so on May 5th we had his leg amputated. When we picked him up I was shocked and hearbroken and doubted my decision. He saw us in the waiting room and crawled to us on his belly like a seal. He was drugged up and we got him in the house and slept with him on the floor for 5 nights. The second day we managed to get him out by assisting him with a beach towel under his belly to hold him up. Every day after has just amazed me. My JuJu is himself. Happy, eating, drinking and wanting to play. He had his first chemo Monday and did very well. He was tired after I got him home but still ate and drank. Two weeks ago I really had my doubts, but today I am grateful he is here and I hope the chemo will keep the cancer in check for a year or more. He is walking more outside, and even goes up the steps next to our bed to sleep with us. We walk several times a day and each day it is a little farther. He continues to amaze us each day. Before surgery JuJu always moaned serverely everytime he moved, we always said he was like and old man getting out of a chair. His moaning has almost stopped, leaving us to think that the arthritis and the cancer were extremely painful to him. He will continue his adequan, tramadol, deramax and now gabapentin....a wonder drug that makes him like a puppy. Good luck with your decision......we now know we made the correct one. Karen
Hi Ksenay385,
Welcome to you and JuJu as well. Thanks for sharing your story here- I think many of us had doubts after choosing amputation.
You might consider starting a new thread in the 'Share Your Story' forum so we get to know more about you and JuJu.
Your future posts will not have to wait for moderation as long as you remember to log in- only the first post (in your case 2 posts since I didn't get a chance to approve the first one before you posted again) has to wait.
Karen and the pugapalooza
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