Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello everyone,
My family is new to this community. Our 5 yr old Olde English Bulldog Rooney will be going in for his amputation surgery tomorrow morning. He will be loosing his front leg, likely due to Osteosarcoma, although we won't get the definitive diagnosis until after his leg is sent off to Pathology.
We receive his diagnosis about 2 weeks ago, and under the guidance of our oncology surgeon we did some watchful waiting until is was clear the pain was affecting his quality of life. So here we go ....
We are really nervous about what the next few weeks have in store, but are so enormously grateful to have found this community of wonderful people who have shared their stories, advice and optimism. The latter is something that has really gotten us through the past week. I will no doubt be on this site quite a bit over the next few weeks as we try and make this transition as easy as possible for Rooney, and to get advice on how to help our family transition to this new lifestyle as well. We have two small daughters (4 and 2) and we have no clue what they are going to think about this when he comes home. We have tried discussing with our oldest, and she definitely does not really understand. We would love to hear from other families of young children about how bringing home a newly appointed tripawd went along with any tips to make this transition easier for all of us.
A HUGE thank you in advance for all the support you will no doubt provide over the next several weeks/months/(hopefully years) ahead.
Shannon
PS. Not exactly sure how to put up a pic of our RoonDog, but with some guidance I will upload 🙂
The youngest one of our grandsons was six when Murphy had his amp done. Turner looked at Murph and then asked when the leg would grow back. We told him that the leg was going to stay gone. Then Grandpa asked him how many legs he had. Turner said he had two, and Grandpa said that Murphy still had more legs than Turner did. The next time he was over, he checked Murphy out, looked at us and said, "Nope. It didn't grow back."
We also met a couple of kids when we were camping at the Washington coast who thought Murphy was pretty special because their Daddy was also an amputee.
Kids, particularly young ones deal with things like three legged dogs in a much more matter-of-fact way than we do as adults. I would answer questions in a way they will understand, but not offer more explanations than what they are curious about. They will, of course, need to know that they need to be careful around Rooney until he feels better.
Kathi and the Turbotail April Angel...and the Labradork
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
7sb14 said
We have two small daughters (4 and 2) and we have no clue what they are going to think about this when he comes home...
Consider the various children's books about Tripawds we review in the Tripawds Amazon blog . And search these forums above for "children" to find various topics with members providing feedback. Or, search all blogs here .
One member had the kids try walking/crawling along on the floor (on all fours) without using one of their legs. They posts a video here somewhere, and everypawdy was laughing and having a good time! 
Three Legs And A Spare also has a section with recommendations. Here's a small sample...
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Our grandchildren also dealt well with our Murphy's surgery. He had been limping for a few months before his surgery, so they knew that he had a 'boo boo' on his leg. The first thing I did was to make sure our daughter showed the kids pictures of Murphy so that they weren't totally shocked when they saw him. So I would suggest showing your children the pictures of the dogs on here so they get some idea of what tripawds look like, especially the ones right after surgery, so they can be familiar with the incision. It can be shocking to adults, so I would think even more so to small children. Murphy was great with our grandchildren! He never hid from them - he laid right in the middle of the room or hallway, he let the kids come right up to him anytime they wanted to. We had 2 little ones, an almost 2 year old & a 3 year old, plus a 6 & 11 year old. The youngest was the most interested in petting him and he always let her. We told the kids that he had a really bad boo boo and the doctors had to take it away, and that now he was feeling so much better! They could see that he was walking and running just fine so that helped to reassure them. One advantage we had was that it was almost a month after surgery before they saw him, whereas your children will see yours right away. I would make sure that they understand that they have to be very careful with Rooney. I would probably try to let the help with her care in some way if possible, so that they don't feel pushed aside. You are going to be busy and somewhat consumed, so you don't want to make them excluded. Maybe have the 4 year old help with holding the ice pack on the incision a couple times a day (it helps with swelling and with pain). Or maybe with feeding. Not sure if you're comfortable letting them help give her her medications, but we gave them in peanut butter and as long as you keep them up out of the way and you are supervising, it might be ok. Let them help pick out t-shirts for her to wear - they might enjoy dressing her up! lol Here are a couple pictures of what Murphy looked like after his surgery.
Hope that helps some!
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
Welcome! Just popping in to wish you good luck today on the surgery. You've come to the best place possible for love and support and a wealth of knowledge to boot! Post any time and ask as many questions as you have because we're all here with you doing this journey. Keep us posted on Rooney when you get a spare moment.....well all be pulling for him for an uneventful recovery!
Linda & Max
UPDATE ON ROONEY:
We are now just shy one one week post surgery and Rooney is doing amazing!!! When we went to pick him up from the hospital he was beyond excited to see us. As the new 'mom of a tripawd' I was so worried about how much he was trying to jump around, but the vet staff was really good and calming me down and letting me know that he is going to do great and that I don't need to baby him ... that I needed to give him opportunities to adapt to life on three paws. I was so concerned about how we were going to get him into the back of our SUV, and he quickly made a fool of me by simply jumping in! I couldn't believe my eyes.
Once home we saw first hand what we had been warned about here regarding the 'slippery floor'. We made a track through our whole house with yoga mats and he quickly figured out how to get around. Within a day he had mastered our staircase up to the second floor, and today he has figured out he can even hop a couple stairs at a time. When we bring him outside he likes to show off by running around our backyard. He continues to amaze us every day. We are telling our two young daughters that we now have a super hero living in our house 🙂 I was also concerned about how my daughters would react to him when he came home. The night before we spent a long time talking about what he would look like and I showed them some pictures and videos I had taken of him earlier in the day at the hospital. When we brought him home my oldest daughter (4 yrs) watched him for about a minute, giggled a bit and said "ahhhh, he hops like a bunny". And that is it! She hasn't even given it a second thought. I think the fact that he is acting like nothing has changed is helping her think the same thing. My youngest daughter is too young I think to even realize anything did happen.
We also live in very supportive neighborhood and we have several neighbors come by to show Rooney some love and support and they too are amazed by him. As a wonderful side note - this has inadvertently turned into a great opportunity for so many people to learn about bone cancer in dogs and the types of options that are available for dogs like Roon.
So all in all things are going very well. We now anxiously await the results of histopathology to find out what type of bone cancer he has. His chest Xrays all came back clear before surgery so we are trying to stay optimistic that we still have some significant quality time left with him.
Thanks again to everyone here for their overwhelming support. It really has been such an enormous source of confidence for us as we are moving through this journey.
Shannon
I'm so glad that The Roon is doing so well! What a great update.
My little cousin was about 6 when she met my Tri-pug Maggie, it was at least a year after her amp. She watched Maggie for a bit and said "she only has 3 legs", and I explained about the cancer and her amputation. And that was it for her too! Kids, like dogs, really live in the moment and are very accepting of what to us can be quite traumatic.
And as you have seen we all become ambassadors for Tripawds and K9 cancer and treatments.
Great, great update!
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
So glad that Rooney is doing so well! And yes, isn't it amazing how great kids are about everything? They just take things in stride like it's nothing at all 
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
Howdy and welcome!!!
What a wonderful update and Roon is just adorable (avatar pic?).
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
So.... Rooney and Wrigley are Bulldog amp buddies! Two Bullies who had their amps a couple days apart!
Rooney's pack please go Here to See Wrigley's Pack's posts!
Yay for Bullie buddies!
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
LONG overdue update on Rooney:
I am beyond happy to report that we over over 3 months post amputation, and Rooney has completed 4 out of his 6 chemo session. And he is doing fabulous. Before his last chemo session they did another cheat X-ray and it came back clear 😀. The chemo has not been a walk in the park for him, but he bounces back really quick and is full of beans most of the time. He just got a new Siamese cat brother and the two of them spend the day chasing each other around the house.
He is such an amazing dog and we are so fortunate to spend every day we get with him.
The only odd thing we have noticed in the last 24 hrs is that he had a bout of head temors last night that lasted about 2 min. Nothing since, and he seems unfazed by it. Has anyone else experienced this?
thanks again for all the support from this group!
Shannon
[Image Can Not Be Found]
Yaaay Rooney! That is awesome!!!
Shannon, I'm not sure what the tremors could be but it's definitely something to keep an eye on and let your vet know. Keeping a journal of when it happens, and what preceeded it, will help pinpoint things if it is something (hopefully not).
Keep up the fantastic attitude guys, you rock!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
HAPPY THREE MONTH AMPUVERSARY RONNEY!!
It makes me so happy to read such a great update for such a great dog!!
Saw your post under Ask A Vet. Hopefully she can give you guidance. Heck, I things ad simple as inner ear infections can cause bizarre things to happen. Maybe that new kitty made him bang his head while Ronney was chasing him!
And this is just an aside,if the chemo treatments cause him too many side effects, talk with your vet about stopping at fojr, ormaybe at five. I say that simply because so e Oncos do four, some do five and some do six! So, depending on who the Onco is...well, you get the point!
Hope youu try postu the picture again. Bulldog pictures are the best!!
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!
Final Update on Rooney:
It is with a very heavy heart that I am posting a final update on Rooney's journey with this terrible disease. Rooney was a trooper and made it through all of his 6 chemo treatments like a rock star. At his one-month post-chemo check-up he passed with flying colors, all of his chest X-rays came back completely clear and he was full of energy.
Unfortunately in a very short 3 week time-span everything came crumbling down. He started having trouble getting up and walking, he developed a fever, and lost interest in playing and food. When we brought him in for a follow up set of X-rays the cancer had spread everywhere. The vet was in complete disbelief at how quickly cancer took over his body. Yesterday we had to make the hardest decision of our lives, and say our final goodbye to Rooney. We are completely heartbroken. Rooney fought as hard as he could, but unfortunately it wasn't enough. We can take some peace in knowing he is not in pain anymore. Rest in peace my sweet boy.
I am so very sorry to hear this, bless your heart. I can find no words to console your broken spirit only to say we're here. We've all been in your shoes. We understand more than most.
Peace be with you.
{{{hugs}}}
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
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