Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hey all,
Apologies for the lack of updates but the truth of it is that since thursday life has just been 'normal' which is very welcome!
He had the last of the stitches removed thursday morning meaning that he was able to continue with his 3 X 5-10 min walks a day depending on surface ( 5 for asphalt walks, 10 if we go to park as the grass is easier on him) and he is himself, hes getting up and down the stairs with no problem at all believe it or not, just a bit slower than usual.
His anti-biotic course is now complete, it was staph infection in the end the blood cultures showed so he was on the correct medication which is perfect.
I've returned to work full time for the first time in 2 weeks which doesn't feel great but i know he's more than happy at home by himself and the dog walker now has him back on regular rotation just with shorter walks so he is getting out in the air while I'm away in work.
The only real bummer is that on Wednesday this week we are back over to Liverpool for his first session of carboplatin chemo, the boy can't catch a break! but hopefully it doesn't keep him down for long and he bounces back nice a quickly.
jb
We love normal around here!! Soooo happy to read rhis update😁 The only thing that could make this update even better would be a PICTURE!!! We can never get enough of this ADORABLE Brownie!!😎
And no worries about the chemo. Many dogs ,have no side effects at all. The ones that do it just ,usually consists of maybe some lethargy, maybe off good a little or a little nauseous (easily treated with Cerenia). And then we have my Happy Hannah who, after her first dose of Carboplatin seemed to feel EVEN BETTER!!! TRUE!!
Okay, we'll be waiting for more pics!
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!
JB this is soooo pawsitive, what a great pupdate. You and your vets did everything right to treat that staph infection so it didn't get out of control, and I especially love how cognizant you are about the difference between walking on grass versus walking on concrete. Yes, keep the walks to as much grass as you can, it's so much kinder on a dog's joints (or ours for that matter!).
Have a good week at work. Try not to worry too much about the chemo, it's not nearly as scary as we humans make it out to be. I have all the confidence that Ronnie will handle it like the champ that he is.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
'Scuse me Ronnie, I called you Brownie! Sometimes I get all the cutest puppers kn rhe world confused!
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!
One question i wanted to ask prior to chemo starting tomorrow was that despite searching extensively I've been unable to find an answer to what i assume would be a fairly common question.
The median survival rate for OSA dogs post amputation and chemo is around 1 year. Now, is this 1 year from the point of presentation? 1 year from the point of amputation, or from the start OR end of the final session of chemo?
A the presentation to the final session of chemo will likely span around 4-5 months I'm really keen to know what the survival rate figures are based on?
The stairs video is great. Do you see how he leans on the wall for balance? Our Jerry did that at our old house. Pretty soon we had a long brown streak along the staircase, it was a happy milestone memory that only a Tripawd family could appreciate!
The median survival rate for OSA dogs post amputation and chemo is around 1 year. Now, is this 1 year from the point of presentation? 1 year from the point of amputation, or from the start OR end of the final session of chemo?
First, I want to reiterate that it's super important not to get hung up on numbers. Remember those statistics are just averages based on other dogs with completely different health histories. We have seen so many ways this cancer can play out, so just do your best to focus on the Here and Now, living every day to the fullest, and Ronnie will thank you for it.
You ask a great question, and although I'm not an oncologist I will take a guess. My guess is that it's from the first treatment of the cancer itself, amputation in this case. We were told Jerry would get 4-6 months with amputation alone. He got two amazing years!
I am curious to know what your oncologist says though so be sure to ask. And let us know how the session goes!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi. I've been following your story and just want to say that Ronnie is such a cutie and a true trooper. It is remarkable how far he has come. I wish both of you many years of happiness!
My Beautiful Beloved Brownie was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma on February 26, 2019. With all odds against him he lived an additional one year and eight days with amputation, love, and prayer. I was honored to be his mom, and I have never been so proud! He will live forever in my Heart!
04/01/2007 - 03/05/2020
"March Saint"
Thanks for the kind words brownie, i really appreciate it, we're just plugging away doing what we can!
We had the chemotherapy yesterday, we will have 3 sessions at between £400-£450 per session and then imaging to look for mets before commencing the following 3 sessions. It's also been suggested i take Ronnie to my vet for blood tests in 7-10 days to see how WBC count is affected post treatment before we go any further. probably £70-£80 for that. The 3 month scan will likely be around £600-£700.
So now the insurance has been exhausted it's going to start getting expensive but the hospital works on 30 day invoicing so hopefully i can manage this month to month going forward.
No reaction to the Chemotherapy yet, he had an anti-nausea injection yesterday at the time of treatment and his first set of tablets this morning which he will have over the next 4 days.
Oh and Jerry, i did ask our oncologist and his response was very much ignore the numbers etc etc, but to put it into context the numbers themselves are born from studies and research and as such the number is determined from diagnosis and presentation, not any treatment, but he noted as with my case that the time between diagnosis and treatment is usually around 7-14 days, so the numbers themselves are loose at best.
Ronnie looks great. Sassy had nausea after 2nd chemo and the affects are cumulative and you are doing exactly what we started doing which was give the nausea drugs before and after chemo. Keep kicking butt Ronnie. Loved the video 🙂
hugs
Michelle & Angels Sassy & Bosch
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."
Hey that is great that Ronnie is rockin' the chemo without side effects! 
Thanks for sharing your costs with us, they are very much in line with ours here in the states. If you get a chance we would love it if you could put those figures in our ongoing discussion "Costs of Amputation and Chemotherapy for Dogs: What Did You Pay?"
Regarding the survival statistics (I like your oncologist's advice by the way, thank you so much for asking!), the feedback totally makes sense.
So it sounds to me like regardless of what treatment one takes, the osteosarcoma survival rates in dogs are based on the time of diagnosis, correct?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Well just a quick update, it's been 9 days since Ronnie had his first session on carboplatin adn i took him to my local vet this morning for a blood panel workup to check his white blood cell count. I'm happy to report his count is 9500 which is perfect in the normal range of 6000-17000. So no longer lasting impact from the chemotherapy, and no lowering associated with ongoing bone marrow cancer.
Overall a good start to the weekend!
Great news!! Looks like Ronnie will be one of those guys who sail through chemo!
Have a wonderful stress free joyful weekend with your RockStar Ronnie!😎
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!
Yay Mister Perfect Ronnie! That's wonderful news, you are sooo healthy! Must be all the great care your people are giving you. What a fantastic Friday, thanks for stopping by to let us know. What kind of celebration are you gonna have?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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