Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

I'm so sorry that you've had to join our club. It sounds like you've been doing your research. You're absolutely right that amputation or some other form of removing the cancerous bone will make Bruno's life much happier. If Bruno is not a candidate for amputation, there are sometimes other options like stereotactic radiation or removal of just the cancerous bone (rather than the whole limb). Being a candidate for those options depends on exactly where the cancer is and how big the tumors are.

Seeing a cancer specialist (as opposed to a general vet) might be helpful but I know that it might be harder to find one in some parts of the country than here near Denver.

We're all glad to help by sharing our experiences. Take care.

Welcome to you and Bruno. Sounds like you have a plan and that's a start. The Dx can be overwhelming, but the amp is generally the place to start. We've had many older and larger dogs here who were all ok with the amp, so hopefully Bruno is a good candidate. Once you get through the recovery period, he'll begin to amaze and inspire you. Keep us posted! And, yes, we'd love some pics!

Jackie, angel Abby's mom

So sorry to hear about your Bruno.  It is a terrible diagnosis to hear.  My rottie, Magnum (aka Princess), was 42kg when her back leg was amputated. She was being treated for leg/cruciate ligament strain before the OSA was finally diagnosed (oh for the benefit of hindsight!).  She was in a lot of pain and I suspect did experience a fracture prior to amputation.  I will always be haunted by the pain I saw in her eyes. As soon as I was given the OSA diagnosis I booked her in for the amputation. That was an easy decision for me.  

We admitted Magnum to a specialist hospital where she spent 4 nights after surgery.  They used morphine and an epidural for pain relief during the initial period and then Tramadol after that.  We visited her every day and were amazed at how good the wound looked and how well she was recovering. I think it was worth the extra cost for her to have 24hr veterinary care for that initial period.  I couldn't imagine bringing her home any earlier than we did.

Within 1 month of the operation she was firing on all cylinders again.

Good luck with your decisions and let us know if we can give you any insight from our own experiences. 

Char & Bruno,

We are in Spokane too!  No need to travel all the way down to WSU, many vets in town do amputation and chemo.  Porter sees Dr. Ryan Brown at Indian Trail Animal Clinic - he had his amputation there and goes there every three weeks for his chemotherapy.  We didn't wait to do our amputation, we did it as soon as we could.  Get that cancer out of there as soon as we could.  We also see Dr. Rosemarie Asterino at Acupuncture for People & Pets, a local vet acupuncturist.  She has been providing supportive care during his chemo, and also has been getting us supplements and recommending different foods.  She has SO much experience with cancer dogs (not just osteosarcoma).  She also does a TON of specific treatments for his joints, because that was one of our concerns before amputation.  Porter had the beginnings of arthritis in his remaining front leg, and we didn't want to have him experience extra pain because of having more weight on his remaining limbs.  We also had Dr. Brown x-ray all his other limbs before doing the amputation to make sure that his hips and joints would be able to support his weight minus a leg.  I'd be happy to provide more information if you want it.  Nice to know there are others in town going through this awful thing too!

Sandy & Porter

Sorry that you find yourself here, but it is a great resource and full of caring dog people that "get it." I have found a lot of comfort and advice here.

We weren't able to amputate due to some weakness in rear legs, (Jack's OSA was in front leg) but do wish that had been an option for us.There is actually a worse club to join and that is the club that can't amputate. It speeds up the battle with the cancer/pain in an unfair way.  Unfortunately we lost our battle with OSA last weekend. 

What I did learn from our unique battle with OSA is that the pain seemed to ramp up dramatically and without notice. We did a biopsy to confirm the OSA, which may have contributed to the dramatic increase in pain. If you do a biopsy, talk seriously with your Vet about whether you really need it and possible complications. Eventually we weren't able to control Jack's pain with oral pain meds. The stuff you have read about the pain is real. I found it was good to know what our next step in pain management would be and have it on hand in case the need for it occurred after office hours. 

I too worried about a broken leg and we did have several scares where we thought Jack had broken his leg prior to his passing. He would scream in pain, and we would rush him to the Vet. His leg never did break, but my heart did many times over. Ask about micro-fractures and if the Vet thinks they might already be present as they are painful and might lead to a break. My husband is a teacher, which gave us some flexibility in care for Jack, but I too was deeply, deeply worried about leaving Jack home alone for fear of a break. Perhaps you have an older relative or friend that can stay with him when you can't.

I also found that getting Jack a ruff wear harness with a handle helped us get him up and mobile when we need to get his weight off the bad leg (many of the dogs on the web banner are wearing them). Depending on Bruno's size- I would be happy to ship you Jack's harness that only had about a month of wear. It would make me feel better to know it was getting used. It is a medium and measurements are on the ruff wear site. 

Also, have your Vet X-ray for lung mets before making any decisions as that can change your options.

Many, many best wishes and warm thoughts as your family and Bruno navigate this disease.