Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Well it looks like from reading posts I might have the oldest amputee. Bailey is 17.5 years old. (my other dog is 14). I held Bailey in the palm of my hand at 5 weeks and have never let go. He has been there for me through everything, so how could I not be there for him through this. He broke his femur on Saturday and on Monday we were told he likely has osteocarcoma based on his X-rays at a speciality dog hospital. No signs of cancer were found anywhere else. After discussion with our vet of 14 years amputation was the only humane option - fixing the break would be too painful. Euthanizing was really never an option for either of us, although appropriately discussed, because Bailey is a young 17 year old. I still call him my puppy because he still behaves like one. We both felt he deserved the chance to live out the rest of his life. He was still full of life and never gave anyone signs he didn't want to be here. I am scared about the decision I have made. He has been home since Wednesday and has been whimpering ever since. He is urinating in his bed despite our efforts to take him outside. He walks very little and that is only with assistance. He still has his pain patch on and is taking his pain meds. I think it might be the medications causing the whimpering because when I pick him up he doesn't cry. Any thoughts out there? It is pretty scary to be going through this - I am now trying to be his rock as he has always been for me. Jean
baprance said
Bailey is 17.5 years old.
How fortunate you are, and how lucky Bailey is to have you. What kind of pup is he?
The patch can certainly cause much of what you describe, lethargy, whimpering, despondency... once that's off you should see a glimpse of Bailey's old self. Please keep us posted.
And Bailey may very well hold the record, but there are plenty of senior success stories in the Size and Age Matters forum, and in the blogs. Don't miss all our articles about Eisen, a 15 year old GSD going on 4 years now cancer free since his amputation.
Welcome and thank you for joining. Your future forum posts will not require moderation.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you. It helps to hear from someone. Bailey is a terrier mix ( cross between a jack russel and a rat terrier) . He was about 24 lbs before surgery.
So sorry for this news you have received, but bless you for giving him a shot. You have found a wonderful community of people here who are just brimming with information, so don't hesitate to post with any questions. This site has been invaluable to us through this journey. Hope everything goes well!
Lisa
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
Wow-- 17.5 years-- that is terrific!!! I agree with admin, those pain meds really mess with your pup, so until he is off the meds (usually in one to two weeks), he will most certainly act a bit odd-- depending what he's on, the whimpering could be caused by his being chased by a herd of large, dancing, pink elephants. If his amp was Monday, you are right in the thick of recovery. Try not to worry, he will get back to his old self. If you poke around the forums, you will see many reassuring posts about pups who were whimpering and refusing to get up, but in a few more days, they had turned the corner. It might take Bailey a bit longer as he is on the older end of the spectrum, every dog recovers at his own pace. You sound like a wonderful mom, Bailey is lucky to have you to nurse him back to health.
Catherine
Scout: January 31, 2002 to November 7, 2011
Scout's diagnosis was "poorly differentiated sarcoma"; amputation 1/11/2011. Scout enjoyed 9 fantastic years on 4 legs and 9 glorious months on 3 legs. If love alone could have saved you…
Wow - 17.5 years is amazing! And as others said, you are deep in the middle of "2 weeks of hell" right now. The vast majority of folks see major improvements in seeing their old pup's personality come back somewhere in the 10-14 day range. It's normal to feel doubt and maybe even regret right now, but it gets better. In the time I've been on this site (over a year) I've only ever seen one single person ultimately say they regretted the amp, so hang in there!
Keep us posted on Bailey's continuing recovery. Welcome to the site,
Jackie, Angel Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
We just got home from our vet and he took the pain patch off. He agreed that was probably causing most of Bailey's whimpering. We increased his Tramadyl back to 3 times a day. He and I are currently sitting out in my yard in sunny Florida under our sun umbrella. He is enjoying the breeze at least and looks like he is going to finally take a nap. Thank you all for your support. It is heart warming and comforting to hear everyone's experience and well wishes. I am sure you all will be hearing lots more questions from me soon and some positive news 🙂
Hi Bailey and family, I'm just now catching up on your story. Wow, you are a miracle dawg! I'll bet you'll start to be yourself again real soon. Hang in there! Even older dogs can do great, you'll be fine.
Please consider starting a new topic in "Treatment and Recovery" or "Size and Age Matters" if you have any other questions, that way others will be able to follow your recovery story there. Keep us posted!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Me too - just now catching up on your story too.
I'm glad I caught up when it sounds like he is doing better. I, of course and so sorry you found yourself with us. It really sounds like you made the right decision. And in due time, he'll be his puppy self again. So, keep being the rock!
As a side note, how lucky or whatever you want to call it to get the opportunity to have your furbabies so long! That's terrific!!!!!!
WE MUST HAVE PICS of your little one!
P.S.
Terriers mixes are our favorite dogs on tripawds!
STRIKE THE ABOVE COMMENT! My little terrier monkeybutt snuck in and an wrote that!
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.
I believe I started a new topic as suggested by Jerry about Bailey's recovery, hopefully I did it correctly.
I will post pics as soon as I figure out how to do that. I do consider myself an extremely lucky parent to have both my babies for so long.
baprance said
I will post pics as soon as I figure out how to do that...
Here are detailed instructions for embedding images in forum posts. If you don't already share photos online somewhere, it may be easiest to start a Tripawds blog so you can upload images to your Media Library.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Jean - Bailey is such a lucky dog to have a mom like you! I don't get a lot of time on this forum, but I'm glad I saw your post. I just want to say that I felt the same as you when we were just a week or so post-op. I was worried and the wonderful people here reassured me that it was very normal. Now Cookie is 4 weeks post amputation, running and acting totally normal. I do think the drugs make them feel weird.
Keep up the good work!
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