Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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About Kiara.
Kiara aka Kiki is named after my favorite Disney princess in the movie “The Lion King 2-Simbas Pride”. I named her that because that’s what she is to me, my cub. All I want to do is protect my little princess who is now a member of the Tripawd pack. ❣️🐾🦁
Kiara has been apart of our family for 9 loving years, & we could not imagine our lives without her by our side. She has a best cousin at home that misses running & playing with her, & still loves her so gently. Kiki loves playing with her hide n’ seek toys, walks to the park, people watching around the neighborhood, & binge watching Netflix. She’s our best friend, our emotional support dog, our protector, & there’s nothing her pawents wouldn’t do for her.❤️🐾
How it started.
Kiki hasn’t been able to put pressure on her front right paw for about a month. Within this month my husband and I have taken her to her primary vet to be examined twice- the 1st time we took her they said it was either a possible sprain that would eventually heal itself or it could be early onset arthritis. Two weeks had passed and she needed a refill on her pain medication & condition hadn’t gotten any better, so when we took her back for the 2nd time all they could tell us was that we needed to see an Ortho to get her x-rays because the clinic didn’t do them there. On April 13th 2023, we took Kiki to her consultation where she got her leg X-rays & the Dr. completely shocked us with the news that my baby has been diagnosed with Osteosarcoma-an aggressive malignant tumor of the bone. She also discovered a small heart murmur which can affect what type of treatment she can get for the cancer. Next we ordered imaging of chest X-rays & can not visibly see that the cancer spread to her lungs as of right now, which is where it commonly spreads next.
Next steps.
The necessary steps of treatment to ensure her a better quality of life are to amputate her right leg, following with chemotherapy & more X-rays to make sure that there were no microscopic cancer cells at the time of her diagnosis. Her surgery is scheduled for April 19th & she will undergo observation from 24-36 hours following her procedure. However, the Dr. says she is already ambulating very well on 3 legs & as such she believes is a great candidate for the forelimb amputation & anticipates that she will bounce back very nicely from surgery. She is a warrior & she won’t let this hold her back from being the outgoing, silly, loving girl that she is. ❣️
Bear with me as I am still learning how to blog, let alone process all that’s happened this week, any tips or tricks on this would be greatly appreciated. We will of course keep you all updated.
With Love❤️
Hi and welcome! Sorry for the quick note but its late here and I wanted to get your post approved so others can chime in. I'll be back in the morning with some feedback!
Kiara is indeed a Wareopr aReipawd Cib4incess.....and a dearly.lpved one too!!!
Ap she had her surgery the 19th? Let is know jow rhings went and how she's doing now. And how YOU are doing! We k ow you are exhausted mentally and physically. to get to this point.
Recovery is joodnoc for the riest couple or weeks, but ot doesn't last furever!
I won't inundate you with information at this poi t, as you've probably already figured things out. Please le is know of you jave aany questions okay? We are here for you the whole way!
Remember, Kiara does not have a timeframe stamped on her butt and doesnt count days on a calendar. She loves fully in the present and only wants to be pain free and soak up all your loving and spoiling! Andit is impossible not to spoil a tripawd!!!
We'll look forward to a follow up to see how Kiara is doing and to see how we can help.
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Update: Kiara is 5 days post op. & has been ambulating so well as a newbie tripawd. She’s been eating & taking her meds regularly. Using the bathroom regularly, & just started to nibble on her face toy. I have high hopes for her, learning to stay present & “Be More Dog ” for her & it’s helping so much. Thank you community. 🙏🏼❣️🐾
Oh that's awesome she's doing so well! I'm happy to see this news first thing out here in Oregon. We have high hopes for both Kiara and you, what a great attitude you are rockin'!
As far as tips and tricks, I'd say just keep up the good attitude, stay on top of her pain medication (what did she come home with? Type/dosage/frequency?), and make sure you've got some Tripawd-proofing mods in your house, like raised feeders and traction . Even when dogs get around well, these things help make their life more comfortable.
And Oh! Don't forget about the benefits of rehab therapy! We find that when a dog can get evaluated by a rehab therapist soon after surgery, it benefits them so much. Mainly because their pet parent knows how to keep them safe and injury free, by knowing what exercise is appropriate and safe, and how to help their pup do exercises that build strength. The best part? Tripawds Foundation can pay for your first rehab visit so we hope you'll take advantage of the program.
I'm so sorry you guys are dealing with this, but we are so glad you found us. Keep us posted OK?
Thank you so much for your response! The medications she currently takes are: 300mg gabapentin (one tab. 8-12hrs daily), 375 mg Clavacillin (2x a day), One dose from her Meloxidyl daily. Thankfully they’re supposed to be taken with food so we time them around her breakfast and dinner times. (: We went on quite the Amazon haul & purchased some non slip traction strips to make her pathways all throughout the house, a huge living room rug, a new temperpedic bed, raised feeders, little booties for when it rains, socks, toe grippers, you name it, we got it! Lol. All thanks to the forums I’ve read here on tripawds. (: Thank you so much for the program referral, we most definitely will be setting her up with rehab as well in her treatment plan.❣️
She is SET! Good pain control (if she shows signs that pain meds are wearing off sooner than the 12 hr interval you can always bump them up to every 8 hrs, which seems to work well for many dogs). Your house is set. And so is your GREAT attitude! 
I hope this week brings you a ton of restful snuggle time and healing. Keep us posted!
Update on Kiara:
Dr. called and said they got the lab results. It's 100% confirmed that the cancer was
Osteosarcoma. She said they didn't see any other cells in the lymph nodes, & as far as we know her chest X-rays showed no visible cells at that time. Next step now is to consult with the Oncologist to see what they recommend for her treatment plan that kiki qualifies for & to do x-rays regularly to make sure it's not there/ doesn't come back. So today overall was great news, with a little reminder that anything can happen, good or bad. So I'm still practicing staying present, taking it day by day with Kiki. We'll keep you guys posted. ❣️
Ok well a concrete result is definitely a relief, even if it's something like osteosarcoma. You have a plan, that's terrific. You'll feel even more confident about kicking cancer's butt once you and Kiki meet with the onco vet. Education is empowering!
Anything can happen indeed, and you are doing a great job staying so pawsitive. One step at a time, you and Kiki are going to show cancer what you're made of!
Kiki update: We took her to get sutures taken out & also had her first oncology consult today. She officially started her first round of chemo today as well, she’s a little sleepy right now. They gave us meds to take as needed only, fingers crossed she handles the treatment well. Thank you to everyone who has helped us so far, it’s a long journey to go, but we’re in this together. Please continue to share her story. We’ll keep you guys updated. Much love from Kiki & her pawents. 🐾❣️
Ooooh I hope she's doing well and not having any side effects.
We are sending tons of pawsitivity and Tripawd power your way!
Okay, onward and upward! Younjave given your sweet "kiki" a chance at a pain free life with extended QUALITY!
Continue to live in the moment and embrace the present, list like Kiara is doing. Such a great lesson to,learn from our dogs.
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Today we got some upsetting news at Kiara’s appt for her blood work following chemo. She has to switch her chemotherapy treatment plan. She has to switch to Doxorubicin because the carboplatin that she was on is on back-order globally. The new meds can be dangerous for her because she has a small heart murmur & it can cause worse heart issues. The Oncologist told us kiki needs to be seen by a cardiologist ASAP/within the next 2 weeks to see if the chemo switch is possible & to be able to make the next round of treatment at her scheduled time. After calling 16 places (most w. no availability until 2+ months out), I finally got an available appt. for next Thursday out in Irvine. Once we know how the heart is going to handle it, then we take it from there. We will keep you guys updated. Thank you to the community for all your good vibes and well wishes. We really appreciate it!
I'm gonna" copy and paste" the reply I made on your other post. May, or may not, be of any help.
Gosh, so sorry you have this added stress.
Glad you were able to get her seen next week by a heart Specialist.
Had not heard avout this shortage from any members on the site....yet. Is it possible...possible.....that another Oncologist Dept at another clinic has a supply?? Cert worth a try. Perhaps your regular Veterinarian can make the inquiries as he can probably get better results versus just a "regular civilian".
I would also clarify with whomever when Carboplatin will be available. Point being, if Kiara has to skip the next chemo to wait for the Carboplatin and it's just a matter of a couple weeks delay, that shouldn't be an issue for it's effectiveness.
Guess the point I was trying to make is that often treatments are delayed anyway because of a low WBC. And sometimes delayed an additional time after that because the blood count hadn't 8mproved yet. So while the Onco wants to do the treatment asap to stay on the every three week plan, it is not uncommon to have to delay the injection aometimes. So of the Carboplatin is avail "somewhere in about three weeks for example, you could wait for that. I'm pro as clear as mud.
You are a wonderful advocate for your girl!!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
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