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Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

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Precious Poppy
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Ottawa, Ontario Canada
Member Since:
4 September 2013
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4 September 2013 - 11:26 am
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Hello-

My name is Maggie, and together with my partner Alex and daughter Heather, welcomed a beautiful Yorkie girl into our family a few shorts months ago.  Poppy was born April 18, and came to her forever home at 8 weeks old.  She is an energetic, mischievous, loving, sweet baby, and we adore her.

While trying to be diligent about taking her outside to pee, we would even get up at 3:30 am to take her out.  Patience and consistency is the key, they told us.

Last Monday morning, at her 3:30 am trip outside, there was a terrible accident.  My partner fell down the stairs while carrying Poppy.  Alex held on as long as possible, but eventually she took a tumble on the hardwood floor.  Hearing her cries I ran down immediately, and it became clear her leg was broken.  Alex rushed her to the emergency department of our veterinarian's office (we are so lucky to have one), and they took her into their care.

X-rays confirmed our fear - her front right leg was broken.  The following morning the surgeon called to say he wasn't certain, but her leg may be broken in 2 places.  They would do more x-rays to confirm.  If it was broken in 2 places, the success of repair became 50%, and he offered that some parents prefer to amputate for a better chance of complete recovery.  We thought it over and decided to give her every chance, and go ahead with the repair.  In the end, her leg was only broken in one place, and we were ecstatic!  That is, until the surgeon called to tell us he'd tried everything, but that her tiny bone was literally falling apart in his hands.  We really had no choice, and within a matter of seconds had to give our permission to have her leg amputated. 

We had tried very hard not to go there, to stay positive and really hope for the best.  Needless to say - we are all devestated.  Our tiny, precious little Poppy had lost her leg.  We realize her surgery was just over 12 hours ago, and of course it's all still very raw, but our guilt and anguish isn't lessen by this knowledge.

We were in to visit her earlier, and while it was rough, we were comforted just by seeing her and being able to stroke her head and look into her beautiful eyes.  She was a bit vocal, but that's our Poppy (the drama queen) and hearing a bit of chirpping and whining was music to our ears.  They won't release her until tomorrow, as she's being her usual picky self about eating.  We took in some of her own food, and gave them the run-down: no bowls, no plates, directly onto the floor and be SURE to play with it a bit first!  Hopefully, she'll give in and eat a bit now.

We'll be able to bring her home tomorrow.  I'm sure things will settle in nicely and in no time we'll all be back to our happy, loving selves.  

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you have any words of wisdom, bits of information, and ways to make our recovery and transition easier, we'd be so grateful to read it.

Maggie

krun15
2
4 September 2013 - 12:32 pm
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Welcome to Tripawds, your future posts will not require moderation.

I'm so sorry about Poppy's accident.  You didn't say but I hope your partner wasn't hurt! (we care mostly about dogs, but the two leggers have to stay healthy to wait on the pups big-grin).

You should read through Jerry's Required Reading List - there is lots of good info there on what to expect with amputation and recovery.  Poppy has a couple things going for her- she is young and not dealing with cancer!  Other people will say that her small size makes things easier too, but my pug Maggie was pretty small at 17 pounds and was quite a handful after her rear leg amp!

One important basic is good traction - rugs or yoga mats work well on slippery floors.  As for the stairs, as a small rear amp Maggie had trouble going up more than a couple of stairs.  Bigger dogs tend to do OK on stairs after they heal up.  In general rear amps have trouble going up, front amps have trouble going down.

As small as your Maggie probably is she my not have done a lot of stairs on her own anyway?

The first couple weeks after surgery can be bumpy, lots of ups and downs. This is a big surgery with lots of meds.  We have often seen the young pups sail through recovery- hopefully Poppy is one of the lucky ones.  But if she is not herself for awhile don't get discouraged. It is important to be a strong pack leader and show that everything will be OK.

I'm glad she made it though surgery and is on the road to recovery.  More pictures are always welcome smiley.

 

Karen

Ottawa, Ontario Canada
Member Since:
4 September 2013
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4 September 2013 - 2:29 pm
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Thank you for the welcome, and the warm wishes.

Jerry's reading list should keep me busy and my mind occupied until tomorrow when we can bring Poppy home.

Aside from a substantial bottom bruise, Alex took a pretty heaving beating in spirit.  I hope time, and Poppy's lovely little face will help to raise it up again.

I don't think we could be in a worse situation as far as flooring goes.  We live in a multi-level home (4 floors) with carpeting only on the top one.  Each other is hardwood or ceramic tile.  (Poppy hit the hardwood).  What would you recommend for the short-term?  Should we carry her everywhere?  Placing runners is a great idea, but Poppy isn't the kind of puppy you can point in a straight line and have her follow it.  I'm nervous now about her slipping.

She was starting to become a pro at going up the stairs, and was quite proud of herself too.  Going down was something she wouldn't attempt after the baby gates were removed.  Although one day we did find her at the bottom of a flight of stairs and to this day haven't solved the mystery of how she got there.

I'm absolutely thrilled to post a couple of pictures of her!

Maggie

Here's a link to some Poppy pictures

Virginia







Member Since:
22 February 2013
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4 September 2013 - 3:31 pm
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Bless your heart! The trauma of this is horrific! No.....not on Poppy....on you two!! Poppy will do just fine! Really! PROMISE!

Yest, the first weekor so can be hard to "watch" as far as managingher pain meds just right...knowing when a whimper is from veing drugged or when it is from pain. And the symptons look alike....whimpering, restlessness, ears pinned back, etc. But like Karen said, young pups.....and little young puos,,bounce back firly quickly. As far as walkinggoes, you will be AMAZED at how quickly she adapts! In a very short time she won't even remember why she had a fourth leg...and neither will you!

As far as stairs, etc., try not to fret about that now. After the "keep her quite phase" is over, you can just watch and observe and let her set ner own boundaries within reason.....as much reasoning as a puppy can have! I would, however go ahead and get some scatter rugs ...you dn't have to worry about carpeting thewhole house.....just yet aanyway!:winkerwinker Again, just watch how she functions, how she adapts, tc.

Now, a little life lesson tat your Yorkie obviously came here to teach you! Ready? There is NO bigger waste of energy i life than spendi g time smothered in guilt! It takes you away from being fullypresent withyojr jp and enjoyi g every single second of joy and happiness you all can share! Guilt.......all os tripawd parents have it.....if I'd taken my dog to vet sooner.......if I'd had xray sooner.....if I'd not treated for arthritis first......if I...blah, blah.....it doesn't matter.....it is what it is...nothing more..nothing less! Your up would feel horrible if she knew how guilty you were feeling. She just wants you fuly present locing and spoiling ner! So for her, move i to the present and get ready for o e of the deepest bnds you could ever imagi e!

We are here for you on this journey.....you are ot al e.....your dog does ot ave cancer.....she has her whole life of vliss awaiting her and she wants you fully present to enjoy the ride!

You are WO DERFUL, DILIGENT, CARING' ATTENTIVE PARENTS and your oup is privileged to be in your family!

(((((((((hugs to all))))))))))))

Sally and Happy Hannah

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!

New Jersey
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25 May 2013
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4 September 2013 - 3:32 pm
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Maggie,

What a terrible accident. My heart goes out to you and your little Poppy. As Karen said rugs are a must it seems for all of us. We have hard wood throughout the house so we went and had runners made for the house. Haven't had a spill ever! Hope your recoup goes smoothly, usually seems 2-3 weeks is the time where they start being themselves again. Rest and rest, for both of you(and the family) it's major surgery so she will need to recoup quietly and safely. Good luck. And a note to Alex, accidents happen, don't beat yourself up. Fortunately you are both ok.

Esther and Snoop

Idaho
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12 March 2013
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4 September 2013 - 3:46 pm
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Welcome, Poppy! You will find that this is a wonderful group with an enormous amount of knowledge about things we never wished we would need to know. The suggestion about the carpeting is something that we found was very good. Murphy was never one for being where he should be, which is probably why he is where he is now, but he has become quite adept at staying on those runners. We picked up several of them at Walmart...quite inexpensive. I also noticed that World Market had them on sale last time I went by there. We have them in the kitchen all around the table and carry them with us when we go in our travel trailer.

The other thing we did was to get a small exercise cage and set it up in the living room. Murphy lived in that when he first came home. We take that camping with us, too. He is a big dog, but since he's missing a back leg, he doesn't jump over it.

Please don't ever hesitate to ask questions or to simply vent. That is why we are here.

Kathi and Murphy

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!

krun15
7
4 September 2013 - 4:44 pm
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I would strongly advise against carrying her everywhere, it's tempting with small dogs but can lead to bad habits. And Poppy needs to learn her new balance and start building strength.

Maggie was 7.5 at the time of her amp and NEVER went potty in the house (we have doggie doors). After her amp my parents, particularly my dad took to carrying her in and out at their house, not just the stairs (theirs is a split level house) but outside and back inside.  Stubborn little Maggie decided she liked the shuttle service and refused to go in or out on her own at my house (only a couple of stairs).  Then she started peeing inside at my parents house when no one carried her out.  We had several stand-offs that lasted more than a half hour where I left her outside pouting.  She got the message and from then on she was fine.  She got carried up the stairs at my parents house because they were too much for her one back leg, but she could go down by herself without any problems.

Mag also had pretty good traction on tile floors, we only had a couple rugs in the kitchen which she preferred to use, but got along pretty well without.  When she first had her amp I had a laminate floor- both my pugs had traction issues as quad pugs on that stuff.  I made little trails out of that non-skid stuff you put under rugs and Mag used them all the time. It was relatively cheap for a small dog, and stuck to the floor pretty well.  Another thing I discovered late in her life was Musher's Secret.  It is a paw wax made for snow dogs, but worked well to keep her pads supple which improved traction .  Keeping the fur trimmed between her pads and toes helped also.

 

Karen

Montana
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1 February 2013
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4 September 2013 - 8:41 pm
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Welcome Poppy, Maggie, Alex and Heather - 

Poor little munchkin - sending healing thoughts your way. I certainly hope Alex didn't hurt himself as it sounds like he did everything in his power to save her. Being little she will probably get along great once the main recovery period is over. There is a great video about Brimley who was just adopted last week and he is a little tripawd. That will show you just how well they can do and it will help you feel better. Everyone has pretty much covered all the bases so I just wanted to say "HI" send a little support your way.

 

Take care-

Luanne & Spirit Shooter

Spirit Shooter was a Miniature Australian Shepherd who was diagnosed with a MCT and had a LF amp 1/28/13 at 13-1/2 years old. 

Shooter crossed the Bridge on 8/28/13, his 7 month ampuversary and two weeks from his 14th birthday.

http://shooter......ipawds.com

On The Road


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24 September 2009
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4 September 2013 - 10:08 pm
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Maggie, I'm soooo sorry to hear about this terrible accident but glad that everyone is on the road to recovery. How scary for all of you!

Fear not, small dogs like Poppy can do GREAT on three legs and for them, typically uncarpeted floors aren't as big of an issue as they are for large dogs. It does help to put down traction in her favorite paths, but for a while you'll find yourself carrying her. That's OK, that's one of the bonuses about being tiny! Just remember though, there's a difference between helping and babying (and oh what a fine line it is for Tripawd pawrents!). Be strong, try to return to your "new normal" so that she can gain confidence and live life with all the gusto that her little self has inside.

I know you'll all be fine but yes, it's scary for the first couple of weeks. We're here to help, so don't be shy OK? Good luck with her homecoming!

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

Perth, Western Australia
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29 July 2012
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4 September 2013 - 11:52 pm
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Welcome Maggie and Poppy!

I'm so sorry you had to find us at such a young age ... but you will see that there are many young tripawds out there who do very well! As Jerry says - it must have been very scary for everyone involved ... and it could have ended much worse so glad to hear that Alex is ok too.

 

I wholeheartedly recommend ensuring that there is some sort of traction in high use areas. Poppy can at least know that there is traction for her if she needs it. I think you'll find over time that she will gain confidence. My old girl struggled on my hardwood floors when she had 4 legs ... so on 3 legs I never thought I would get her to walk on them! She did - but mostly stuck to the carpets. Just before she came home from surgery I went out and purchased about 30 metres of hallway / carpet runners ... worked a treat. I just cut it to length and I had little paths throughout the house for her (the whole house is tiled or hardwood floors). Peda was an older and larger dog (10 years and 30 kilos) - and she did really well - and my impression is that smaller (and younger) dogs adapt very well.

 

Be prepared that she probably will fall or slip at some stage ... she will have pain meds on board that will make her a bit wobbly. Peda was a front leg amputee and so she did stack it from time to time. But I learnt to just hold my breath and she always picked herself up and would trot off again. Having traction areas really helps as stacking it on tiles or hardwood floors is much harder to get back up from.  They do learn - and a puppy will learn quickly! Peda had a very graceful face plant (as I called it) ... she never once hurt herself when she used her face as a brake! I was horrified the first few times - but one time I watched really carefully and saw that she had a way of just going down which minimised any injury. After that I relaxed.

I also used a product called 'ToeGrips' (just google it) which wound up being really really helpful for Peda and was actually how I got her to go onto the hardwood floor. I was able to pull up a lot of the carpet once she was wearing them. I'd be inclined to see how Poppy goes first - but if you see after her recovery period that she is lacking confidence on the slippy floor, you may want to try them. The only issue may be the sizing although I know they do make them super-small now. Peda did hurt herself quite badly one time when she chased a kitten into a room with no carpet and she fell ... she couldn't get up and paniced. I found ToeGrips just after that and got them because I couldn't go through the stress of her hurting her remaining legs again.

 

Make sure you keep us updated on how she is going. The first few weeks at home can be a bit rocky ... but you will find everyone here very supportive - and there are no silly questions ... ever!

 

Kirsty and Spirit Peda

 

Ottawa, Ontario Canada
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4 September 2013
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5 September 2013 - 10:02 am
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Before I say anything else, I want to express my gratitude.  I can't thank you enough for being so warm, caring and welcoming.  I've had tears in my eyes more than once.

That being said, I've had time to realize now, that so many of you have lost your beloved babies to cancer.  You've had to deal with amputation and cancer, and my heart goes out to you all.  It all comes into perspective, when you take the time to stop thinking of just yourself.

We'll be going to pick up Poppy in a couple of hours, and I'm excited, nervous and a bit scared.  I suppose for the first few days, she'll be staying upstairs where the carpeting is.  I'm unsure what to expect the first day or so, can anyone share their experiences?  Should she be in her bed?  She's never been crated, because I'm home all day with her.  Should I feed her up here, or carry her down to where she really loves to eat (right in the middle of the cats)?  How much will she sleep?When will she try to get up and walk, and should I let her?

I know it's likely the surgeon's tech will go through all of this with us at the time, but telling us how it will be, and hearing it from someone who -knows- how it will be, are two different things.

hugs and gratitude to all

Maggie (and soon Poppy!)

Perth, Western Australia
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29 July 2012
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5 September 2013 - 11:01 am
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It'll be great to bring her home!

My experience was only with an older and larger dog, so hopefully people who have had a young dog go through surgery will pop by and add their comments.

Having said that, I expect Poppy will sleep, a lot!! The pain meds will make her sleepy. Sometimes the pain meds can make them a bit distressed (which is what happened in Peda's case). When you pick her up, have a good chat about the pain meds they have her on, and the expected side effects (of either too much, or when they wear off). In Peda's case two of the pain meds she had interacted and she became very distressed (dysphoric). Once we worked out it was the pain meds making her upset and adjusted, she was heaps better!

We get all excited here when dogs do their first wee and poop ... particularly the second one! That may not happen for up to a week so don't panic too much. But she should be encouraged to have regular fluids and meals ... maybe small to start with ... lots of yummy tasty things to help encourage her appetite. If she is a fussy eater, and quite set in a routine, you may want to try to get her back in to that quite quickly. How quickly will depend on how she is - if you decide to keep her upstairs and she decides not to eat, then I would try feeding her downstairs amongst the cats!

I think many of us spend the first few nights (if not longer - in my case it was several weeks) sleeping next to our dogs when they first come home. Personally I think it is quite sensible to stay near them until they get a bit more steady on 3 legs. But you will find that will happen quite quickly. But I would work on getting her in to a routine fairly quickly once the initial healing stage is over and things are settling.

I encouraged Peda to get up every few hours just to move around (so it was literally a stand and couple of hops around and flop down) and make sure she wasn't laying in one position for too long. Given she ate and drank quite happily from early on, I also made sure we went outside to the toilet as often as I thought she needed (being an older dog she was able to hold it a lot longer than a puppy can).

You will know very quickly what she is able to do and what are her limits ... certainly encourage her to do things on her own, but for the first few days, offer her physical support etc to make sure she stays safe. Being little it will be tempting to pick her up and carry her ... try to make sure you let her wobble and hop around at least a bit. She needs to find her new balance and way of getting around - and she will have lots of muscles to build up. Clearly stairs are something she isn't going to be doing for anytime, so you may want to make sure she can't hop or wander too close.

Good luck with the trip home ... it will feel much better once she is home!

Kirsty and Spirit Peda

Lancaster, PA
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17 May 2013
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5 September 2013 - 4:01 pm
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I'm late to the welcoming party! I have a younger amputee (4 years) and found my Barret bounced back pretty fast. Nighttime crying and some phantom limb pain was the worst part and lasted weeks, but it does get better. As far as traction I have small antiskid rugs at the tops and bottoms of all my stairs (3 floors, none carpeted) and Barret gets around great. Poppy is so young she'll do great in no time! Good luck!

Heather

Barret was diagnosed with Hemangiopericytoma May 16, 2013. Front left leg/scapula/pectoral muscle was amputated on June 11, 2013 and we've never looked back. Follow our story on http://barret.t.....pawds.com/ and read my column on That Pet Blog

New York, NY
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3 December 2012
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5 September 2013 - 5:08 pm
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Omg! I'm gonna steal Poppy!!!!! How cute!!!!!!

Being the owner of a small tripawd (my Jill is a cat, she's ten pounds, so I imagine even bigger than your Poppy) I can tell you they do amazing on three legs. I'm so sorry to hear about the accidents, but I guarantee this will be way way harder on you and your partner than her!! She will bounce back in NO time! Come to the chat room if you need some questions answered or just want to chat! There's usually a bunch of us in there at night!

Xoxo,
Erica and Tripawd Kitty Jill

Jill is a 9-year-old tuxedo kitty. She was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in June 2012 on her toe in her right hind leg. Her leg was amputated on 12/12/12 and she completed four rounds of chemo (2 of Carbo, 2 of Doxy) in April 2013. "Like" Jill's facebook page: https://www.fac.....tty?ref=hl Proud member of the WINTER WARRIORS!!!! Her blog can be read at http://jillsjou.....ipawds.com. xoxo

Ottawa, Ontario Canada
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4 September 2013
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10 September 2013 - 12:29 pm
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Hi All,

It's been a rough few days (for us, not for Poppy) but we made it.

Once she got past her constipation, which took a couple of days, she's been full of energy and eating well.  

So far we're keeping her upstairs on the carpeting, and I've tried to get socks with rubber soles and some rubber boots on her to no avail.  Strong-minded little thing, our Poppy.

I know a lot of you recommended runners and scattered small carpets, I'm just unsure of spending on them, knowing she's really unlikely to stay on them.  Unlike an older dog, she sort of moves around a room like the Tasmanian Devil.  Are there any other sorts of non-slip products you know of?

Thank you all again, for the advice and the comfort.  We appreciate it more than you know.

And here she is:  

Poppy Three Legs

Maggie & Poppy

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