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 there Asti and family ❤️
My girl Eurydice is a 150lb Great Dane who lost her front leg to osteosarcoma 4 months ago.
I honestly thought she would never be able to fully recover due to her size but you know what? She did.
As others said here, the first landmark date is when stitches come out and that is when we really see our babies coming through the surgery.
We went for 6 sessions of chemo and are starting metronomic therapy in a couple of weeks.
There weren't ever any side effects.
But will she have more time in the end because we went for it?
Nobody can answer that, nobody really knows.
But what we all know is we never regretted the decision to amputate, osteosarcoma is excrutiatingly painful and there is simply no other way of getting rid of the pain ...
Sending a cloud of pawsitive energy, we are thinking about you and your girl ❤️🐾🐾🐾
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Thank you again for all of the warm wishes! She is out of surgery and doing well they said so that is a start! Keeping her overnight of course on fluids and meds so hopefully she will be doing good tomorrow as well. We will probably pick her favorite area to lay (in the corner of the kitchen on the cold tile) and lay a soft blanket for her. Although she has not been big on doggie beds that we have tried since her coat is so thick and she gets pretty hot. I will definitely be keeping a lot of cheese on hand which is her favorite. Hopefully her road to recovery will be a quick one! 
Good to hear she's out of surgery and doing well. Might want to get some non slip rugs or yoga mats for that tile rather than a blanket. Non slip areas are key to a Tripawd. Especially early on. 😀 Keep us posted on the homecoming we'll be right here if you need us.
Wonderful news 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Linda is totally right about preparing your house so traction is not a problem for Asti as she adapts to life on 3.
A good mattress is also important as it cannot be too soft, we have a memory foam one which is great because it adapts to my girl's body shape and at the same time is solid enough for her to step in/out of it.
Sending you lots of pawsitive energy and cuddles to your sweetie pie 😘🐶🐾🐾🐾🐾
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
My thoughts are with you as well. everyone before me has provided you with all you need to know. My Sweet Ted is celebrating his 1 month ampuversary today and he has been bouncing all day. I have no regrets and I dare say neither does he. I hope that we are lucky and we get to enjoy him for years vice months but either way we have no regrets and 2, 3,6 10 months or whatever are enough. Good luck today. It will be okay - you are in good hands here.
wanda
I am glad to hear Miss Asti Spumante (had to do it) is out of surgery and in the recovery ward.
Traction will be important for a big dog - you don't want her to slip and fall on her surgical site. Yoga matts, aisle runners, area rugs with foam back. All can really help.
Can't wait to hear about her homecoming!
Lisa, Minneapolis
On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly. His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.
Hi and welcome.
I'm glad that surgery went well and you are on the road to recovery!
I've had pugs for a long time but I've always had a soft spot for Newfies. I had a Newfie mix (he was bigger than a normal Newfie but had all the other traits), Bo-dog was one of the smartest and most loyal dogs I have ever known. Pugs are little and can be quite obstinate- nothing like Bo!
I'll be looking for an update tomorrow when you get your girl home.
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
Online
YAAAAAAAAAY!! Surgerynis done ans she is seeing pink elephants!! Now try and get some rest. Yiu may not sleep much over the next several nights when she first comes home.
Oh, and don't even bother to look at the incision site! She sure isn't!! Just look into druggy eyes and tell her what a good girl she is!.
We'¢ll look forward to yiur updates
Hugs!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS...They shave a lot of fur...a whole lot!!
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!
Glad everything went well! Get some sleep yourself in preparation for her homecoming!
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
I just want to say thank you to everyone for the warm wishes and advice but unfortunately we had to put our girl down this morning and a happy day turned in to a pretty rough one to say the least. She was doing well when she got done with surgery but then took a turn for the worse and we had to say goodbye this morning. Thank you for the support everyone has shown thus far and good luck and love to all that find this site. It has been a little bit of a sanctuary for me.
Ohhhh my gosh I'm so very, very sorry. What a terrible day, we all feel so badly for you. I'm in the Tripawds Chat room right now if you want to talk and we have the Tripawds Helpline too if you'd like a shoulder to lean on oK?
I'm really sorry. If and when you feel strong enough to do so, come back share her life with us and tell more about her in our Coping with Loss Forum. It can be good therapy at a time like this. {{{{hugs}}}}
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I am so sorry to hear this news. I cannot imagine how devastated you must be, since the whole point of the surgery was more quality time. The whole community will grieve the loss of Asti, just as it is the loss of my Otis.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
I am so very sorry for the loss of your beautiful Asti
Tracy, Bruce and family
Words fail me at this moment. Wrapping you and your family in healing hugs at this hardest of times. Fly free Angel Asti fly free.
Oh no, I'm so sorry, how devastating.
I hope you know you were doing your very best for your beautiful girl Asti. I so hate the pain and suffering this stupid disease causes and I'm sorry you are having to bear this terrible burden.
As Jerry said, if it helps we would love to hear more about your girl. Once you log on here you are part of our family and we will mourn you loss with you.
Karen and Spirit Maggie
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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