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, Spirit Dakota's mom here. Once again I am with Tripawd. Freckles is a 12.5 year old Border Collie who had a splenectomy in late January and it was diagnosed as hemangiosarcoma. A day after the surgery, a lump appeared on her left hind leg. A day later, a second lump appeared. Fast forward to late March, when a pathologic fracture occurred as she raced to the truck after a walk. The cancer had been taking nutrients from the bone and weakening it. A standard splint was applied but upon recheck in a week's time, a tumor had burst through her leg and was oozing blood and fluids. A custom splint was created in an attempt to support her broken leg, but it resulted in horrible ulcers. So pins and screws were inserted, again to no avail as the ulcers were even more horrific. Freckles had an amputation on 4/11/11. Had not considered this earlier as she has weak hind legs due to arthritic changes, however, after seeing how she had not been using her left hind leg and managing not too badly with only 3, it wasn't too hard to decide on the amputation at that point.
Freckles is on a double dose of K9 Immunity Plus, Tramadol, and Previcox and will shortly begin the Metronomic Protocol, thanks to Tripawds.com. I asked my awesome vet about it, referencing this website and I just received a call that we will proceed with this asap. So again, Rene and Jim, Spirit Jerry and Wyatt Ray , thank you for making all this information and support available to those of us who find ourselves with three legs (and missing the spare).
Thank you so much,
Holly
Osteosarcoma; Dakota earned his wings on 9/3/2008
It's wonderful to hear from you holly, just sorry to hear about why. 
Thank you for sharing Freckles' story. We have moved it here to it's own topic for all to see. We hope her recovery is going well, and wish you the best in her ongoing treatment. We look forward to following her progress.
FYI: Since you last visited, we have added the ability for Tripawds members to start a blog where they can upload photos and journal about their pups.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Wow, that is unbelievable Holly! It's been a long time since we talked and I often wondered how you were doing. I'm so sorry to hear about Freckles, that must have been so traumatic for the pack.
Now that you've already had the experience of being a Tripawd Mom, I know you know how to make the most of it. Whatever we can do to help, please let us know, but I somehow think that you'll be the one to teach us a few things after going through cancer twice. Wow.
Many, many hugs coming your way.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
(Thank you for finding my post so I could update it. And thank you for finding me in cyberspace to shepherd me back into the pack. I just had no idea where my original post had gone.) Freckles started her metronomic protocol on 4/23/11 (piroxicam and cyclophosphamide). She also has 1/2 a Tramadol 3x a day, Cosequin once a day, Welactin 3 (omega) twice a day, 1/2 Pepcid AC before her two meals, and 2 wafers of K9 Immunity Plus twice a day. Her appetite fluctuates and we have given her anything and everything that she will eat, including canned foods Evo, Natural Balance, and Lotus, The Honest Kitchen's Embark, table scraps, yogurt, canned pure pumpkin, and cat food. Every once in a while, she has a gagging cough–not a good sign.
She has numerous lumps and bumps, which we are monitoring, most of which are suspicious. While this is all scary enough, a few days ago her third eyelid was showing and her temple appeared sunken, both on her left side. She is a left hind leg amputee. A trip to the vet resulted in a diagnosis of masticatory masseter myositis. Freckles' muscle has atrophied, which explains why she seems to have some difficulty with chewing her food. I have an accupuncture session scheduled for Thursday, hoping that this will help with her chewing muscles and with strengthening her legs. She still has a lot of spunk and is highly motivated by her terrier cross brother Butters. As long as she's trying to pick on him and chase after him, we know she's feeling okay!
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