Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Rusty‘s regular check up with Dr. Macy was last Friday; it had been 2 months since his last appointment. Rusty has been doing very well overall, probably the best two months since his amputation. He has gained two more pounds, which brought him to his desired weight, which pleased Dr. Macy. He has been favoring his left front leg the past couple of weeks; Dr. Macy checked his leg and shoulder and could not find any signs of cancer. He suggested that we rest the leg for a week and if we did not see any improvement to have Dr. Huber (Orthopedic Surgeon) take a look at it. We may need to put him on some joint supplements.
After reviewing Rusty’s blood work and urine analysis, Dr. Macy said that some of his readings had improved, but a couple of the liver and kidney functions have deteriorated, most likely due to the Fanconi Syndrome. He increased the dosage of his kidney medicine and put him back on Milk Thistle for his liver. Rusty’s Potassium levels were also low and he wants us to give him bananas or add a Potassium supplement to his diet. We can’t get him to eat enough bananas and have added the Potassium supplement. We should buy stock in Velveeta Cheese, as Rusty now gets several “cheese balls” a day to get all of his pills in him. Previously he has had digestive issues with the Milk Thistle and we are hoping that he will be able to tolerate it this time.
With the Fanconi Syndrome, it is like having a new puppy as he needs to piddle every couple of hours. Most nights we are usually up twice, which coincides with my needs and occasionally we get by with only one trip during the night. Our biggest challenge is during the day when we are out shopping or going out for lunch or dinner; he can’t make it for more than two hours and if we are late getting home he sometimes has an accident. Because he drinks so much water as a result of the Fanconi Syndrome, his mouth and beard were constantly wet resulting in severe chapping of his mouth & lips and a lot of discomfort. We had his muzzle shaved, he now looks like a Poodle, and he is much happier with a dry mouth.
On the 25th it will be 28 months since his amputation! Rusty’s prognosis at the time of amputation and Chemotherapy was for 18 to 36 months of quality life; we are hoping that he will continue to battle this terrible disease beyond 36 months. However, we are very realistic that things could deteriorate very quickly and continue to enjoy each and every day that he is with us.
Chuck & Rusty
Rusty is a Labradoodle who was diagnosed with level 3 Fibrosarcoma on January 16th, 2010 and had his left hind leg amputated on January 25th, 2010 five days before his 18 month birthday. Please see Rusty's blog @rusty.tripawds.com. He is putting up one heck of a fight against this terrible disease.
Happy Ampuversary! Overall it sounds pretty good, and surf season is coming!
I remember the middle of the night trips outside with Maggie when she was having kidney issues. I made sure she went out before we went to bed and that bought us a few hours. Because we had a dog door she could go out by herself- but I had to get up to help her back up on the bed.
Keep fighting the good fight Rusty- you clean shaven surfer dude!
Karen and the pugapalooza
Congratulations rusty! Keep fighting and enjoying every minute. I hope the rest is working and there's nothing serious wrong with your leg.
Holy moly Rusty we didn't even recognize you! We thought that photo was of your new sibling! Too cute. I'll bet all the girls are even crazier about you now!
Well you are just such a superstar, congratulations on another fantastic, miraculous ampuversary! You give new meaning to beating the odds my friend.
About the chapped lips thing...our Wyatt Ray gets that a lot, and we still can't figure out why, but when he does get all crusty, we put aloe on his lips and it goes away pretty quickly. We tried Burts Bees lip balm for a while which worked great but he kept trying to eat the stick when we applied it, so the aloe is easier.
Rusty, we will raise a glass in your honor tonight! Congratulations my friend!!!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Goodness! I was reading your post and said to myself, "oh, Chico goes to Dr. Macy, too." Then I saw where you live! We could be neighbors (seriously, I live and work in Palm Desert)! Did Dr. Huber do the amputation? His wife, Dr. Ye (did I spell that right?) had worked on my other Labrador's teeth a few years ago.
Have you thought about installing a doggy door to allow Rusty to go outside when you aren't around to let him out? We actually closed one doggy doors off right after the surgery but after a few days Chico went through one as if it were perfectly normal (he has to go through two to get outside--one in the utility room to the garage and the other from the garage outside). Since he got his stitches out, we've allowed him access and I think he's happy with that.
We go back to see Dr. Macy on June 6th. At that time I'll ask him how long Chico will need to do chemo. I know that the prognosis is probably less than a year but he said his ex-girlfriend's dog had the same cancer as Chico and survived a year. I've since heard of two dogs that have survived 2 and 4 years. Any news like this give me hope.
Allison & Chico
Allison:
It is certainly a small world; Dr. Huber performed Rusty's amputation and then handed us off to Dr. Macy. Rusty's next appointment with Dr. Macy is June 8th. Dr. Yee is Huber's wife and does all of the wonderful photos of their patients.
We don't have a doggy door as we also have a cat; we have a lot of coyotes in Sun City and we don't want to take a chance on losing Oliver to them. We also have friends here with doggy doors and the Raccoons (and one skunk) have come into the house. I am looking into a pet-a-potty type box that we could bring into the house when we are away.
We will probably take Rusty in next week to see Dr. Huber for his leg/shoulder issue as it seems to be in both of them now.
Chuck & Rusty
Rusty is a Labradoodle who was diagnosed with level 3 Fibrosarcoma on January 16th, 2010 and had his left hind leg amputated on January 25th, 2010 five days before his 18 month birthday. Please see Rusty's blog @rusty.tripawds.com. He is putting up one heck of a fight against this terrible disease.
Happy Ampuvesary Rusty! You are true fighter!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Happy Ampuversary Rusty. Hope there's In N Out burger in your near future to celebrate.
Jackie, Angel Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
I understand your concern with your cat going through a dog door, but Rusty is a big dog and you can get the doors that cats can't go through (the doors are a bit heavy for a cat). I believe there are also doors that only work for the animal that is wearing a remote on their collar--this keeps the wildlife out of the house. I have two cats and they've never escaped through the dog door. They usually wait until someone walks through our sliders and then sneak out (and then howl when we bring them back in). I didn't know there were racoons down by you! But coyotes are a problem everywhere. We live up by the Living Desert--clear on the other side of Palm Desert!
The last time I was out in Sun City we were visiting an artist and his wife (do you know Ken Shrimplin?) They live on the eastern-most edge of Sun City and almost at the northern border of it as well. They have a studio and we had "commissioned" a piece of art from him and they took on a tour of his studio. Beautiful and interesting work. My daughter, when she was in high school, played for the Coachella Valley Symphony and we often attended her concerts at the clubhouse there.
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