Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
I am new to the world of Tripawds. This was a journey I did not plan, nor expect. I am a very positive, forward looking person, but am feeling very lost, and questioning the decision to amputate. Here is my story.
I have a 14 year old male Cocker Spaniel, named Buttercup (BC for short). BC has been walked a minimum of 2 miles a day since he was a puppy. A very healthy, very vibrant fur baby. August 2014 he began acting like there was something in his front left paw. I ended up taking him to a do Chiropractor, who said his joints and legs were great, but noticed there was a small spot on the large paw pad of front left leg. Thought it may be a thorn or corn, etc. Recommended I take him to a vet. Took him to a vet who told me he did not know what the spot was, but it needed to be cut out. Was totally turned off by this vet. Now to the bottom line, I did some research, and took him to one of the most recommended Veterinary clinic/hospitals in our area. Vet did not know what this spot was, but felt it could be a wart, corn, etc., and recommended surgery. Had the surgery, and biopsy came back with Malignant Melanoma, with "dirty cells" in the sample of tissue outside of what was removed. This is phase one of my journey.
Phase two of the journey....took BC to CSU in Fort Collins for an evaluation. They did all the lymph node samples, lung x rays, etc. and felt this Melanoma was isolated to front left paw area. Gave me two options. One.....remove the front left main paw pad, and graft two toe paw pads onto this area. This would save the leg, but have a challenging recovery. Option 2....amputate the leg. I opted for option One....paw pad graft. Surgery was scheduled for last Monday, Jan 5. Took BC to CSU, was told the schedule and he would stay overnight, etc. CSU called as surgery was beginning, and I was told "this will be about a two hour procedure, don't expect to hear from us for two hours. If you don't hear from us for two hours, that is a good thing". 45 minutes later I get a call from surgery team. They discover the tumor is much deeper than they anticipated, and are comparing samples under a microscope, etc. I am told the paw pad procedure cannot be done, and I must make an alternative decision. Decision One is to do a total amputation of front left leg. Decision Two is a partial amputation of this leg. CSU tells me they will confirm microscope samples, and call me back in 10 minutes, and I need to make a decision. They call back, and now they feel the partial amputation is not an option, due to high probability of "dirty cells" at muscle and tendon area of leg. We move forward with the full amputation.
BC stays overnight at CSU, we retrieve him on Tuesday. This is Sunday morning, and he is on heavy pain meds, and is totally lethargic. We are at 6 1/2 days post op. It is a challenge to get him to go outside, etc. His back legs are wobbly. Can anyone give me input on if he will recover. Is this normal. He used to love to walk. I am beginning to wonder if I will have to have him euthanized if his spirit does not return. He is on Tramadol 50mg every 8 hours, Gabapentin 100 mg every 8 hours, and Rimadyl(Carprofen) 75 mg every 12 hours.
Any input, advice, etc. would be greatly appreciated.
Wow, what a journey. You are in the most difficult part right now - making a decision and waiting to see what the outcome will be. There are many folks here who will tell you are in good hands at CSU. That is where spokesdog Jerry was treated.
My opinion is that a lot of the lethargy you are seeing is the result of medication. They stay on medication from 1 - 2 weeks, generally. Once you are past the pain meds, you begin to see the 'old' personality return.
You will find tons of support here, and many, many helpful articles and forum posts. Read, read, read!
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
You said it yourself- BC is on a heavy dose of pain killers. Being lethargic for the first couple weeks is actually a good thing (assuming no med issues) so he can rest and recover. Our surgeon told us that Maggie was only to walk for short potty breaks for the first two weeks after surgery.
The vets probably told you that dogs do fine on three, right? Well they do, but most of them take a little time to recover first...that's the part the vet usually doesn't tell you. My pug Maggie was an absolute slug for 6 weeks after her surgery- I spent most of that time thinking I had made a terrible mistake. Most pups seem to turn the corner in two or three weeks.
Pain meds are a necessary evil at this point, but be sure you are talking to your vet about how BC is doing. You may be able to adjust the meds a bit to relive some of the lethargy but still keep him comfortable. But again, rest is your best friend right now.
The recovery period is tough, and you had to make decisions on the fly. Don't second guess yourself now, you are doing the best you can for BC. Stay positive and don't get discouraged. We have also seen here that often the older pups take a bit longer to adjust.
Karen and Spirit Maggie
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
My golden Blaze is not quite three weeks post right front amp, December 23. He stayed three days at the hospital under iv pain meds. Whe he came home I kept him on the higher dose pre surgery pain meds. He slept about 23 hours a day, but went out to pee and poop and ate well. Week two I cut his meds back to the discharge levels. Blaze stopped eating. Slept so soundly he peed himself twice. I wondered if I had made a mistake. I was very concerned about his lack of appetite. He seemed to sink into a depression. I enticed him with Mickey d burgers and anything else I thoug. ht he would like. He ate about 3/4 of his meal. The staples came out on day 13. Within a few day he regained some of his old spunkiness.
Amputation is major surgery! Imagine the difficulty a human experiences and all the emotions that go along with that! Dogs have many of the same feelings. It is a total life changing event. I think when they have a few days without pain meds and without pain they accept the new normal. Dogs live in the moment. That's not to say they don't miss the leg or need to adjust to life with three, but given enough time they do seem to do well. We just have to give them time to heal.
give BC some time. I thnk she might surprise you with her strength.
Mary and Blaze
Welcome to the Tripawds Community. You are in the right place. My Golden boy is 7-months post-op, also front-leg amp. Yes, the first week is hard, and the pain meds take a toll on them, but are necessary. It is a major surgery, and it is necessary to give them time to rest and heal. You will see that once the stitches/staples are out and the pain meds are reduced they start to be themselves again. By the 3rd week they are usually quite adapted.
You may want to browse around and see the recovery of other front-leg tripawds. I posted photos of Johnnie's recovery. By the end of the 3rd week he was already swimming in the pool.
greetings from hot, hot Rio de Janeiro ( over 95 F today )
Daniela & Johnnie
Our awesome Golden Boy was diagnosed for OSA in April 2014 in the proximal humerus, front-leg amp on 05/20/2014. Finished chemo (Carbo6) on 07/10/2014. Ongoing treatment: acupuncture + K-9 Immunity Plus ( 3chews) and home-cooked no-grain diet. Stopped Apocaps because of liver issues. Liver issues: controlling altered enzymes with SAM-e and Milk Thistle. October 17: started having seizures. Taking fenobarbital for seizures. April 18: started prednisone.
Hello and welcome. Sorry that you're in this spot, it's not an easy one and with a senior dog, there are extra worries for sure. Have you seen our "Size and Age Matters" Discussion Forum? You'll find lots of great examples of recovery and life on three legs as a senior pup!
Everyone here has given great insight about pain meds and behavior, so I won't repeat that. Try to stay pawsitive and know that BC is in the very best care around. We have a lot of personal experience with CSU docs, like when Tripawds Spokesdog Wyatt Ray has had surgeries there (not amputation but other stuff) and he also has his yearly wellness checks at CSU too. Are you working with Dr. Imhoff and his soft tissue team, or Dr. Duerr and the ortho vets? We are huge fans as you can tell, they've always come through 120%, so fear not.
Keep us posted on how things are going and be sure to hop over to Jerry's Required Reading List and the Tripawds e-books library if you haven't already, lots of good tips there too.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Welcome. As others have said this is the most difficult part of the recovery period. It sounds to me like he is on a lot of pain meds. Once those are weaned down & off we usually start to see our babies personality return. CSU is an awesome school and like Jerry said that is a great place to be and a great team of vets. Don't hesitate to call them if you have questions that is what they are there for.
Hugs
Michelle & Angel Sassy
Sassy is a proud member of the Winter Warriors. Live long, & strong Winter Warriors.
sassysugarbear.tripawds.com
07/26/2006 - Sassy earned her wings 08/20/2013
05/04/2006 - Bosch, Sassy's pal, earned his wings 03/29/19 fought cancer for 4 months.
"You aren't doing it TO her, you are doing it FOR her. Give her a chance at life."
Welcome, and sorry you have to be here, but you'll find the support and resources here incredibly helpful. As others have said the first few weeks are the most difficult but it does get much better. My Lexie was around BC's age and I never would have guessed how much spunk she had after her full recovery. Look into PT as soon as you get gives the green light. It's especially helpful for senior Tripawds. Check out Size and Age Matters for some videos of Lexie, and use the advanced search features to look for anything you have questions on as well. Good luck, and keep us posted!
Deb and Angel Lexie* Diagnosed at age 13. Tried radiation first; wish we had amputated upon diagnosis (even with lung mets). Joined Club Tripawd April 2014 & Lexie loved life on 3 legs! Advice: Start physical therapy as soon as your vet clears it, especially hydrotherapy if available :-) See Lexie pics here.
Keep your chin up as this was the most challenging part of recovery for me, and many other Tripawd family members. When Lily was recovering the pain meds made her act like a zombie and she really isolated herself and seemed miserable. I questioned my decision to amputate (and cried) many times during this period. Once Lily came off the pain meds it was like the light was turned on again and there was little Lily, ready to tackle the world!
Full recovery takes time and you will hit other hurdles along the way...but what you'll really remember once you come through on the other side is all of the milestones you hit and how huge they make you smile!
Lily the Great Dane (she was actually a lot more than just "Great") joined our family as an ornery puppy on December 20, 2005 and changed our lives forever. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in early May of 2014 and her right rear leg was amputated on May 8, 2014. She sailed through 5 rounds of Carboplatin and 15 weeks of Pallladia. She hopped on 3 legs like she was born to it and continued to fight cancer with grace, valor and an abundant sense of humor...and always a *giant* smile on her face. Lily had two small nodules on her lungs but was brought short by a brain tumor in late December, 2014. Lily earned her wings on December 28, 2014 and we miss her terribly every day. http://lilyt.tripawds.com
Welcome!
I can only reiterate what everyone else has already said, this is the most difficult time of their recovery. Harmony was up 1 day post-op, then she wasn't day 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, then she was up again on day 9.
There's such a drastic change in their body from recovering from major surgery, to using muscles differently which also causes them fatigue and soreness.
Give BC some time, he'll surprise you!
pam
Harmony became a Tripawd on 10/21/14 (MCT). She left us way too soon on 11/1/14.
"We miss you so much; our love, our heart, our Harmony."
- Pam, Ron and Melody, Meesha, Doublestuff and Mariah Carey
1 Guest(s)
