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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My Odin is a 6 year old pure bred rottweiler. He is the best friend a girl could ask for. He is hopelessly devoted to me. He would follow me to the ends of the earth. Odin tore both of his ACLs when he was 3 years old. I was lucky enough to be able to get them fixed. This last January Odin became lame in his back left leg. Xrays were done, exams were performed and it was decided we needed to do an exploratory surgery to figure out what happened. After Odin's 3rd knee surgery he still wasn't using his back leg. I took him to a rehab center where they assessed his pain but found a suspicious mass. After an x-ray and an ultrasound it was decided that the mass was more than just a soft tissue trauma and needed to be investigated further. A fine needle aspirate was performed and the cytology concluded that there were cancerous cells present. We biopsied the mass with no results due to the mass being buried further into the muscle than we thought. Friday he was scheduled for another biopsy but upon examination and a long realistic conversation with the surgeon we decided his best chance for pain relief was to take the leg. I needed to do right by him. Whether or not this "cures" his cancer is unknown. Post amputation samples of the mass were sent off to determine what kind of cancer it is, but the surgeon was pretty certain it is osteosarcoma. I am a vet tech and as they were performing the amputation I was in appointments pretending everything was okay and that my dog's leg wasn't being cut off in the other room. I wanted to faint.
Today marks 3 days post op and my heart is at war with my head. Did I make the right decision to take his leg? Does he understand why I did it? Will he not be whimpering and panting one day? I want to leave and come back when he's better. My heart feels like it's in a vice. What have I done? Is this worth it to him?
Hi Odin and mamma/papa, welcome. Your future posts won't need approval so post away.
First, I want to say that you are the BEST parent Odin could ask for. You do your homework, you are well-acquainted with rehab and you also work in the veterinary field. WOW. seriously, he couldn't ask for a better human. Your background and contacts gives him so many advantages, he is going to ROCK life on three legs.
Now, the disadvantage of being in the field, is that sometimes those who work in the vet field take things really hard when they are dealing with amputation for their own pet. I've seen it happen a few times, from vets to nurses and everyone who works in a clinic. You guys see amputation all the time but when it happens to your own animal, it's an emotional rollercoaster. So know that you are not alone, and also that we've had more than a few vet techs join us through the years. In fact there is a vet tech who just joined us recently but I can't remember right now who it is. Hopefully they'll chime in.
Three days post op is extremely early in the recovery process. It's really the hardest time for anyone going through it, even with the best medication. Which leads me to ask: what pain meds is Odin on right now? Panting and whimpering are often signs of either too little or too much medication. Ask your vets in the clinic if they can assess his behavior and adjust his pain meds so he's more relaxed. Sometimes a sedative can also be given to help relax, if the vet feels the pain meds are appropriate.
We all wrestle with the decision to amputate and not until we see are animal getting around on three and happy again do we feel good about the surgery. It will happen, Odin is a strong, young and healthy dog who has everything on his side to bounce back. Your feelings are normal and understandable. For now, try putting yourself in Odin's shoes. This is major surgery and most people would have an even harder time in recovery. In about a week and a half Odin will probably start to show his old self again, most dogs do. Hang in there and lean on us in the meantime, we're here for all those questions swimming in your head!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Oh I'd also like to share this Tripawds video from vet industry professionals who have advice for new Tripawd parents. I hope it helps:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you so incredibly much for your advice and help!!! I was having such a low moment last night, I never knew how hard this was going to hit me. Like you said, I see it all of the time! He is on 100 mg of Carprofen twice a day, 600 mg of gabapentin twice a day and I just added in Tramadol because of his panting and pacing. He seems so much better. He fell and got super bruised up, that's when the panting started, so I am only giving the tramadol for a couple of days. I stumbled upon this group when I was googling information on after care at home to make sure there wasn't anything else I could do, and I'm so happy I did!
What you are feeling has been shared by all of us! Hugs! You are probably at the worst part of the recovery right now! Hospital meds are out of Odin's system and he's probably being vocal and panting. Sometimes the meds need a bit of adjusting at this time to help. I can tell you true that no he will NOT be like this for ever. Starting soon he will start feeling better day by day! It does take the bigger dogs just a bit longer to figure this whole thing out. Believe me Odin is not worrying about missing that leg! Those are our human feelings. Odin is just going day by day. Try to be happy and positive around him. Right now he's feeding off your emotions so if you act calm and confident like this is no big deal he will follow your lead. As he gets better he will once again be that same happy boy he was now that that leg that caused him pain is gone. You'll see his sparkle come back and by the end of recovery you will know you did this for him not to him! The bond you and Odin will forge here will be unbreakable. Hang in there and if you have any questions or we can help in any way please let us know! Truly better days are coming!
scarlette2358 said
Today marks 3 days post op and my heart is at war with my head. Did I make the right decision to take his leg? Does he understand why I did it? Will he not be whimpering and panting one day? I want to leave and come back when he's better. My heart feels like it's in a vice. What have I done? Is this worth it to him?
YES!! You made the right decision!! You made a decision out of love to take his pain away and give him extended quality time to be right by your side for more loving and spoiling and tummy rubs!! 🙂
You did this FOR Odin, and not TO him!! All he "understands" is that painful leg is gone and he doesn't have ro endure anymore surgeries or painful tests!
DITTO Jerry! Recovery is ROUGH! This IS MAJOR SURGERY and it hurts!! You really won't have any idea how stressed out you are and physically and emotionally exhausted until you get through these next couple of weeks. You WILL see Odin's sparkle come back bigger and brighter than before!
My Happy Hannah was whiny, panting and restless for at least the first three days and nights. Neither one of us slept more than a couple of hours during that time! I was soooooo fearful I had made a HORRIBLE decision! I didn't find this incredible site until Day Six and it was a life saver!! They supported me and reassured me and plied me with great firste information to help me through it!
It did take me three weeks before I could FINALLY say I did this FOR my Happy Hannah and not TO her! 🙂 She flourished nust fine on three legs and the pain was gone! We had GLORIOUS extended time full of so much joy and happiness....and ice cream and cheese pizza crust!
As a Vet Tech,you rarely see the "recovery aftermath" once a dog leaves the clinic from surgery. This whole ordeal is going to make you even more compassionate and empathetic towards your "customers" now. You are going to be such a great help to anyone taking a dog home after major surgery!
So take some deep breaths......try and get some sleep when you can....and gobble up as much CHOCOLATE as you can get your hands on!!!
Let us know when Odin has his first poop
We celebrate anything around here! 🙂
STAY CONNECTED!! We are right here by yiur side!
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!
Just saw the pain meds you are dosing. You can tweak the pain meds some, but most of us here found the Gabapentin and Tramadol were effective and kept our dogs in them for two to three weeks (reducing the amounts). Sonif the Tramadol is helping, you may want to continue with that well into the second week. Just a "for whatever it's worth".
Yep, face planting happens.
If you have hardwood floors, get some non slip scatter rugs or yoga mats for traction . No stairs, no jumping kn couch, just short potty breaks and rest, rest, rest!
You've got this!
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!
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