Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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rlukens said:
We just can't decide if amputation is the right thing to do for Morgan. We want to do what we can to make her feel as good as possible for as long as possible. I had pretty much decided that amputation was the right option, but now that she has been on the pain meds since she was diagnosed on Friday, she is feeling so much better. It is such a difficult decision !!!
Thank you all for your support!
Hi.. I can relate. I was nervous about an amp at first too. It was because I was uneducated about it. This site and others helped me tons. I went with the amp & I have ZERO regrets. I would do it again in an heartbeat. It's just so scary in the beginning.. head spinning..
The hard part in guessing the pain levels are dogs are so stoic. It a survival thing to not show weakness. The will hide pain until its very painful for them. The pain meds are just masking that pain.
It's a personal decision but the sooner you get the cancer leg off with all those cancer cells getting spread around the better.
Sending out all the best -
Jenna & Zak
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I'm also sorry to hear about Morgan's cancer and that you have to make these decisions. Sadie is an 80ish pound rotti/shep mix. She will be 10yrs old in October and had her right front leg amputated this past Feburary. She had osteosarcoma in her shoulder blade. Her recovery was a little rough (the proverbial "2 weeks of hell"), but we all survived and I don't regret it at all. We did opt for chemo, which she tolerated extremely well, but I fully realize that it's not for everyone. Her last chest x-ray was clear (her type of cancer typically spreads to the lungs), so, so far so good. Sadie has lots of arthritis in her hips, and a fused spine (don't know much about that because she was already 7yrs old when we adopted her). So, she wasn't the most active/agile dog to begin with, but her activity level seems about the same as before. She seems to have less stamina, but rather bursts of activity instead. I hope everything goes well, and of course, you've joined a great place for support and information. By the way, check with your vet about adding supplements and changing diet before the surgery. He/she might suggest waiting until after so not to deal with side effects, or to make sure that any negative changes are not due to the new food/medicine.
Keep us posted,
Lisa (Sadie's mom)
Sadie is my 9yr old Rott/Shepherd mix. Diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her right scapula 1/28/10. Our brave girl had her amputation 2/13/10 and her last chemotherapy on 6/6/10. Unfortunately, a tumor appeared in her back right leg and on 10/7/2010 Sadie's earthly journey came to an end. On 10/24/2010 we adopted Ranger, a handsome Rott/Lab mix tripawd (got hit by a car) I think Sadie sent him to us.
http://ranger.t.....pawds.com/
sadie33 said:
By the way, check with your vet about adding supplements and changing diet before the surgery. He/she might suggest waiting until after so not to deal with side effects, or to make sure that any negative changes are not due to the new food/medicine.
Super duper advice Lisa, we agree 100 pawcent!
Thanks for this impawtant reminder.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
So I called the Vet on Friday, and scheduled Morgan's surgery. Now Friday night and all day today, Morgan has been more full of spunk than she has in a long time. She seems so happy, I guess we'll never really know what they are feeling, or how much pain her meds are masking. I HOPE I am doing the right thing for her !!!
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
THANKS for sharing that video! She looks fantastic! Yes, Morgan will be a front. I can only hope and pray that we made the rigt choice for her, and that she is as stong willed as Chloe. I felt really good about our decision, but seeing her so happy and spunky the past 2 days.... makes me second guess myself. We took her and her Fur Sister to an Irish festival today, and she was soooo happy. Lots of pets from strangers, and lots of people telling her how beautiful she is. Made me kinda happy to see her like that, but I kinda wanted to cry at the same time.
With Chloe I didn't hesitate for amputation because for her it was leg gone, cancer free or terminally ill 4 legged dog. Like I said she had a soft tissue sarcoma tumor and the lymphnode biopsy confirmed it hadn't spread beyond the site of the tumor. It was on her left "calf" or hock, which ever you prefer. I do know that my situation is different compared to most others on this site who are battling bone cancer.
The only thing I know from reading about the many other dogs who have been diagnosed with osteosarcoma is that they seem better for a while but the cancer can be really aggressive in the affected leg and cause a fracture. There was another dog, Sammy ended up fracturing his leg before his scheduled amputation. It was certainly heartbreaking for Sammy's family and for all of us here to find out that happened.
Here is the forum if you would like to read it:
http://tripawds.....38;ret=all
-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
I can agree with what Chloe's mom about the fracture from first hand experience.. I didn't even know Zak had OS.
He jumped off a sand dune & fractured his leg. It's because he was so stoic about not showing weakness to me prior to the break. He cried so loud when that fracture happened. It was a very bad day and one I'll never forget. I went from thinking I was taking my dog to the beach for a day of play to them telling me I had to put him down or amputate his leg.
I did amputate.. but I needed a minute to get it together & research OS. To make sure it was what was right to do for Zak. I found this site and bonecancerdogs.org were full of the info I needed.
The ER vet said the stats were bad with OS.. Kinda like 'why bother' to me. I do not regret the amp for a minute. Even if I had 4 months with Zak, they would be pain-free & 4 months extra with my boy. We are now at 19 months post Dx & I couldn't love him anymore than I do.
I'm sure you both will do fine with the surgery. The beginning is hard with OS but after a plan is in order, things get much easier. 🙂
Jenna & Zak
Hello Morgans people,
I was going through something so similar to you. I will be posting the video shortly on Sammys blog. My boy was barely limping without meds, and I had surgery scheduled. I was going back and forth in my mind. Not so much about the surgery but about the diagnosis. It seemed unreal to me that my healthy wonderful boy could be so sick and I am completely unaware of it. So the surgery was scheduled one week from when he got diagnosed. 2 days before he was scheduled his leg blew up. I am not even kidding about it blowing up. I have a video of him the day before. It was Saturday and he was walking along with only a slight limp. He was so adorable, he saw me video taping him and he got all wiggly.
The next day he was outside going potty and his leg shattered. After 20 minutes outside it was 3 times it's normal size. The worst part was how much pain he was in. The specialist said it could fracture at any time doing anything. I felt such guilt about not watching closely enough. I guess the moth eaten looking bone just couldn't support him for another second. Even though he was on the heaviest duty pain meds, he cried for 2 days in the hospital! He was in so much pain that the surgeon moved his appointment up to first in line that following Monday.
It made me feel like it was more real when this happened, like it was a sign that it was the right thing to do, but I feel terrible that he suffered so much waiting for surgery until Monday.
You will know what the right move is for you, but I can tell you from experience you just never know when you have to make some quick choices. Timing is critical here. There are no judgements being made here, it is wonderful. You are supported for any and all efforts you make in saving your pup.
Please let me know what you end up doing. It is tough that so many Rottweilers end up on this site!
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.
We all second guess ourselves throughout this journey but what you have to keep reminding yourself of, there are no "right" answers. Whatever you decide is made with love and all the best intentions, and Morgan is well aware of that.
Kinda a strange phenomena isn't it, when dogs behave all better just before you take them into the vet for something? Like when your car makes a funny noise, but it won't do it at the mechanic's. Well, noises might go away for a bit, but deep down, we know there is still something going on, and the inevitable outcome is another trip to the shop?
The important thing is that you do something to fix the situation, and get things running along smoothly again. You are doing that for Morgan. She will show you, she is much stronger than you think.
We send our love your way, know that you have an entire community pulling for you both.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I just spoke with my Vet. She said that she had a little meeting this morning with the 4 other Doctors at the practice, and they discussed Morgan's case. They all looked over the X-Ray's and discussed Morgan's situation, and all were in agreement. Amputation is a good choice for her. I also asked my vet (who lost her own Rottweiler to Osteosarcoma) if this was her little girl, what would she do... she said she would amputate. My vet assured me that the Surgeon assigned to do Morgan's procedure tomorrow is the best surgeon they have.
We are scheduled to drop Morgan off tomorrow morning at 8:00. I have a lump in my throat that won't go away... but I know that we need to be strong and positive for Morgan! It's gonna be a difficult week!
Good luck and stay strong for Morgan!!! Easier said than done, I know! But try hard for your girl!
Thinking good vibes for you and her for tomorrow's surgery...
Tracy, Maggie's Mom
Maggie was amputated for soft tissue sarcoma 10-20-09
Maggie lost her battle with kidney disease on 8-24-13
The day we picked Tasha up from her surgery I was so scared and ready to fall apart when I saw her. Guess what, I didn't! When I saw her come hopping into us her nub wagging and the life in her eyes I knew for sure we made the right decision. My girl was there with us and going home. Yes the first week or two can and probably will have some difficult times, I think it is actually harder on us than our dogs. Stay strong and positive when around her she will pick up on your emotions. Hopefully very soon she will be amazing you and showing everyone how awesome three legged dogs are!
Good luck tomorrow Morgan, our thoughts will be with you.
Jo Ann & Tasha
Tasha 8 years old, First cancer diagnosis 6/26/09, Last cancer diagnosis 9/26/09, Amputation 10/01/09, Loving our girl moment by moment.
Tasha lost her battle and became my Angel on May 4 2011. Forever in my heart….
Best wishes that Morgan's home again soon after her surgery. She'll do well! We have our paws crossed for you, and are sending big HUGS your way! Get some rest!!!
I was reallly confused about amputation too. Nearly all of my friends said that I should put my James to sleep and not put him through surgery. I was sobbing for days with a terrible headache.
Thank goodness I decided to amputate. It's been a little over a month now and I cherish every moment that I have with James. He is doing great!
Sending good thoughts your way. I am sure that Morgan will do really well!
Nancy and James the poodle
James the poodle had his left front leg amputated due to osteosarcoma on Aug. 4, 2010. He is currently doing chemo.
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