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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All it took was one wrong step and he squished his growing plate which caused the ulna to stop growing. He is suffering from Abnormal Limb Deformity. He can barely walk. Is just eight months old. He has to undergo surgery but because of our overseas move, my Greencard, taking all our dogs with us (my husband is in the military and I could NEVER leave my dogs behind), running into a trashy landlord which is why we had to move a second time, having an unsafe second place (living on a busy highway with no fence and a very small place) made us chose to buy a house for our three german shepherds and now we had to move a third time. But all that wiped out our funds completely. We can't take onto another loan nor another credit card if we don't want to strangle ourselves financially.
So here we are. Me dragging the puppy over the pond to the states, unable to provide the surgery he badly needs and it's not getting better. He can't sit on all four legs anymore, he can barely walk and now he's got problems in the rear from compensating. Monday my vet is talking to the specialist to determine what needs to be done, how high the final costs are....
Quite a few people suggested amputation instead of having his bone cut, a piece taken out and put together with a metal stick. I am still weighing the pros and cons of amputation. I just don't know what to do. His hips need to be checked first, we don't know if he's got HD on top of it or not. For now I assume that he's just compensating because I know that I have to release him and let him go to the rainbow bridge if he's got HD. I wouldn't make him go through all of that and keep him crated just so he can stay alive. He's a highly driven dog, trained to be an Airscent Wilderness Search & Rescue dog.
He's got so much energy and drive that keeping him in a crate would be worse than letting him go.
I asked my mother what she thinks about amputation. She said she'd never do that to a dog. I've looked around youtube and it doesn't seem to bother them much at all. I guess a lot of people are ignorant and I am still a little ignorant myself.
I just hope that there is something I can do to give him a wonderful life. He hasn't even really lived yet. He's so young and because of one wrong step he's developed ED, Arthritis, Limb deformity and can barely walk.
It's just not fair to him. But than again, no dog deserves it....
Our Abby was only 15 months when we had to amp her front leg due to her having bone cancer. The first two weeks were rough, but since then (it has been seven months now) she has been great. She gets around very well and quite often people say to us that they did not even notice she was missing a leg until she stood still. If you look around this tripawds site some more you find many examples of dogs doing great, living happy active lives on three legs.
All the best with your decision.
Jackie, Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
These decisions can be hard. We had a broken femur that didnt heal right because it was full of infection. So we paid for the expensive surgery to save the leg and then again for the amputation to save him. He immediately felt better without the pain of that leg but this surgery came with risks also. Was it and is it easy ...No! But am I glad that he is still hopping around and part of our family.....ABSOLUTELY. He has more life to live and more love to give! Every dog day is a blessing! Best wishes and keep researching this site it will help you find some of the answers you are looking for so you can make a informative choice.
Oh goodness!
I'm so sorry to hear! What's your furbaby's name?
Our founders here have a young German Shephard that lost his leg due to human cruelty in which they adopted afterwards. We also have a couple of other young dogs that also had to have amputations.
First off, it may sound overwhelming and we understand. Finances and such can cause it to be harder. But these things work out when we do things out of love.
Please don't be afraid of amputation nor the possibility of hip dysplasia. It's not the end. I promise. Amputation just sounds horrible because we are humans and we see the cosmetics of losing a limb. Dogs just learn another way to walk. It's really that simple to them. If an amputation is the answer, then it will be fine. As you can see we have 2500 members with 3 legged dogs!
I had a 3 legged dog due to a birth defect. I had her for 12 years. She lived for 12 1/2 years (died of a blood cancer as a senior). Both of her knees went out when she was middle-aged but she had the knee surgeries and she was great! Granted she was two legged for awhile until she healed but once she did, she was great. Hip dyplasia can easily be dealt with thru NSAIDS or surgery if that is even the case. So, don't worry and don't be thinking the worst.
You obviously love dogs and want to do what's right. So, again - when the decision is made out of love, it is the right answer. And sometimes, you have to ask yourself - maybe you were chosen to be the one who can love so much that you can handle a dog with a deformity.
And don't let anyone tell you that taking away a painful leg is cruel. My Comet wouldn't have been given a chance in life since she was born with only 3 good legs. My life was enriched so much by her. And she touched so many people. I loved her like no other dog I've ever had. She was my heart and I loved her as much as any human! And she never felt different! She was a sassy, spoiled and a very happy girl!
Sending you my best - keep us updated!
Angel Comet's mom
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Thanks everybody. My vet will call the specialist on monday. What makes it hard that it would be out of financial reasons. There are ways to safe his leg. There is no promise of success though and I just worry that if I put him through the surgery and it wouldn't work out the way we wanted to, that we probably should have done it from the beginning. So maybe it's not a bad thing afterall to cut the losses and simply have his leg amputated. That way he wouldn't have to go through all that.
It's tough because he is so young. And he is a very promising young dog, highly driven, very high threshold which is working against him. It's what he's bred for but right now, he's his own worst enemy…
I'm so sorry to hear! What's your furbaby's name?
His name is Judge 🙂
Not sure, this may be a useful anecdote...let's find out...
I'm on my second tripawd (Gerry). The first (Yoda) had bone cancer and for me it was easy in that situation to say, "Yeah, let's get that leg off!" When I met Gerry at the shelter and learned he was limping due to an injury, suddenly amputation became a little harder for me to swallow. Were they sure his knee was beyond repair? But, fortunately, in a way, he wasn't my dog yet. I couldn't have adopted him then and paid for whatever surgery he needed at that point, because I had drained my savings on Yoda. So it wasn't my decision and, thank dog, Gerry was lucky enough that the shelter found a veterinary orthopedic surgeon to do it for free. What I learned some time after the decision to amputate was made was that Gerry was claustrophobic. He did horribly left crated overnight and chewed his way out of three crates (we're talking bent metal bars - they showed me). So regardless of whether or not the knee surgery could have been successful, Gerry was not a good candidate for the recovery from such a surgery. As rough as the first two weeks after amputation is, Gerry would have had to be a lot more restricted physically (I believe I would have been told to crate him for some time) following a knee surgery. Knowing him as well as I do now, I can't imagine he would have successfully healed from that knee surgery. The pain meds he was on made him restless, not sleepy and he fought even being restricted to one room and crates were just out of the question. Oh, and he neeeeeds his couch and again, pretty sure that a dog recovering from knee surgery isn't supposed to be climbing on and off couches. You would not believe the lengths Gerry will go to in order to have access to a couch to sleep on. So, my two cents is that in some situations, with some dogs' temperaments and quirks, your finances, etc. it absolutely makes more practical sense to go with the amputation, even if another surgery could possibly save the leg.
You will make the best decision possible, whatever that may be.
Gerry has been a tripawd since 12/16/2009.
He was a shelter dog with a mysterious past and an irrepairable knee injury.
Videos and pics of Gerry's pawesomeness can be found at: http://gerry.tripawds.com
Judge is gorgeous! Sorry to hear about his troubles.
There are no wrong decisions here, but there are well-educated ones. Be sure to bookmark Jerry's Required Reading List for the best advice. And don't miss the recently updated financial resources document we posted for helping those in need pay for their dog's medical needs. Thanks for joining, please keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you so much for that information. It's a God sent and everything looks much better now.
Hi Judge and family!
You said you were wondering how he would fare with three legs, well since he isn't dealing with cancer he should bounce back no problem! Here is Chloe running around at the beach only 2 months post amputation (we are now at 10+ months). Amputation "cured" her cancer and her physical a couple weeks ago (blood work etc…) indicated she was a perfectly healthy dog! There is life after 4 legs!!!
Chloe is in the red harness and white handkerchief.
-Chloe's mom
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
Judge is a beautiful boy. My dog Ranger had his leg amputated after he was hit by a car and neglected afterward by his owner at the time. He was about 3 when he had his amputation, which was paid for by a charitable foundation. He eventually went up for adoption and for me it was love at first sight. Ranger is almost 6 now and has completely adapted to 3 legged life! He has developed new muscles and there really isn't much he can't do (no 3 mile hikes, but I have a feeling he wouldn't do that even with 4 legs) As far as finances, amputation is really less expensive than most surgical procedures. I'm not saying that you should go with the lowest bidder, but get a couple of quotes because there is a range and there are ways to save money without compromising care. I know someone who was going to have surgery similar to gastric bypass and found somewhere that did it for $1,000 less than where she was planning on going. Anyway, good luck and please keep us posted.
Lisa and Ranger
Sadie is my 9yr old Rott/Shepherd mix. Diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her right scapula 1/28/10. Our brave girl had her amputation 2/13/10 and her last chemotherapy on 6/6/10. Unfortunately, a tumor appeared in her back right leg and on 10/7/2010 Sadie's earthly journey came to an end. On 10/24/2010 we adopted Ranger, a handsome Rott/Lab mix tripawd (got hit by a car) I think Sadie sent him to us.
http://ranger.t.....pawds.com/
Welcome. You will find a lot of useful information and stories on this site.
Know that whatever decision you make is the right one for you and Judge.
Amputation sounds scary but as you can see, we have all gone down that path for one reason or another.
Since Judge is so young, he should bounce back just fine after the surgery. Ginger has arthritis in her remaining back hip and leg and therefore is on Derramaxx daily. It helps her a lot and she is doing everything on 3 legs that she did on 4.
Good luck and keep us updated on Judge.
I've been calling around forever to find a vet that has reasonable prices.
We already paid 440 dollars for the elbow x-rays and are supposed to pay another 350 dollars on top of that for his hips, plus office fee of course. They rob you before you can even think about the actual treatment for the surgery....
Everyone here certainly understands your frustration regarding costs, but please consider the importance of choosing the right veterinarian for amputation surgery. When it comes to such a major procedure you really do get what you pay for, and we have heard horror stories from people who saved money by having their "regular vet" perform the surgery.
Dr Patty Khuly wrote a good post on the subject in her FullyVetted blog too: The $1,000 Vs. the $2,100 Veterinary Surgery: Which Would You Choose?
FYI: We just updated the canine cancer and amputation financial assistance resources document in the Tripawds Downloads blog .
Best wishes and please keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I know it's hard to see straight when you're emotionally and financially spent, but please remember how impawtant it is to go with a vet that you can trust and have a good relationship with, not just the cheapest prices. While there are many qualified regular vets who can do it, I would choose very carefully if you don't know them well.
Somewhere you will find that right balance but for now, hang in there, this too shall pass.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hey Judge! You look like my kinda dawg!
I too am an energetic GSD and nothing stops me. I play hard, run hard and live hard. I work, work, work until I get the job done and protect my people 24/7.
My leg came off when I was 8 months old because of some Oakland ghetto idiots who had me first.
It took me a while to get strong again (dang those GSD hips can be a pain!), but now that I'm 2 years and 6 months I've got my game back. There are days that I am slower than others (especially if I overdo it) but mostly I'm a highly-active, prey-driven GSD wild boy.
You should also check out my other pack members, Miss Hollywood Codie Rae and Travis Ray, they'll inspire you too!
Just wanted to let you know that there are other GSDs like you out there and we do pretty good after surgery. Good luck this week. Now go sit by your Ma and help her feel better OK?
Later dude.
Wyatt Ray Dawg . . . The Tripawds Leg-A-Cy Continues!
Read all about my adventures at my Tripawds Blog
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