Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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So Levi is now 17 months post-amputation (Osteosarcoma) and has been doing great. We know how extremely fortunate we are to have gotten this much extra time with him. Unfortunately, today he had a freak accident where he slipped and fell, and broke his right front leg (his left rear was amputated). 
X-Rays showed a clean break, with no evidence of any new cancer in the bone or in his lungs. He is now 9 years old, which is old for a Boxer anyway, but throw in 17 months post Osteo-amputation, and this becomes such a tough decision on us.
We want to go ahead with the surgery to repair it, but it is going to be tough because the break is close to the bone (just above his elbow). He is at the emergency clinic now, on pain meds and being kept comfortable overnight.
The doctor was very compassionate to our situation. She has a Tripawd of her own (Jack Russell) and said she didn't know what she would do if she was on our side of the table.
So this really sucks. Does anybody here have any experience with their Tripawd breaking a leg? Levi bounced back from the amputation surgery incredibly fast, so I think he would do the same again, but ugh...I worry about his quality of life with 2.5 legs.
Levi was diagnosed w/likely osteosarcoma at 7.5 years old in 7/2015 and became a Tripawd on 9/11/15. Loved life until he broke one of his front legs on 2/12/17. As x-rays showed clean bone, we decided to repair the leg. He recovered well, but in June of 2017, started to limp on the same leg. X-Rays showed return of OSA in the front leg. Levi crossed the rainbow bridge on 7/20/17, after over 22 months as a happy Tripawd.
I'm so sorry to hear this Derek! It's great that Levi has done so well.
We have had several Tripawds here who have needed surgery on a remaining leg. Recovery is of course more complicated than for a quad dog but it can be done.
Here is a Great Blog Post about Tripawds who have had surgery on a remaining limb with lots of great links. Most of the info is about hip or knee surgeries but I would think it could translate to a front amp. You will see Murphy's story there- he lost a rear leg after a car accident and then had hip replacement on the remaining hip!
How long does the vet think recovery will be?
Hopefully some of our members with direct experience will see this soon.
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
Wonderful, thank you! Those stories certainly make us feel a bit better.
The emergency doc talked to her classmate who is now a surgeon nearby, and he thinks he has a good chance of being able to fix the break. She said that she trusts this surgeon to not be overly optimistic without reason. We haven't talked to him or scheduled it yet, but fingers crossed that he'll be able to do the surgery early this week.
Levi was diagnosed w/likely osteosarcoma at 7.5 years old in 7/2015 and became a Tripawd on 9/11/15. Loved life until he broke one of his front legs on 2/12/17. As x-rays showed clean bone, we decided to repair the leg. He recovered well, but in June of 2017, started to limp on the same leg. X-Rays showed return of OSA in the front leg. Levi crossed the rainbow bridge on 7/20/17, after over 22 months as a happy Tripawd.
My first OSA dog, Heffalump, had a series of unfortunate circumstances which led to him being a TwoPawd. He lived a very happy and wonderful life even as a TwoPawd. Hard to believe, but, it's true! All of which is to say, it sounds as if Levi has every opportunity to do well with his upcoming surgery! Which is amazing indeed! You hang in there Levi! You got this!!! (Also, um, wouldn't this be considered emergency surgery, as in, surgery should be tomorrow? Can't imagine how Levi is able to get around with a broken leg...) Best wishes for the upcoming days, hugs, and PyrPaws all around!
Hi - So sorry to hear about Levi's injury.
Our Zula lost her right rear when she was rescued as a young 5-mo old pup (we adopted her about two months post-op). She truly has never missed it. Cut to 2.5 years later, and she tore the ACL in her left rear. We didn't know what it was at first, and feared the worst (we had lost a 13-ry-old dog to cancer after having his leg amputated/going through chemo), and were actually relieved when the diagnosis came back as an ACL. The post-surgery/recovery period was definitely not fun (probably more for us than her), but with a lot of patience (probably more on her part putting up with us being hyper-vigilant about everything 😀), we all made it through and she was back to doing 'pittie circles' in no time.
I understand it's a tough decision, but hopefully hearing others' success stories helps. Best of luck.
TripawdMom said
Best of luck.
Thanks for the input Cathy! Please be sure to log in or your posts will continue to require moderation.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Oh gosh! My heart just thank when I read the title to the thread and all I could do was shake my head and say no, no, no! I am so sorry you're having to deal with this. So very sorry.
HOWEVER, as you can see this is indeed doable!!! You have gotten terrific feedback from people who can really relate first hand what you will be dealing with! In addition to those who have responded, Kathi, Hero Murphy's mom,can also give you some good input. Their Murphy lost leg to a car accident. Shortly thereafter he had to deal with hip replacement surgery. In fact, I think it was with in 6 weeks of the actual amputation.
I like the honest feedback the Vet gave you on the Surgeon. And boy, talk about empathy, the Vet has a tripawd! WOW!!
The only thing I can say is you know Levi best! He certainly has shown he is quite the fighter and quite a determined fellow! I still shake my head knowing how difficult the decision must be. Can't even imagine, yet, we all know it's a possibility for almost everyone here.
Another thing to consider would be if you have a good support system to help you through this rough time. Do you have other people who can help with potty breaks, with taking turns watching over him, etc, .
What do you think Levi would want!?
And by the way, congratulations on a SPECTACULAR SEVENTEEN MONTH AMPUVERSARY! :-):-):-):-):-):-):-)In spite of all this new crisis, there is a whole lot to celebrate here! Levi, and you, are doing a spectacular job of living life to the fullest and loving it! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Keep us posted when you can! We support you and love you no matter what decision is made! We know you always have the best best interest at heart! Just like before when you presented with the invitation, any decision made out of love and is the right decision
Love and 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!
Yes, we certainly wish the surgery was able to be scheduled sooner. Alas, the surgeon isn't available until Tuesday. They say they can't really splint it in the meantime, because that would increase the chances that he would try to put weight on it and make it worse.
We called to check on him last night and the doc told us that he had been trying to move around in his crate and was up and balancing on two feet at one point. That's our Levi! Stubborn and tough (sometimes too much) for life! She also mentioned trying to wean him off the IV medications and have him on oral drugs by tonight, and perhaps we could take him home tonight before the surgery Tuesday. That way someone could be with him all night to be sure he doesn't get up and move around. It won't be easy, but it won't be the first time either.
Complicating things further is that my wife and I are expecting our first *real* baby in the next 6 weeks. On the bright side though, it means we'll both at least be home for the next few months for potty breaks and all that fun stuff. We might just be a bit...preoccupied and frazzled.
What's a little more frazzling, right?
Thank you all so much for the kind words and encouragement, as always.
Levi was diagnosed w/likely osteosarcoma at 7.5 years old in 7/2015 and became a Tripawd on 9/11/15. Loved life until he broke one of his front legs on 2/12/17. As x-rays showed clean bone, we decided to repair the leg. He recovered well, but in June of 2017, started to limp on the same leg. X-Rays showed return of OSA in the front leg. Levi crossed the rainbow bridge on 7/20/17, after over 22 months as a happy Tripawd.
I sure can understand what you are dealing with! It sounds like keeping Levi quiet will be the biggest of your problems. We kept Murphy in an exercise pen in the living room so that he could be in the middle of things without getting ahead of himself. Between the amp, hip replacement and rehab, he was on activity restriction for seven months. No outside activity after the THR unless he was on a leash until he was cleared by the orthopedist. We kept having setbacks prior to the THR, so it probably wouldn't have taken that long if it had been straightforward. Once he was healed, though, Murph sailed right through the rest of his life without a care in the world.
Once you have Levi back on track, I would highly recommend rehab/physical therapy with a certified rehab vet. It makes a world of difference. We also couldn't have done without his Ruffwear Webmaster harness .
If you haven't already done so, check out Murphy's YouTube channel, Murphy the Three Legged Dog, for videos of his recovery.
Kathi and the Turbotail April Angel...and the Labradork
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
Oh man I'm so sorry! I just caught up on this, poor Levi and you too. This is every Tripawd parent's worst nightmare.
BUT, there are plenty of examples here that prove you CAN overcome this. We've had senior Tripawds undergo remaining leg surgeries and do fine after recovery. It's not easy of course but it's totally possible! Check out Ajax's story and all the others for some inspawration:
Remaining Limb Surgery Recovery for Tripawds
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Oh my goodness! You sure do have your hands full...and continuing to be full for the next coupld of months and beyond!!
I have a feeling "Baby Levi" may be a little less hassle than the "other" baby!! 🙂
Sounds like Levi can already do a two-legged "walk" already! He's quite a ROCK STAR!! I DO hope you can bring him home tonight. I know it will be hard on you, but it sounds like it's in Levi's best interest since he's already showing a bit of a "let me out of here" attitude!
Update when you can. We are all sending the best wishes available for a smooth recovery!
Lots of hugs!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS...glad Murphy's'mom chimed in, as well as Zula's mom. Izzy is another tripawd who had surgery on a third leg, and as a seniore 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!
We wanted to give a quick update on Levi. He had his broken leg repaired on Tuesday, and the surgery went well. We brought him home Wednesday afternoon. He is dealing with some pain and the expected bruising and swelling. He has a fentanyl patch on, which is a new one for us. My wife was looking around here on Tripawds and saw that sometimes those can cause anxiety. He certainly seems a bit anxious, but he actually slept quite well (that makes one of us!)
He is eating fine (no surprises there), and has peed when I've taken him out into the yard. He doesn't like me being right there, but I am holding onto both handles of his harness for now, though he's tried to scoot away from me several times. I may try giving him a short leash later today to see if he can go #2.
This recovery will be much different for him, as he won't be able to just go at his own pace. Surgeon says strict crate/pen (we have him set up with a playpen around his crate) and very short leash walks for 6-8 weeks. It will be difficult to keep him from doing too much, but that's preferable to our current situation, which is just pain and discomfort. I'll update more soon. As always, we appreciate the encouragement and prayers/positive vibes/whatever.
Levi was diagnosed w/likely osteosarcoma at 7.5 years old in 7/2015 and became a Tripawd on 9/11/15. Loved life until he broke one of his front legs on 2/12/17. As x-rays showed clean bone, we decided to repair the leg. He recovered well, but in June of 2017, started to limp on the same leg. X-Rays showed return of OSA in the front leg. Levi crossed the rainbow bridge on 7/20/17, after over 22 months as a happy Tripawd.
Sure glad to hear the positive update. I know it will seem like forever that you need to keep him quiet, but he will bounce back after just like nothing ever happened. Please keep us in the loop. Even though he is reluctant to potty while you hold the harness, he will go when he needs to. The Fentanyl patch can cause constipation. A spoonful of plain pumpkin (not the pie type) in his meals can help with that.
It may help you to take some videos of his recovery. We did weekly ones for Murphy. Having those helped us see his progress. You might even consider starting a YouTube channel for Levi so that someone else down the line can benefit from seeing his recovery.
Kathi and the Turbotail April Angel...and the Labradork
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
Yay!! I am only just catching up on this thread and I'm clapping and cheering!! 🙂 when I read your first post, that you were unsure of what course of action to take I held my breath. He's knocked the stats way out of the park with 17mnths and for all our boys and girls who we lost too early I was praying you'd give him the chase to fight. To be the warrior he clearly is. So for that I thank you 🙂 🙂
Congratulations on having an awesome dog and congratulations on the imminent baby arrival!!
Your sure gonna have your hands full but you've got this, you'll all sail through and come out the other side a big and happy family. Maybe just a bit tired and sleepy!
Karis and Zuki with wings
xxx
Zuki Wuggafer 30/09/06 - 11/11/16. Right hind tripawd due to Osteosarcoma. He had a strong 5 and half months as a tripawd but unfortunately a secondary issue with his spine ended our battle. He loved life, loved our family and was the best dog I could ever ask for. Truly my first love, forever in my thoughts and heart.
Read our story: http://zuki.tripawds.com/
WHEW!!! What an ordeal getting to this point!!!
But the amazing Levi is home and the recovery is beginning! As is the lack of sleep!
My Happy Hannah never had the patch. From what I understand though, it can make dogs quite disoriented and very whacky sometimes.
KATHI is an EXCELLENT resource to help you through this! The patience and perseverance they showed with Murphy (and he with them) paid off splendidly! Watching videos of Murphy will help encourage you and keep you motivated.
Thanks so much for the update!! And YAAAAAAAAAY FOR PEE AND YAAAAAAAAAY FOR EATING!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 We'll be looking forward ro the happy 
dance!
Hang in there!!!
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!
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