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Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

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Osteoscarcoma- 3 months post diagnosis
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Member Since:
15 January 2022
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10 February 2022 - 7:08 am
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Hello everyone. I'm here to share Khloe's story of her diagnosis and her journey to becoming a tripawd.

Khloe started limping in summer of 2020, all x-rays were clear and thought she pulled a muscle. We were prescribed carprofen for the pain. She did great, the limping went away and she was back to her normal self. 

In August of 2021 she started limping again, called the vet got in to see her and nothing out of the norm for Khloe, so more carprofen and went home. 2 weeks later I took her off the meds and limping was very noticeable. Went back to the vet got X-rays with light sedation to get better views and more of them. That night got the call from our vet that it's possible khloe could have cancer. Our vet wasn't so sure mainly because khloe didn't have swelling or heat coming from her leg in the possible affected area. So we went to the neurologist in November 2021 for our consult, he thought possible inflammation in her joint and that doing an MRI with PRP would do the trick. She went in for the MRI and the neurologist saw the bone and decided a biopsy needed to be done and the PRP was off the table. The day after Thanksgiving we got the confirmation that Khloe had Chondroblastic osteosarcoma. 

We set up our oncologist appt for 2 weeks later. She gave us the run down on all the reports, x-rays, testing etc. After having done my own research on the her cancer I knew the "gold standard" was amputation, chemo and radiation. This all came with the big price of $12k. After hearing about these options we opted to go to CSU here in Colorado. That visit was a month later (it's been a waiting game for sure through this process). We heard about the trails they were offering, what the options were that we heard from our first oncologist too. After research on the clinical trial drugs, the frequent visits to the vet, I just knew that wasn't going to be a good quality of life for Khloe. She's not a fan of the vet at all, so constantly at the vet is not going to be our plan of action. 

After a lot of phone calls with our vet, the oncologist and a surgeon, we have opted for palliative care with amputation. Surgery was schedule Feb 2, but due to some unforseen circumstances, her  surgery got pushed back to Feb 15. Over these few months khloe's limping, despite being on a pain meds (misoprostol, gabapentin, piroxicam and methocarbomol) her limping is worse then ever. Her lungs are clear of any mets and get blood work is great. I'm just ready for her start her pain free life. I'm hoping for a great recovery and less if not zero pain meds after she's all healed. 

I found this site from the numerous books and googling and I'm so glad I did! It's been great reading others stories and experiences. It has braced us for a new life while we still have Khloe with us. I look forward to sharing her recovery process here too. 

Thank you to everyone who has shared their story. It's a big saving grace for a new chapter. 

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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10 February 2022 - 11:25 am
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Hi Jess and Khloe! Welcome. Your future posts won't need approval so post away.

We are so glad you found us too! And we cannot thank you enough for posting about your journey with Khloe. It's not an easy one as you discovered, and the more people who know they are not alone in it, the better. So YAY! Thanks for taking time to share all of the decision making processes you went through. 

Regarding her pain level, let your vet know OK? The Gabapentin may have room to be bumped up and she may need a stronger opioid medication in conjunction with it, until surgery day.

Oh don't forget, the Tripawds Foundation can pay for Khloe's first rehab visit so book that appointment now and help her start her 3-legged journey with all the guidance she needs to stay strong and injury free!

Keep us posted and ask any questions you'd like, we are here for you both.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet


Member Since:
15 January 2022
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18 February 2022 - 8:08 pm
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Khloe had her amputation surgery on the 15th. And she is recovering great. We are 3 days post op and she's moving around and walking so well. Only a couple trips on day 1 at home, but she was still coming off her MLK drip. She's sleeping when she needs to, she's eating like a champ and taking her meds like the good girl she is. She getting to enjoy the sun on the deck outside for an hour or so and then she comes in and sleeps until dinner time. She has finally pooped, twice today. So what a relief. Most of her discomfort yesterday I believe was do to her needing to poop. So she's much more comfortable today and her belly feels much better too. 

I'm so happy with her progress these last couple days at home. I can't wait to see what she's capable of after she's fully recovered. Seeing her after surgery and how well she's doing, I know she was in more pain then she was leading on. I'm so grateful for the decision to be able to amputate because I know once the acute surgery pain is gone, she will be back to her normal self. ❤️

Virginia







Member Since:
22 February 2013
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18 February 2022 - 9:01 pm
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YAAAAY KHLOE!!!  Loving this update!!  She's really doing well....and you are doing an exce job of caring  for her and monitoring  her.

Eating, pooping, sunbathing and resting well ....such great news!!

Hugd

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!

Member Since:
16 February 2022
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20 February 2022 - 4:29 pm
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My dog, Lucy, is having surgery on Feb 22nd, so reading your post really helped me feel better. I'm trying to be prepared for the recovery, so thanks for posting your experience.  So grateful Khloe is doing well!

Suzanne (and Lucy)

Member Since:
21 April 2022
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29 April 2022 - 9:17 am
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So glad to hear that Khloe is doing so well! I hate that she had such a long wait but it seems like she is a champ! My black lab Piper had amputation surgery this past Wednesday and came home last night. We are going the same route as you with palliative care with amputation. No signs as of today of anything in the lungs. We go back in a month for a check up. She was diagnosed on 4/20/22 after she had been limping on and off fro about a week or so. We though she had just pulled a muscle as well. We were lucky our vet was on top of her procedures and made room in their schedule to amputate within a week. I am so glad we did too! The week in between she was on a whole cocktail of pain regimen and in those 7 days her leg damage had at least doubled if not more. This last week has been so hard on all of us and like you said finding this group from all the googling has helped me more then I could have ever imagined. Wishing Khloe the best of luck and lots of long happy days to come!

The Lavender Family! Kimberly, Brett, Rocky(beagle mix), Ranger (red bone coon), Groot ( Great Dane), and Piper tripawd hero lab!

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