Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I've been very worried about my senior dog, Pepper. She seems basically healthy and very happy. She's about 11 years old, a German Shepherd mix. She weighs 80 lbs, somewhat overweight. She's an indoor dog but goes out several times a day.
Pepper has had two soft tissue tumors removed about a year apart. The first one was gotten out completely as far as we know. The second one, however, is a stage 2 and the vet didn't get it all. There's a 20 to 25 percent chance it could return or it could metathesis. I considered the options, the finances, her age, etc. After doing lots of research I decided to try Metronomic therapy. I just started her on it this morning and am anxious about side effects, etc. She's taking 10mg Piroxicam and a small dosage of Cyclophosphamide every other day. As I said, today is her first day so I'm concerned. I hate to give her anything but the idea is to keep the tumors from returning. It seems to make sense to me.
I know at her age she probably can't live much longer under the best of conditions and I'm mostly concerned about her quality of life. If I can prolong or avoid a tumor from returning it seems it would be a good thing. At the same time, I don't want to make her sick.
So, that said, I am wondering if any of you have had similar experiences or have used this or similar therapies and would share them with me.
Thank you.
Sorry to hear about Pepper, but thanks for joining. You've come to the right place for support.
Be sure to review the information about metronomics for dogs based on our experiences with Jerry, our 8 year old GSD mix who survived for two years after his amputation from osteosarcoma.. We gave him Cytoxan after discovering his lung mets. Metronomics has no side effects that we have ever heard of. Just be sure to give the pill in the morning, and make sure Pepper gets plenty of water and potty breaks. Kidney damage can occur if the chemo isn't flushed out regularly. Also watch for any signs of intestinal distress caused by the NSAID.
Best wishes, and please keep us posted. Post a picture if you can or follow the link in your Forums Profile (see button at top) to upload your user avatar.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Welcome Pepper and family.
So sorry to hear about Pepper. I don't have any experience, but I just wanted to welcome you and tell you that we'll be rooting for Pepper! It's so hard when they get older and you have to weight the pros and cons to an older dog's quality of life.
Best of luck!
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.
Welcome to the family. When we started our journey with Gus, we considered all the options and decided after surgery we wouldn't put Gus through chemo, at 6 weeks we found he had a few lung mets and started metronomic therapy with cytoxin, prednisone, doxycyline and mushrooms. I think the only side effect I could really see was his increase for water which was expected, but it was in July and hot anyhow. Unfortunately his cancer was way more aggressive than all of us thought and we lost him only 3 1/2 months after surgery, so to try and say it helped or not isn't something I can really say, but as far as side effects, which was a concern of mine with chemo, I feel pretty confident and saying he handled that part really well, good luck, paws up, Spirit Gus and Dan
My buddy Gus had a left front amputation on April 7, 2010 and lived a great life until July 26,2010
Hello and goodmorning,
I had a german shepperd/rottie mix that lived to be 17 years old. I think that it all depends on the health of your dog. If she is still enjoying life, age isn't an issue.
My boy is on metronomics, he takes Cyclophosphamide and meloxicam every day, and there isn't any side effects I have seen, other than an occasional bout of "the runs" that last a day maybe two. He gets that about every other month. He is bubbly and happy and feels great as far as I can see. I give it to him in his morning feed, because that is his biggest meal.
I hope this helps,
Elizabeth and Sammy
Diagnosed with osteosarcoma in the right front leg 8/23/10,
leg fractured 8/27/10,
leg amputated 8/30/10
http://sammyand.....pawds.com/
I couldn't begin to say how special Sammy is to us. Living and laughing with and loving this wonderful boy is priceless.
Hello and welcome to the gang! As Elizabeth pointed out, many of our companions are destined to live much longer than we expect. When I was a kid, a 10-year-old large dog was like a 120-year-old person: unheard of. Now, we take such good care of them that 10 is nothing! A few years ago I lost my shepherd mix (86 pounds in her prime) to good old-fashioned old age, and she was 15 1/2. I considered that a special feat, but she was a healthy dog. She also had survived a bunch of stuff, including a large soft tissue sarcoma on her shoulder.
Do your research, email folks here, etc., but don't assume Pepper is at the end of her life! I hope she surprises you daily and recovers from this (like my Belle did) and gives you another 5 years. It's very possible.
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
Hi Pepper's family! Unfortunately I do not have experience with treatments, but I do have experience with soft tissue tumors. Chloe was diagnosed with spindle cell sarcoma last June and if you see the picture below, there was no way we could excise the tumor itself. (lump under knee on "calf" of hind leg)
So, we had to undergo amputation as the best chance for "curing her cancer". The biopsy of the lymphnodes from the removed leg indicated it hadn't metastisized beyond that area, good news considering. However, today, yes literally today, we went to the vet for an unrelated examination (she got a foxtail in her eye) and the vet found a lump on her remaining hind leg. An aspirate indicates its a fatty deposit/lypoma, but we won't know for sure until the results come back in a few days.
Chloe is 10 years old and still living a healthy, full life. I hope the same is for you and Pepper and that Metronomic therapy works for her. I know that if Chloe gets another soft tissue sarcoma we won't be able to amputate and we will have to look into options like you, so I appreciate your forum post and will save it for future reference. Please keep us updated on her progress!
-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
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