Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello,
I bought the suit for my dog and loved it. It covered up his surgery site and gave him some padding. To be honest I also liked it because I didn’t have to see the surgery site. He looked adorable and actually happy in his little suit. Unfortunately, we didn’t wear it super long because he got a wound on his front leg from something else and ended up with a big cast/bandage on his front leg after his hind leg amputation. When I slept I did put on a donut so he couldn’t get at anything. I work from home and was able to monitor him but at night or if I left he had on the suit and a cone or donut. He seemed to like the padding on his surgery site.
Other than all that other stuff I just let my dog be. I let him be off away from me but where I could see him and was right there if he let me know he needed anything at all. He seemed to be comforted that I was near by but not hovering over him. He changed up his places to lay down and sleep and I didn’t push him to go to his normal places. He is now back to all his other places. Within the first week he spent a lot of time on the patio in the sun. He has always liked that but it seemed to make him extra happy right after his surgery. For that first week or so my job was just to watch him leave him be and make sure he was comfortable.
Best of luck.
Amy
Good morning everyone!! I just wanted to give an update on Lola. So, we went back to Cornell yesterday and met with the soft tissue surgery team. The doctor we met with was amazing! She talked to us about the surgery, what the plan was, what to expect and she went over all of the possible complications of surgery. I had a list of questions I wrote down and took with me, and she was ecstatic about that and answered all of them. She was especially excited when I asked her about phantom limb pain. She said I was the first person to ever ask her that and that Cornell actually did a study about it. They told me they were going to do an exam on Lola and take measurements of her tumor, etc. I asked them to please do another chest x-ray to make sure there was no disease progression before they went ahead with the surgery. I had to leave her up there last night and she is scheduled late morning early afternoon today for the procedure. The doctor called me last night to update me on Lola and to give me the results of her x-ray....IT'S CLEAN
there is no notable disease progression in her lungs!!!! I cried after I hung up. The doctor also told me that Miss thing had spent the afternoon in the students lounge with the students soaking up all the attention hahaha She told me that they would be calling me through out the day today to give me updates on her and let me know how she is doing. With prep, surgery and recovery, it will be about 4hrs. She said the surgery itself would take an hour to an hour and a half, but, the prep is the longest because they have to shave so much of her fur. They will also be giving her a nerve block during surgery to help with post surgical pain. As long as everything goes well and she can somewhat ambulate tomorrow, I will be able to go back up and bring my baby home!
I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about seeing her for the first time tomorrow. I have tried so hard to mentally prepare myself for the first look, but that lump in my throat and ache in my chest seems to have grown tendrils and latched on. I know I have to be strong for her, and I will be but, I also know that first look, no matter how much I have prepared myself is going to be a punch in the gut.
I am doing this FOR her, not TO her!!! A mantra I have repeated to myself over and over and over again.
I will keep you updated as I am!
Can I ask you all to pray for her? Pray for the doctors performing the surgery, pray that the surgery goes well without any complications, that Lola makes it through okay, and pray for me, for strength to keep myself together!
I honestly don't know what I would do without this community! This website, the information, the stories, the support, is beyond a blessing and I am SO eternally grateful for all of it, and all of YOU
Trisha,
Well that is great news that things are moving forward! I'm so happy that she is in one of the world's best places for this surgery and care. Who is your oncologist? They sound terrific, you have Lola in great hands with the team at Cornell.
Of course you are worried and no doubt you will feel very emotional when you pick her up. You wouldn't be human if you weren't. But as long as you set the intention to embrace the moment and in your heart know that you are doing what's right for her, you can get through this as a great example of how to set the tone for a good recovery.
Yep, we are all sending tons of pawsitivity and love and well wishes for a boring, uneventful surgery and easy peasy recovery!
P.S. That's awesome your oncologist mentioned the phantom pain study! Did she happen to mention when it was published? I'm thinking it might be this one, "The Canine Postamputation Pain (CAMPPAIN) initiative: a retrospective study and development of a diagnostic scale."
Keep us posted!!! I'm in the Tripawds Chat for a bit if you want to talk.
Oh gosh, so glad to get such a detailed update and one where Lola's team so willinglycovered all the bases of what to expect, the process, etc. I love that Miss Thing has already won the hearts of the students😎
Absolutely sending prayers for Lola and tons of pawsitive tripawd energy too!🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏👍👍👍
Remeber to not even bother looking at the incision when you pick her up. She just wants to see you smiling and looking lovingly in her eyes and telling her what a good girl she is!! I will tell you that the amount of fur shaved startled me far more than the incision!!! The I vision represents giving Lola a Happy, pain free life!!!
Yaaaay for good xrays!!!! 👏👏👏
Remember.....FOR Lola......not TO Lola!😎
Hugs
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!
Thank you all SO much ❤️
I received a call from one of the surgeons on Lola's team about 45 minutes ago. She is out of surgery and recovering very well. The surgery went great! They have her resting comfortably now and will call me in the morning to set up a discharge time.
I can't wait to have her back home with me!
The doc couldn't stop saying how much she loved Lola. She said as soon as they pulled the breathing tube from her mouth, her tail was just wagging 🥹
There will be staff there all night to monitor her and the other pups, which puts my mind at ease! I'm glad she won't be alone.
Jerry, her oncologist is Dr. Kelly Fish. And, her surgeon didn't say when the article was published so I'm not sure. I couldn't ask for a better team and a better place for her to be in!
I will post more updates after I get my baby home!
YAAAAAY. FOR. LOLA!!!!! I love the tail wag.....great sign! Even drugged up she's a happy dog!
Get some good rest tonight. Lola is feeling no pain and seeing some cute pink elephants!
Okay, we'll look for the welcome home update.
Hugs
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!
Aww so happy she's on the road to recovery! 
I hope her homecoming is going great. Keep us posted.
Thanks for the scoop on your oncologist. She's gotta be whip-smart to be where she is. Lucky dawg!
We just got home!!!! She is doing SO good!! She is happy to be home and has already been up on her own and to her water dish!!! She's got her little pink vet suit on and snuggled up on her dog bed. She's figuring out the 3 legged thing and I think once she is no longer on pain meds, she will have it down! Right now she is still pretty groggy, but her tail is wagging, she's home and she's healthy! I couldn't ask for anymore ❤️
YAAAAAAAY. FOR. LOLA!!!! Welcome home sweet girl!!
It sounds like she is doing very well! To get tail wags already....love that!!!!
You may have a bit of a crash after all the hospital meds wear...nothing to worry about.
Hugs
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!
Good morning!!!
Well, Lola is still doing good, however, she doesn't want to eat right now. She didn't want her dinner last night and hasn't wanted her breakfast this morning either. I tried her regular kibble, I tried a little bit of just pumpkin and then I tried pumpkin mixed with her kibble. She said no lol she is drinking just fine, I'm just not sure what to do about her eating.
Also, she won't use the ramp 
she did fine using it before surgery, but now, she steps on it and slides so she won't go down it. I have been having to pick her up and lift her off my porch everytime and then lift her back on. Once she's on the ground she goes on her own to potty.
Drinking and pottying great news! Not surprising at all ahe doesnt want to eat much. The meds usually interfere a little bit with appetite. Try giving her some Rotisserie chicken, maybe some scrambled eggs with cheese....just anything yummy at this point that she will eat.
Drinking and peeing are more important right now that eating and pooping.
I put some asphalt shingles down my ramp to prevent the sliding. Maybe cheap yoga mats.....not sure how they would hold up in weather though. You could also try some botties like PAWZ. It may be that this rejection of the ramp and slipping will go away once she adjust to the meds and as she regains confidence as a tripawd.
Everything sounds "normal" and on track for a good recovery. Slow and easy is the name of the game right now.
Hugs
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!
Hi Trisha! Glad to hear she is doing well overall. As Sally mentioned, appetite will be weak when she's on pain meds. You can try those things Sally suggested, anything to get food in her that she really wants to eat so she can take those meds without GI upset.
It doesn't surprise me that she won't use the ramp, I would just keep doing what you are doing until she gets more confidence. It may take time. Lots of dogs won't do ramps but if she was using it before, it's probably just a matter of her feeling 100% before she tries again.
I think this sounds like a terrific first couple of days at home! I hope tomorrow is even better. Keep us posted!
Good morning everyone!! Day 3 home and Lola is doing great!! I ended up getting some chicken breasts and boiling them for her. Shredded them and she gobbled them right down. I mixed some in with her kibble last night and again this morning and she ate it all!! She continues to blow my mind with how well she is getting around on her own. Day by day, she seems to figure it out a little more and my heart explodes everytime!
I do have some anti slip things on the ramp, but I am ok with her not using it. I have started putting a towel under her belly and helping her down the two steps of the deck and then back up. I have been alternating heat and ice and few times a day. I have unzipped her little suit a couple of times to check the incision and it looks good. She has a little bit of bruising which is to be expected, but overall, it looks good. It's strange to actually see the area. Not shocking, just strange.
The day I brought her home, I kept Titan separated from her, but the following day I decided I would let him in to see her and let him check her out so he knew she was ok. He did great! He was cautious and gave her a few sniffs and since then, he has left her alone. I only keep them separated at night now. He's just happy to be near her
I forgot to ask in my last post, should I worry about her panting? She started doing it last night. I'm not sure if she's hot with the suit on or if it's a pain response. I have been staying on top of her medication. She is on Gabapentin, Trazadone and Cephlexin. I tried removing the suit for a little bit last night but, she immediately started licking her incision so I put it back on.
I'm not sure what do to. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Lola is a recovery rock star! It's the recovery everyone hopes for.
The panting could be several things. If you don't think it's from pain then do you have a cone or donut type collar you could experiment with? If the panting is from heat then maybe she would stop without the suit. You could also try running a fan on her.
It could also be a reaction to the meds. I've never had good luck with traz or anything used for sedation. Although if she has been on the drug cocktail for a while she may be tolerating it OK. Any meds from the surgery should be out of her system by now- did she get a pain shot after surgery? If so the amount of pain meds in her system might not be enough.
If the behavior continues be sure and let your vet know. Gaba is the only pain med she is on and it's not unusual to need a tweak in dosage or timing to get the optimum benefit. Some dogs will need a second pain med to be comfortable and panting can be a pain sign.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
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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