Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello to everyone! We just wanted to share our 9yr old rottweiler's story with you. In Dec. of 2007 we noticed Heidi holding up her right paw, we thought she had gotten something in it, so we checked as well as she would let us. In a couple of weeks she was still doing the holding her paw up. She had severed the main artery in that particular leg 3yrs ago in a household accident so we thought maybe it was hurting her again for some reason. She ran, ate, played with the kids, everything just like always. We knew she would be turning 9 in Feb. '08, so we thought it could be arthritis too. One day at the end of Feb. she was running and she cried out in pain. I knew something was wrong, that was on Thurs. We got her in to the vet early on Sat. The vet took x-rays and found cancer in the right front leg. Everything else was clear though. It was devastating. We weren't aware of how aggressive this cancer is, but we were lucky to have a vet who did. We went to an oncologist that Monday and he confirmed the diagnosis and gave Heidi 3-5 months to live. He told us of our options and then he told us no matter what we chose it would be the "right" decision. On March 4,'08 we had her leg amputated. Since we don't have alot of money and several kids, we enrolled her in an investigational study at the University of MO. It is for Satraplatin, the first platinum based chemo in a pill form. She has completed 2 rounds and has 2 more to go if her blood work and all is ok. She is learning how to live with her three legs but celebrating her new lease on life without pain! THANK YOU JERRY FOR GIVING US HOPE AND A PLACE TO BE POSITIVE!
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And thank you for sharing Heidi's story! we're glad to hear that recovery is going well and look forward to receiving updates on her treartment and condition.
I was given 3-4 months and just celebrated my 16th! Best wishes to you and big wags for Heidi!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
David & Karla Br said:
we enrolled her in an investigational study at the
University of MO. It is for Satraplatin, the first platinum based chemo
in a pill form.
And I just want to say "Thank YOU" for taking part in the study. It's a little more work, but Heidi's participation will help so many other dogs out there!
It's great to hear she is doing so well. Thank you for being such loving, good people and taking such wonderful care of her. Please let us know how she is doing. We
send our love to you all.
To quote Jerry 'It's better to hop on three legs than to limp on four'.
Big hugs to Heidi x
I would love to hear how Heidi is doing. I don't have a tripawd, but I do have a Shih tzu with thyroid cancer who is going to the University of Missouri next week to see if she can enroll in the satraplatin trial. It is our only option left so I am very curious to see how it worked for Heidi, and how her people felt about the experience. We have already removed her tumor once and it started growing again within a month. Radiation is not an option neither is radioactive dye. She used to be a puppymill dog and is terrified of being in a cage and she would have extended stays at the hospital for both of those, so this is the last hope we have. I know shes not a tripawd, but the posts I read so far since coming across this site seemed to be so hopeful and full of love and Darla and I could use a little hope right now. Best wishes and happy puppy dreams to all of you.
Thanks for your concern desiree, and best wishes in the clinical trial. Please feel free to share your pup's progress. FYI: If you register and log in your posts will appear immediately without requiring moderation.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
David & Karla,
Welcome to tripawds.com. You are right, this is a place where you can be positive and have people encourage you. It is also a great place to come for support when you need it.
What kind of cancer does your dog have?
I have never heard of satraplatin but before Emily got diagnosed with an osteosarcoma I hadn't heard of it either! Em is also in a drug study. She is in a combination drug study with carboplatin and gemcitabine. We have two sons in college so it was really helpful for her to be in the drug study so I understand what you mean.
Good luck with the study and amputation.
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.
The trial that David and Karla's dog was enrolled in sounds interesting. I would like to hear more details about this chemo in pill form. It sounds as though it is still high-dose, and not metronomics .
If Desiree wants to reach them, she will probably have to use the PM (private message) feature, because that travels to their regular email (just letting a newbie know). It does not appear they regularly check into this website. Their post was about 1.5 yr ago. Let us know what you find out.
Tazzie 2
I didn't realize what date it was posted! Now I especially want to know how it went.
Debra
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.
Its me again. Been trying to get registered so I can take advantage of all the cool stuff this site has to offer, but never get the follow up email. Anyway, all I know about this study for the satraplatin is that it is a type of chemo pill. They still won't tell me much until I go in there on Tues and spend about $300 on tests to see if she is eligible for the trial. That part is a little frustrating. They wouldn't tell me any of the side effects that any of the other animals have experienced and that worries me a little. I know they don't know them all yet, but if my dog only has 4 months left, I don't want her to be miserable. But I can't hardly stand not to try to do something to save her. How do you make this decision? Guess I will just have to go and see what they say next week. Sorry for venting, the people at work think Im crazy for worring so much about her and spending so much time and money on a dog, so I had to find some place to get some advice..
desiree said: ... Been trying to get registered ... but never get the follow up email.
Please be sure to check your spam folder for the confirmation email. If you get to the screen saying your email was sent, it was indeed sent to the address used for registration. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Venting is what these forums are all about. We understand. Thanks for the update.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hello. I did get registered, but my webtv thingy freezes up when I try to log on so here I am trying this. Took Darla to the vet school yesterday. The good news is that the cancer hasn't spread that they could see on xrays. So we are going to try the Satraplatin study drug as well as a thyroid inhibiting drug. The satraplatin is supposed to work by stopping the blood supply to the tumor and the other drug is supposed to stop the thyroid hormones from feeding it as well. This will be a pill that I give her every day until either we decide to stop b/c of the side effect, the tumor grows too big, or she passes away. The side effects are supposed to be the same as any chemo and that can be treated if needed, but there is always the chance of something new since it is a trial drug. She will have to have bloodwork after 2 weeks, 1 month and every month after that which we are responsible for We get the drug for free tho which is helpful. So now just waiting for the drug to arrive in the mail so that we can get her started. They were still waiting for some of the blood work to come back when we left so they should be sending it out tomorrow. We will see how it goes. For everyone else out there with a sick dog, I am just learning how hard it can be, so my thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Just wanted to say that Darla has been on the satraplatin for 3 months now and had no side effects so far. The tumor growth has slowed considerably. She has to have blood work done every month and so far all of that has come back fine. So far so good. Desiree
Thanks for the great update! Glad to hear darla is doing well.
I notice you didn't log in and are now using a different usename, are you still having registration problems? If so, please post details in the Tech Support Forum.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I'm glad to hear everything is going well!
Debra & Angel 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.
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