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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Hi there -- my family is new to this site... I registered under my sweet girl's name, Belle..I'm writing as her mom, to forge the introductions...Belle is a 4 1/2 year old Great Pyr that we adopted from the SPIN organization in Dallas. We adopted Belle when she was 6 months old and she is surely one of the sweetest angels out there. Our sweet girl beat the odds by even finding us...she was abandoned on I35 in downtown Dallas and sent to the pound. She would have been put down, but one of the workers recognized that she was a Great Pyr and contacted SPIN. They immediately retrieved her and put her in a foster home. We got to meet her there and, once interviewed and approved, were allowed to take Miss Belle into our fold. At the time, my husband and I were married only a month. We knew that Great Pyrs were considered the Gentle Giants and we also knew we wanted children: great combination, no?
So enough background...my husband and I are extremely blessed and have a beautiful 2 year old. Belle took her on to raise along with a stray kitten we took in a year ago. Belle was the picture of health until just 3 weeks ago. She jumped off our bed and winced -- then began favoring her hind right leg. We took her to the vet: he surmised that it was a partially torn ligament, gave her an anti-inflammatory and told us to come back in 2 weeks if she didn't improve. We were back in 5 days...Belle was beginning to shut down and the favored leg had doubled in size. At the second visit he took x-rays and teared up, looked at my husband and said, "I'm so sorry..."
We were referred to specialists here in Dallas and the following Wednesday we had her leg amputated. Today marks the first week since amputation. By the time she had surgery her leg had literally tripled in size. It looked like something out of a si-fi movie. To make my introduction short (my dad always said that I could fit fewer thoughts into more words than anyone he knew...) I have 2 questions for the forum:
1. Belle went from healthy to shutting down in less than 2 weeks. Everything I could find to read indicates that the cancer takes 1-3 months to become debilitating...is Belle so unusual with the aggressive behavior of the cancer? I'm wondering if there is any connection between the aggressiveness of this one tumor and other manifestations to come...
2. Belle is having a hard time with her pain meds...they seem to make her very nauseous... words of advice?
I will end speaking to every contributor to this website -- my husband and I have been in a tail spin since this began the last few days of July. When I found this forum for the first time, I wept...perhaps because I was relieved to find a group of people who've been through the same thing. Each time I've come back I've wept again...tears of joy and tears of empathy. Thank you to everyone who shares their story to help others in any part of this heart breaking journey. I found you while I was reeling in shock, desperately seeking answers. I've come back again and again looking for affirmation that we've done the right thing and advice on how we can make our sweet baby comfortable quickly. Thank you, thank you for making a difference.
Cheers, Belle's mom, Lea
Welcome to the tripawd pack. Lea did they send out the leg for a biopsy? I know osteosarcoma is aggressive but every case you read on here seems different. Did they say it is osteosarcoma? My boy Titan is a 5.5 bullmastiff he had his front right leg removed 16 days ago. The first 2 weeks were the toughest we hit a couple of speed bumps, but now we are on our way. What kind of meds is Belle on? I know if you look under the share your story and treatment and recovery forum there are a few dogs who have this issue with their meds. Will Belle be getting chemo? Hang in there I know it is devastating but you did a good thing. For her leg to swell up so much she must have been in some pain. Did she ever limp or favor that leg before? Did they do a lung xray or any other xrays on her? You will find great support from everyone on this site. They are all wonderful people and amazing animals. It got me through all the tough times with Titan especially questions on what he was experiencing. They can all understand what your family and Belle are going through. We are here for you.
Heidi and Titan
Thank you for the welcome! Yes, they did lung x-rays prior to surgery and her lungs are clear; no lymph nodes seemed enlarged on a physical exam...biopsy did come back positive for osteosarcoma. Yes, she was in significant pain by the time we operated but it all manifested in literally 10 days. Prior to the first sign of her wincing as she jumped off the bed July 29th, she was chasing that silly crazy cat all through the house. She had a great appetite, would engage with our daughter and the cat and any neighborhood child that she encountered -- it amazed us that it took her over so quickly. Quickly on her meds -- first med was Tramadol. Made her sick. We're now on Rimydol (sp?) and I'm told to watch for blood in the stool or vomit, as the drug can cause ulcers...I keep telling myself we're just one week to the day into this and it appears by reading on this site that if you can make it through the first 2 weeks things improve dramatically.
Titan is on rimadyl. I had to coax him to eat and drink. Jerry gave me some good tips a little gatorade in Titan's water, scrambled eggs or peanut butter in his food. It worked pretty good but there were still some days he was not interested in food. Belle probably had that pain for awhile it's just wheh she jumped off the bed she couldn't hide her pain anymore. That's good they don't see anything in the lungs. I don't think it all came in 10 days I think it just came to a head when the bed incident happened. In a way think of that as a good thing. If Belle didn't do that this could have gone on for more months without you knowing. You may not have found out until the cancer spread more. Don't forget she is on meds and has sutures so it may take a couple of weeks for her to get her strength and balance up. I am telling you I though Titan gave up. But Monday was like someone turned on a light switch and he is 100% better. I was questioning myself but I know I did the right thing for him. I know they say if they break the bone that has the cancer it can be excrutiating for them. So her badly bruising/hurting herself was probably due to that detioration. Where she is big(like Titan) I know there can be some extra challenges. I got Titan a crib matress(he doesn't like dog beds he prefers our furniture). Are you sure she doesn't have any fluid build ups. Titan's shoulder where his leg was was very swollen. It ended up being a seroma . Just monitor that. Titan didn't vomit but he had some runny big poops. Also Titan didn't want much to do with us until he was feeling better. You will see there are many dogs on this forum who didn't engage with owners, pets and kids until they were feeling better. Are you going to do chemo? You girls hang in there!
Heidi and Titan
Hi Lea and Belle, welcome! I felt exactly like you when I found this site. We were devastated and not coping when we found out our beautiful 81 kg 3.5 yr old French Mastiff Butch had cancer. The very idea of amputation was too brutal for us to consider so we sent him back for more bone biopsies (which I've since found out are apparently excruciatingly painful for a dog) just to be sure it wasn't some horrid mistake and probably to buy us time to grasp what was happening. I then found this site and have leant heavily on it since. We're day 16 today and Butch went to the park with all the family dogs 5 in all. I could tell he didn't want to leave but his remaining rear leg was starting to shake so I knew it was time for a rest. He's had no meds since day 10. I think they're a bit un-generous with meds here in Australia all they've given him is Metacam and antibiotics to get through it all. I had some Tramadol at home from a hip replacement we had done to our German Shepherd (we lost him last year age 12) I gave them to Butch when he was having a bad night and panting obviously in discomfort but that's all. His interaction with us is improving and he's stopped hiding under hedges. Like Titan every day is a new day and you see baby steps of improvements that make you leap for joy and then sometimes a small step backwards that you just work through and hope for a better day tomorrow. Hang in there Lea we're sending you lots of positive thoughts.
Annie and Butchus Beautifulus
Hi Belle and welcome,
I know how hard your decision was but you made the right choice. Osteosarcoma is extremely aggressive and fast growing. Radar's tumor grew from nothing to a mass surrounding his wrist joint in only 4 days. I agree that Belle may have been hiding her pain prior to that first wince you saw. They are so stoic and natural instinct is to hide pain if they can.
The next couple of weeks will be a challange for you and Belle but she is a young dog and that will help her bounce back quicker. She may be groggy or irritible or just want to be left alone. This will pass. Pain meds are hard on many dogs. Try to get "something" in her stomach before giving the meds. There are lots of great tips here in the forum for yummy foods that might get her to eat. Once she is off the pain meds you will see some of her sweet personality returning.
Hugs to you for rescuing and loving Belle and hugs to Belle for just being herself. Were rooting for her to have a quick and easy recovery.
Connie & Radar
Odd, my reply yesterday didn't publish for some reason... thanks for registerring!
The meds may certainly be causing tummy trouble. Try feeding Belle some canned plain pumpkin, it works wonders. Keep an eye on her stool and ween her off the meds as soon as possible.
Tramadol was and is my pain killer of choice. We've heard some nasty things about Prevacox and other NSAIDs like Rimadyl. Just dremember, we dogs can often handle pain better than we can take the side effects of some medication.
And yes, OS is aggressive indeed. But we dogs tend to hide our pain and weakness. My last hike was 12 miles, just weeks before my diagnosis. By the time we usually show our pain, it is really bad and time to act quick. Which you did. Good for you!
Regarding manifestations to come, every story is different. They gave me about three months after my amputation. And that was about 21 months ago. The important thing is to live for today! Which should be much easier now that the pain is gone.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thanks to everyone for the great advice and good wishes. Belle's tummy has settled and her pain seems under control. Today we get Belle's stitches out -- seems soon -- we're right at 10 days post-op. I'm sure she's ready to get rid of them...we've really had to watch her the last 2 days to keep her from getting after them. I'm seeing t-shirts to help protect front amputations -- would a pair of my husband's boxers work for Belle's back amputation? Our pack leader is going to down load a picture of Miss Belle this weekend.
I hope Titan, Butch and Radar continue to gain strength and energy!
Lea
Belle said:
I’m seeing t-shirts to help protect front amputations — would a pair of my husband’s boxers work for Belle’s back amputation?
I think some tighty whitey briefs or those bike short looking undies might work better, but being a front leg Tripawd, I can't say for sure.
Any rear leggers out there?
So glad you're feeling better Belle! Can't wait to see photos.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Jerry is so right about the dangers of NSAID's in animals: Rimadyl, Deramexx, Metacam, etc. They can cause bleeding in the stomach lining. I would hope that your vets would be able to change the meds that are making Belle feel so bad. Also, as Jerry says, osteosarcoma is an extremely aggressive form of cancer, so your dog may have injured her leg by jumping off the bed, but it may have been a blessing in disguise. It showed there was a problem with the leg early on. I read all of this so fast and tried to do the "Quote & Reply" option, but I guess I don't understand how it works.
I HAVE read that a t-shirt that fits over the front leg of the dog, while the rest of the shirt is wrapped around the area where the surgery was is very helpful in protecting the site.
You are very brave and are doing everything you can for sweet Belle. There are other pain meds out there and if Jerry's favorite, Tramadol, caused Belle discomfort it is easily understood why. It also can be extremely hard on the stomach and should only be used as a short term pain killer.
I don't know why so many doctors shy away from the Morphine IV drip. It's not like it's going to be used forever and, believe it or not, it has the least side effects of all the other drugs I've read about on this and other sites. Fentanyl is ONLY GOOD for chronic pain. I know I keep stating this over and over and over again, but it is the truth. For the pain medicine in a Fentanyl patch to give any relief to your dog's pain, it just takes too many hours to get into the bloodstream to be of any help with acute pain.
Sorry this is so long winded!
Warmly, Vicki Tankersley
Hi Belle
My mom and I want to see how you are coming along. Hey we have something in common. I have a person cousin named Belle who is 7. You know what she says about us tripawds we are very brave for living on 3 legs. She is very smart! I think the briefs might work better than boxers. Did you get your stitches out? I bet you will feel much better. Are you doing chemo? I had my first round last week. So far so good. Hang in there
Titan and Heidi
Hi Everyone --
Life has been crazy the last few weeks and I've been unable to log on...thanks to Titan and Heidi and Vicky for checking in.
Great news to report on Belle: over Labor Day weekend she took a remarkable turn for the better! It seems that, once over the hump of pain meds gone awry, etc, each day that passes she gains strength, spirit and momentum as quickly as she lost it prior to surgery. Early Labor Day Sunday AM I took her out to do her business...we have a backyard that is full of annoying landscaping for her these days, so her place of choice is in the front yard. We haven't been leashing her because she wasn't going very far and she wasn't moving very fast...that is, until that Sunday. I was in my PJ's, no shoes, and had had no coffee. She finished her business, and then out of the corner of her eye she saw a rabbit. To my utter amazement she took off running after that rabbit. Then, once she discovered she was running, she wouldn't stop! I couldn't keep up with her -- and was certainly unprepared to go on the trip she took me on. By the time I finally caught up with her she was all smiles, just a-twitter with delight that she was able to run again. I monitored her closely the rest of the day to make sure she hadn't over done it; and sure enough, she was no worse for the wear.
As each day passes, we see a new milestone: one day she just re-appeared at the dinner table to help us clean up our 2 year old daughter's scraps that made it to the floor. She stopped doing that about 2 weeks prior to surgery. The next day she started playfully growling at our cat. The following day she actually chased the cat through the house and only slipped when her footing got off the carpet runners we've place throughout the house (we have hard wood floors...).
I am so thankful that we made the decision that we did -- we have our girl back. We're still unsure about chemo: our general vet is adamantly against it; our Internal Medicine vet insists we should seriously consider it. I need to read the new forum discussion on To Chemo or Not to Chemo.
We just got our stairs/ramp for Belle delivered today. I'm thinking that if we can get her back in bed with us we'll boost her spirits even more. Funnily enough, she suspiciously eyed the steps as I was pulling them out of the box. She saw me go to our bedroom with them, but when I called her into the room to join me, she ran the opposite way. I'll leave them there for her and hopefully she'll give them a try when she's ready -- and when I'm around in case she needs me.
I'm certainly no expert on this whole experience, but anyone out there reading and struggling with their decision to join the tripawd pack -- know that for our angel, we made the best decision. Like everyone else has said, the first 2 weeks are the hardest. It gets substantially better after that. She has no pain (I'm so relieved that we got her off all pain meds), is eating well and she's navigating like a champ.
I still owe pictures... I'll try to download them again this weekend.
Wow Belle, that is great news! How wonderful to hear about all of those milestones, I can just see you now, chasing rabbits and hopping up and down those steps. If you're hesitant about going up and down them to get on the bed, your pawrents might want to bribe you with some treats until you get the hang of it.
We're curious though, why is your vet against chemo?
And believe me, after what you've been through, your pawrents are definitely experts at this. Sharing your experience and milestones will help so many others, thank you so much.
xoxo
Jerry
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Yaay!! Great to hear from you Belle. Absolutely love the rabbit story. You definitely showed your mom 
. Radar likes to chase rabbits (and other critters) too. Sometimes it scares me to see how fast he is going but you can see their love for life - they are soo happy when they do it.
Sounds like you are doing awesome. Keep it up
Hugs
Connie & Radar
Lea & Belle,
This is such wonderful news to hear! You certainly have made my day! I know you are feeling so much relief, it just takes time for these little babies to recuperate and Jerry the Wonderdog is a perfect example. That's why I feel this site is so important. Jerry gives people hope and tips on what to expect and ways to cope. I know that if ever this happens to one of my dogs, I'll know what to expect and where I will turn to with questions. All the people on this site are so supportive... it's just a good "warm" feeling kind of place. Well, we'll be anxiously awaiting to hear more good news when you have time to report in. I'm so happy Belle is doing better!
Love, Blazer, Kimber & Vicki
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