Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Oh no you guys! I'm just so sad to read this news. It sucks, there's no doubt about that. And it makes you question everything, I get it, totally. Just know, however, that you guys did the best you could with the information you had at the time. Cancer is so mean, there's no telling what can happen. You have a plan now, and by working with your vet you are giving him every chance for a good quality of life, right here and now.
And as for Max, well, he's still the same dog he ever was right? He's still loveable and king of his castle, ready to make each day the best it can be! It's hard to put aside what's in your brain, you know things he doesn't. But try to forget that as best you can each time you look into his eyes. Watch how he sees you and the world, these are lessons he is teaching you even during this tough time. He is such a gift! And so is your other pup.
Please let us know how things are going OK? We are curious what kind of treatment the vets recommend. And remember, there are no right or wrong choices here. Max is loved and that's all that matters.
((((hugs))))
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Rene said everything so well.
It's. soooo important to remember that nothing has changed in Max's worl. He could care less what any ole Vet reports say. As you noted before, the words that DO matter to him are
treat
Dinner
breakfast
walk
Dog
car ride
dog park
good boy
want
water
outside
And no, no regrets. Regrets are a waste of energy and keep you from the prese t and the now with Max. You were able to give Max extra bo is time on four because you left no stone unturned in his treatment and I focusing on what's best for Max.
Continue to spoil that sweet boy and continue to make every day the best day ever..just like you have his entire life.
Do not let this piece of crap disease interfere with your g.prious to e together now. He's with you and he is still Max. ad that's .to be celebrated!
And we would love pics of sweet Max being Max!
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!
Thank you both for the pep talk... It was so needed, and is very appreciated. We’ve been going to the dog park more often (the sun came out in the Pacific Northwest, gotta enjoy it while it lasts!) and trying to do whatever we can to keep him happy.
Right now we are still waiting to get in touch with the radiation vet... we missed a call from them yesterday and they said the only availability they had for an exam was late April... I’m just so worried that if we wait that long, we are going to have an even bigger issue than we already have.
The only other place that does radiation therapy is a 6 hour drive away.
I don’t exactly know what’s happening with the cancer other than what I stated, but it seems like it’s also manifested inside his skin at the incision site too. It isn’t healing, and just has a constant dried hair-filled scab on it, and I just don’t know what to do about it. Right now we are spraying it with a spray the vet gave us to try to keep bacteria out of it... but Max isn’t a big fan. Poor pup!
I don’t know if it’s the scabs, the cancer, or the 3 legs, but dogs treat our confident boy differently at the dog park. Does this happen for other/?
Lots of attempts at domination, which just puts us a bit more on edge too if the owners aren’t paying attention. The last thing we need is a Great Dane trying to mount our little 44 pound tripawd!
He’s actually been growling a bit when it happens, which he’d never do before. I don’t blame him! He’s such a happy boy and doesn’t really bother anyone or cause any trouble (minus the occasional begging for treats!) so when dogs like that are naughty, I’m more worried about them injuring him than his slightly more cranky response.
Cant gove any insight on the treatment plan as far as the length of time before you can get him in. I would definitely keep calling and
▪︎be put on a list if a cancellation occurs....and then call every couple of days to see if anything has opened up. So yeah,basically, be a pain in the butt!
▪︎And do try and get some answers from the Onco to assure you...or not.... that waiting til end of April is. or is not. an issue.
As far as that "scab" thing... may not at all be related to the crap disease. Has the Vet seen pictures?
As far as the dog park.....grrrrr!! Such a bummer when people are not being responsible!!! Nothing sets off a dog more than another one trying to dominate him!! Growling warning is certainly understandable and a reasonable response!!! It may have to do more with the other dogs needing to be controlled a bit better a bit than anything to do with sweet Max. Did this just start since the amputation...or just more recently?
That Max is sooooo lucky to have such loving and caring hoomans!! You are doing everything possible for thst boy and he clearly is enjoying being Max!!!
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!
Real quick: Have you looked into Puget Sound Veterinary Center? We are huge fans! They don't have radiation therapy but they take an integrative medicine approach that might be able to help Max feel better and figure out what's going on with the scab issue.
As for other dogs, I'm guessing they sense that Max isn't feeling 100% and taking advantage of that situation. I would find other things to do with him right now, it just seems too risky.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
His Onc has seen and biopsied the tissue, and it’s cancerous. Apparently it’s causing it to get all inflamed and not healing. It looked similar to the images on your page of having an allergic reaction to the internal stitches.
He might be having both to be honest?
As far as the other dogs go Max has always been a sassy, confident pup, but mostly it would always turn into a literal pissing contest with the other dogs at the dog park.
Now, a lot of dogs come up and sniff his incision at his missing leg, then try to mount him.
He never growls at dogs, he’s annoyingly patient... but I agree he’s probably not feeling great so the behavior from the other dogs is probably making him more cranky.
Well, cancer is inflammation so it's possible he could be having both. Your vet probably would have seen any bacteria in there though. It can't hurt to ask if they checked for something like MRSA .
I'm wondering if Max still has vet clinic scent on him? Maybe that's another reason why the other dogs are being too aggressive?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Not at this point, he hasn’t been in the clinic for some time, and he’s had multiple baths. He likes to lay in the mud because his incision is warm and uncomfortable.
We started him on new chemo medication, it’s every 48 hours, which would be impossible to keep track of because the meds are refrigerated so we can’t put them in the pill scheduler... but I had the idea to put a little red heart bead in his pill scheduler, so we know when he’s gotten his meds because we move it ahead 2 days after we give him his meds. Just an idea that might work for other folks too!
hartfamily said
We started him on new chemo medication, it’s every 48 hours, which would be impossible to keep track of because the meds are refrigerated so we can’t put them in the pill scheduler... but I had the idea to put a little red heart bead in his pill scheduler, so we know when he’s gotten his meds because we move it ahead 2 days after we give him his meds. Just an idea that might work for other folks too!
What a great idea! I've tried reminders on my smart phone but I love the visual. If you wouldn't mind taking a few photos of Max, and the pill scheduler, I'd love to share this in Tripawds Nutrition.
How is Max doing today?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We had our checkup at the clinic today, and the tumor on Max’s incision site is over 50% larger than the last time he was there. It’s growing so fast, and we still aren’t getting in to see a radiologist until next week. 💔
The doc says that last month when he was in, the mass was 11cm x 10cm and now it’s about 16x16. Right now the goal is to at least slow down the tumor, but it’s growing so fast we are worried it will ulcerate the skin around the incision. If that happens, I just don’t think we will be able to do much but give our sweet boy the sweetest send off we can.
Next week is my spring break, because husband and I are both vaccinated, we decided we would try to take the dogs down to the Oregon coast. Max loves the beach and all of the smells... so I’m hoping he will enjoy his vacation.
We are increasing his pain meds, because he is just so uncomfortable. Waking us up in the middle of the night, refusing to come upstairs. When he does come up, he doesn’t have the confidence to jump on the bed anymore, and he refuses to use ramps or stairs...
I will post a link to Google drive with pictures of our boy and his pill scheduler, would you be able to post/host them for me? I still haven’t figured out how to find a good spot to host my pictures. Sorry! ❤️
That first picture of him owning the car seat is just precious!! That face....OMD! I love his bone structure and those ears.
A techie will come along and help you embed the other two pictures. I was only able to see a repeat of the first one.....which is definately worth repeating!👍
Such a bummer not able to get to the Radiologist any sooner. But "next week" is almost here.
Is the pain because of the size of the tumor causing him pain it's pressing on a muscle or nerve? Has Piroxicam been mentioned?
I think getting away to the Oregon Coast os a a spectacle idea! And we want to see lots of pics and videos-!
Give that handsome boy a big smooch for us. Continue to spoil, spoil, spoil....and give him some steak, ice cream and cupcakes!!
Higs
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!
Wow that happened so fast, I'm sorry the cancer is being so mean. Unbelievable how fast it grew. Grrr.
You are on the right track with a trip to the coast, it will help you all feel some relief from the heaviness of the news. We can't wait to see photos. Oh and I don't know if it's just me but it appears that the links you posted all go to the same photo, which is adorable 🙂 . I'll check again later when I'm back at my desk.
Give Max extra hugs from us, he's such a sweetie.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
On Monday, we went to the radiation onc. vet in Seattle, their recommendation was to spend around $3,000 for a CT scan, and recommending a radiation treatment 1x a week for 4 weeks, for anywhere from $4-6,000. Not to mention they couldn’t get Max in for treatment until mid-May.
We have an appointment next Tuesday (my birthday) at Washington State University’s Animal Research Hospital, so we called them and asked for some prices on CT scans and radiation treatments, and the CT scan was about $1,000 and the radiation treatments were about $200 per session. So, we decided that we would wait until next Tuesday and drive 6 hours to eastern Washington to get the tests etc. done.
Sadly, we also decided not to go to the coast. If Max were to get injured on his incision, the Seattle vet said that the radiation treatments wouldn’t allow the wound to heal, so they wouldn’t be able to treat him. So we decided it wasn’t worth the risk.
Turns out we made a good decision, because on Wednesday Max stopped eating on his own. He would eat from my hand but even that was only for one meal a day, and he would refuse all other attempts. This morning, he was refusing to eat altogether. He keeps giving me this sad stare, like he wants to be a good boy, but hurts and doesn’t want to hurt anymore. I’ve seen that look before, when we first started his immunotherapy, and I convinced him to keep fighting, so hopefully we can figure out how to convince him again.
Thinking about it this morning, I wonder if it could be that Max has developed an ulcer from his chemo medications (which is a possible side effect?) He is in a lot of pain, breathing rapidly, drinking a lot of water, and really doesn’t want to do much of anything. When I went to feel his stomach, that caused his breathing to increase even more. We’ve been keeping an eye on his stool, but it hasn’t looked bloody.
We got him a rabbit at the market on Wednesday, and once I cooked it up this morning, he decided he would eat that.
Tomorrow my husband will drive out to Eastern Washington with Max and get a hotel room for at least a few nights. The Clinic there said that if they recommended radiation therapy, they would most likely want to start it the following day. I wish I could go with them but the drive is simply too long to manage with our schedule this week.
While I will be celebrating my birthday alone this week, the only gift I want is to have my boy free of pain and back to his lovey, sassy self. Trying to keep the hope up.
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