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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Where to begin...
I'm new on here and have just been given some quite devastating news. My absolutely crazy and adorable 7 year old lab was diagnosed with a myxosarcoma in his rear leg earlier this year after a lump began to show. He has no sign of pain whatsoever and is as bonkers as ever. I was referred to a specialist and they operated twice and removed a whopping 20cm mass, I was then told to leave it a few months for it all to calm down and then go for another MRI scan.
We've just had the scan done and unfortunately it looks like there might be a recurrence but this time a lot higher up, underneath his hip. They've basically gave me two options and neither are good. They said I can leave it and not put him through anymore surgery and hope it's a slow grower, but the concern there with where it is eventually it might grow and rub on the nerves which could be painful for him or even cut off the circulation to the leg and if I leave it until later it might be too late to operate if it grows. Or the alternative is to have his rear leg and half of his hip amputated to try and get clear margins and hope it doesn't reoccur again. I've been told it is quite an aggressive surgery more than a normal amputation and can take a while for them to heal. They haven't confirmed it is definitely cancer again yet as the cell sample was no good to be sent off to pathology, so they have said I can have a biopsy but not to bother unless I'm definitely going to take the leg.
So here's my confusion:
He's had to be put under 3 times now and it makes him quite ill, I'm not sure I want to keep going back and putting him through more as he's such a lively dog and he's been through a lot with it lately. Then I was also told it can't be 100% sure that the cancer will be cured from the amputation...which worries me taking his leg for no reason when he could have a happy couple of years left bouncing around. And on the other hand the surgery may be his best shot of having the long life he should have, but I'm not sure how he will cope without the hip. Especially as they've said he has arthritis coming in his hips (would one leg cope with this?).
To top it all off my family have said I'd be cruel to take his leg making the decision even more incredibly hard as I don't know if everyone would think this of me as I'm only trying to do the best from him.
If anyone has any advice or if there dog has undergone a similar surgery I'd love to hear from you. I'm in a complete quandry with what to do at this upsetting time. My dog is my life, truly is my best friend, my child and my jester wrapped up in one.
Thanks
Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
I'm sorry you are facing this decision for your boy....what's his name?
First off- it is not cruel to remove a diseased limb from a dog. I know how hard it is to think about but the majority of dogs really do just fine on three. My current tripawd is a little pug mix named Elly who lost her right rear leg after being hit by a car at 7 months old. She won't be two until the end of December and she is full of puppy energy. She can do pretty much anything a dog her size and age can do except scratch behind her right ear....that's my job!
We have had a couple dogs here who have had a Hemipelvectomy. Here is Scout's story, he just celebrated his one year ampuversary. And here is Eider's Blog, a lab who had the surgery last April.
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
Your love comes shine through with each word!! And that avatar picture...OMD!!! What a sweetheart!!!
Here's another link to a very old post, but you find it helpful regarding myxosarcoma. There are some links within the replies that may help. You'll see a lot of information about the amputation decision in general. I offer this as just "general" I formation. You have individual and specifics concerns relative to yiur sweet pup.
http://tripawds.....-decision/
We all understand the gut wrenching heartache when trying to grapple with what is best for our dogs and cats. I'm not going to address the "cruelly" remark you are dealing with, other than to say, you are doing the research, you are becoming informed in amputations in general. ANY decision you make on how to proceed will be made out of love...And that is always a right decision...never a cruel one!
YOU ARE NOT ALONE! We understand like no others can! We are here with you and we are now your "family and friends" too!
Be back in a.bit. Just wanted to send you some cyber hugs!
Would love to see more pictures of your handsome pup!
Lots of love!
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!
Oh my gosh of course that's a hard decision, these choices make your head spin. But most of us have been through it and totally understand what you're going through, and the negative feedback you're getting as well.
First, know that it's not cruel to take a leg off. Is it cruel to amputate a person's diseased leg? Of course not. But you'll get the ol' "Oh but he's not a person!" feedback from many. Do yourself a favor, and tune them out. If you are in charge of his health and his care, then it's your decision and nobody else has a say. It sure sounds like he has a lot of life left in him. Yes, cancer is a crapshoot. But then again, so is life. You don't know how much time you have with him, with or without cancer, just like you don't know if you'll be around next week. Right? So if you can make whatever time he has left on this earth, pain free and happy on three, then why not? And something else to consider: dogs don't keep time, or read calendars. To them, one day is ten years, they have no concept of time and are so unburdened by it the way we are. All they want is to keep living life every day to the fullest, with the people they love most.
You'll find many examples of hemipelvectomies here. It sounds drastic, and while it's more invasive surgery (you'll definitely want a board-certified orthopedic vet for the procedure), dogs bounce back and do very well 99.99% of the time. And if there's an even better chance to get rid of the cancer by doing this procedure, then why not? It's very routine. Yes, he'll need to be anesthetized again, but just once (hopefully there won't be any of the rare complications your vet can tell you about). But after that, it's smooth sailing. And he can spend his older adult years as a happy, pain free dog.
Have you seen Jerry's Required Reading List yet? Go check it out, you'll see that your concerns aren't unusual, and you'll have the information you need to make an informed decision.
I hope this helps. Stay tuned, others will chime in too OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
OMG your avatar picture is too cute!
I agree with the others, it is an incredibly hard decision to make for your best friend. I was fortunate in that I didn't have to make that decision for my boy Domino, the decision was made for me. I agree with Jerry, if doing the surgery can provide him with several more pain free happy years on three legs then why not! You take a risk either way, leaving the leg or having it removed. You know your dog best and you alone have to make this decision for him, regardless of what your friends and family say, you know whats best for him.
I don't have any knowledge or experience of the procedure he would have done, but I have seen dogs older than him go through similar tough surgeries and bounce back incredibly well. Like Jerry said, make sure you take him to a board certified orthopedic surgeon for the procedure, as they'll have the best experience to get him and you through this.
I hope everything works out well for your boy!!
Cassie and Domino
“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”
Domino had his left front leg amputate on May 13th 2014 after being hit by a car. He's now living a happy healthy life on three legs :)
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