Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi everyone, it's been months since I've posted.. hope everyone is doing well. Buddy Lee had his front leg amp surgery January and bounced back great! We did the 4 rounds of Chemo which he handled like a champ! He wanted to do his daily walks but of course they were short and just enough to let him get out of the house and backyard and smell different things and see the neighbors. We recently moved into a new home and he has been up & down the steps more than us during the day, suprising all of us!
Yesterday around noon, i was sitting on the back porch and heard a loud noise under the porch, I looked and buddy was under the porch and I told him to get out and as soon as he got out from under the porch his leg gave way and he fell. He couldn't keep his balance or stand. My husband got him in the house and we gave him fresh water and sat with him for a while. He calmed down and seemed at ease and walked a little but still not 100%. After about an hour we had to run out for a little bit and when we got back we noticed on the rug in the kitchen a big wet spot. I wiped it up and it was all clear, my husband called our vet. They told us to take him to the emergency vet and we did. Initally his heart rate & body temp were good, it was a hot day yesterday almost 100 here. As the Dr was talking to us and telling that all the blood test came back great and we were doing Q&A about what could have caused this another dr came out and got the dr. She told her Buddy had just had a "Grand Mal Seizure". She wanted to keep him overnight to see if he had anymore during the night. (she was thinking maybe he had one under the porch and again in the house and at the vet made 3). We left Buddy and called around 11pm and again at 7 this morning and they said no more seizures during the night. We brought him home around 8am this morning and he has been laying around sleeping most of the day. Our vet is coming to check on him tomorrow. He still doesn't have great strength in his front leg but does get inside & outside by himself. (we made a ramp for him to use pre-surgery & after for the outside steps). Reading up on Seizures I understand it takes alot of energy out of them and they need rest after.
Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this. My husband just carried him upstairs to bed so we could keep an eye on him during the night incase anything happens. Our buddy is 9 years old and has been through so much already it just breaks my heart to know that he is going through something else now and we don't know exactly what it is. They said we could do an MRI to try and possibly find the source. But do we want to keep putting him through testing and needles and everything. My heart just hurts for him and I wish I knew what to do!
Thanks for reading and I hope everyone is doing well with their Tripawds, as I know Buddy has had a great recovery from his amp and I never once regret that, he's been a happy dog!
Buddys Parents, Missy
Offline
Missy,
It's really nice to hear from you again, thanks for keeping in touch. It is truly awesome that he's had a great 7 months after the amp, congratulations. We're so sorry though about the seizure, you did the right thing by taking him in to be examined, it's so good you were there while it happened. It does sound like a classic seizure episode. Back when I was a pup I used to have seizures and yes, they do sap all our energy for a day or two.
There are so many things that can cause seizures, and yes, you can really go all out with exams and tests to find out what' causing them. I hope you don't need to, maybe it's just a fluke that it happened? We hope so. What kind of direction does the vet think you should take?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
It is great to hear how well Buddy has recovered from the amputation and chemotherapy. I could not take the taste that the chemicals left so I really did not want to eat. Dad brushed my teeth three times a day (which helped) and stuffed me during the duration of the chemo.
About the seizures - my little sister Allie used to get such seizures. We all were worried when they happened and they did seem to drain every last bit of energy from her. They usually occurred when she was stressed or overly active and did occur in groups. One actually happened like Buddy, when she was visiting at the Vet. She actually was visiting with them while Mom and Dad were in Hawaii. It turned out that she had a deficiency in her thyroid and once she got the proper medication and rebalanced her system these seizures disappeared. All it took was a single thyroid pill at breakfast and dinner and all was well again in the world. Sure hope that such a small thing turns out to be Buddy's salvation cause I can see that he wants to get back to exploring the new house.
Best thoughts and please keep us posted.
Allie
Online
Osteosarcoma does not typically spread to the brain but other tumor types such as hemangiosarcoma often do. I don't remember what type of cancer your dog has but if it is HSA then an MRI would be indicated, although it is a pricey test and may not change treatment. Hypertension can cause seizures as can liver disease or thyroid disease. Epilepsy is less likely in an older dog unless he had seizures when he was younger.
I hope that they can find out what is wrong! It may be that Buddy Lee needs to start phenobarb or prednisone, or another med depending on the cause of the seizures.
Pam and Tazzie
Thanks so much to everyone that posted responses, the Dr did come to the house today and made me feel a lot better. He narrowed it down to 4 possible things:
1. Head Trauma - being under the porch and having one leg, he could have hopped up a little too high & hit his head
2. Brain Tumor - which yes we can do the MRI but our vet school said it would cost between $1500 & $2000 plus whatever else they may need to do. Our vet today said to watch him and if it is infact a tumor then we would begin to notice things pretty quickly as it's a fast spreading form of cancer.
3. Allergic reaction to a bee sting or bite (vet on Sunday said she saw a brusie forming above his eye but our Dr said it could be a sting or brusie from the head trauma.
4. Epilepsy - can't rule this out unless you rule everything else out with testing.
He was very happy with the way buddy was acting today and all his reflexes were good. We had to carry him up the steps last night and back down this morning but my husband works from home and heard buddy moving around, got up to look and he was going up the steps to lay down in the hallway. He let him stay up for a while but carried him back because we aren't sure how his strength is in his front arm just yet. He went outside and when he came back in he went back up the steps. It sure makes my heart feel a lot better to see him coming back. Dr was very impressed at how well he rebounded after the seizure on Sunday (possibly 3 only 1 we are certain of)
Right at this point we have decided not to do the MRI and just keep a good watch on him because it's all about him being happy and not having to go through testing he's been through so much! Thanks again to everyone and I hope all the tripawds are doing well and living hoppy lives! Will keep you updated and thanks I was upset Sunday night reading everything online and it just felt good to know I could come here and post to people who have possibly gone through the same thing.
Buddys parents 
Thank you for the update. We are glad to hear Buddy is doing better, and very happy you find the Tripawds community helpful. It makes all our efforts worthwhile!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
It was good to hear how Buddy is doing. I am sorry you have had such worry about the seizures. I don't have any advise but just wanted to let you know I am thinking about Buddy and hoping her is regaining his energy.
Debra & Emily, a five year old doberman mix, who was diagnosed with an osteosaecoma. She had a right rear leg amputation on May 19, 2009. On November 10, 2009 she earned her wings and regained her fourth leg.
Thank you to everyone with you comments & nice words. Buddy has improved everyday, no more seizures thank goodness but he is limping on his front leg a lot. I know it could be side effects from Sunday but we called the Vet that did his amp surgery and have a followup appt with them on Tuesday next week. They are going to do a regular check-up and we are going to have them x-ray his front leg, this is the same limp as when we found out about the cancer in the other leg. We just want to make sure there is nothing going on in that leg since he puts so much weight to walk on it & that he is not in pain. Wish us luck and I will let you know how it goes!
Buddys Parents
Missy
Best wishes for a clean bill of health! Thanks for the update.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
So glad to hear Buddy continues to improve.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
Hi friends, wanted to update you on Buddy as he had his Vet Apt today for x-rays. First off on Saturday night when we were all in bed, buddy started making a horrible howling sound he did this twice. We jumped out of bed and turned on a lamp and buddy was just laying still in his bed, then he got up and tried to go between the bed and nightstand then turned in a circle. We calmed him down and he laid back down in his bed & has been fine ever since. We aren't sure if this was a mini seizure but we treated it like it was and tried to remain calm for him. He hasn't had any more episodes since then.
We had x-ray of his chest and leg today and not good news to share with you. There are at least 3 spots on the x-ray 2 of which are around his heart and probably about the size of a quarter and 1 around the back area which is smaller. The leg x-ray has a couple of suspicious spots but he said he can't be sure as cancer doesn't show until its about 50% through the bone so we could get a bone scan to be sure of that. We really don't want to put Buddy through more testing, such as the bone scan & MRI. We are giving him Rimadyl & Tramadol for any pain he may have.
We have another dog, Blue and he is a mix of German Shepherd and Rottweiler and he is always going up to Buddy and licking him and just paying a lot of attention to him. I was really hoping for good news today but now it seems we just take one day at a time and cherish every second with him! He is home with us now and resting here at dad's feet!
Good luck to all and I'll continue to keep you posted.. Buddys Parents - Missy
I am so sorry to hear about Buddy's x-ray results. God bless you for being so positive for Buddy so he does not read your sadness. Please do keep us posted. I will pray for you and Buddy.
Debra & Emily
Debra & Emily, a five year old doberman mix, who was diagnosed with an osteosaecoma. She had a right rear leg amputation on May 19, 2009. On November 10, 2009 she earned her wings and regained her fourth leg.
We're so sorry, we were all hoping for better news. Like you said, day by day, it's all we can do, and that's all that matters in the heart and soul of a wonderful dog like Buddy.
We felt the same way about more tests and surgeries during the last phases of my disease, when it was obvious that medical intervention would take over our lives. It became very clear to all of us where things were headed. And as hard as it was for my pawrents to not feel like they were giving up, they opted to live out my time left on earth by having fun instead of being in a hospital. You know what's right for him and what he wants, so follow your gut feeling and go with it. Remember, it's all about quality, not quantity.
Everyone is here for you, so keep us posted OK?
Much love going out to you, Buddy and the family...
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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