Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Last October 2010 our boxer Gabby was amputated and diagnosed with osteosarcoma. The hardest part is that she was only 2 years old. The cancer was in her front leg up in the shoulder area. The vet ampuated the entire arm. When she was in the vets care a few things went wrong. First I noticed that after her surgery she was bleeding much more than "normal". I finnaly conviced the vet that it was not "normal" like they kept telling me. After they did blood work, they found out she was in fact bleeding internally.
They had to go back in and tie off more veins. Then when she was at the vet "healling" she got some really bad infection, which they thought was from a poisoness spider bite on her back leg. The skin ended up getting so bad they had to remove a large chuck on the "dead" skin. For many months she had a softball size hole in her leg, that had to slowly heal on it own, which has taken a very long time. So since she had such a huge hole in her leg, we were never able to start the chemo medicine.
It is now 9 months after her amputation. Her back leg is pretty much all healed up, and we just got some blood work done, and new chest x rays this weekend. Both the blood work was perfect, and the 3 lung x rays showed no cancer metastasis. This is good news, so we met with the oncologist. She gave us the normal information "with amputation only they live for 4-6 months", and with chemo they have "10 to 12 months". So she said since gabby has already gone way past these numbers, she cannot give us an accurate number if we decided to do the chemo therapy.
I went ahead and made the appointment to start the first round this thursday july 21st, but still am having second thoughts. Not really sure why I am even on this website, maybe i just needed to talk to someone….
-paul
Welcome Paul and Gabby!
"Talking" is a good thing! We have all found ourselves needing this site just to talk, celebrate, laugh and cry! So glad you found us.
I'm so sorry about Gabby. It must be so hard with her so young. It's not bad enough to have cancer but at such a young age must really be hard.
I'm sorry you had to go at this alone. It's even tougher when you aren't exactly getting the support you need from a vet. We understand. I had a vet tell me my dog might have a black widow bite too. He died while running test a couple of hours later. It wasn't. It was an unknown cancerous tumor on the heart that burst. Thank goodness, I did an autopsy or I would have been spraying my yard every day for spiders for the rest of my life!!
Gabby is a beautiful dog. We have other boxers here too! So, you are in good company.
As far as chemo, we have many here that have it and many that did not. Just from our experience here, chemo may or may not make a difference. Some live longer without it and some live longer with it. To be honest, there isn't a clear pattern. It's a personal choice but it's not the magic bullet either.
Our thoughts are: if you want to do it, do it. If you don't want to do it, then don't. We concern ourselves more with getting rid of the pain that is caused by cancer and/or an injury. Eliminating pain is what we really advocate. Quality vs. Quantity. We want them to live forever! But with cancer, it's such a strange disease and there is no commonality with it.
I didn't have a cancer dog, i had a birth defect 3-legged dog, so others will be more helpful and I'm sure they will chime in.
Best wishes,
Angel Comet's mom
P.S. When you come back to the site, logout and log back in. Your posts will show up immediately. The first post won't.
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.
Welcome to you and Gabby! Statistics are only numbers, some of us have the great fortune to beat all the numbers, others aren't so lucky. Most (again statistics) begin chemo within the first couple of weeks. That is when it is thought to do the most good. That said, you are past the odds, doing well, so what can it hurt?
Trouble had five rounds of chemo and had minimum, short duration (hours) side effects. I made the decision with the first treatment to discontinue if her quality of life was compromised by the treatment. You can do the same. Just because you start treatment doesn't mean you must continue.
It is a hard decision to make. One you have to make based on the information you have and always with quality of life in mind.
We will support you regardless of the decision, for we all know how personal these decisions are.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
We chose not to do IV chemo after Jerry's front leg amp due to osteosarcoma in the scaplua. Seventeen months later we started him on metronomics (low dose oral chemo) and K9 Immunity after discovering his lung mets.
Check out our vet oncology videos for lots of more info. As far as time goes, try to focus on quality not quantity!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Paul
So sorry your Gabby has been through so much stuff at such a young age. But on the other hand her back leg has healed and you have clean chest x rays after 9 months! That's wonderful!
I just started chemo with my Lylee. I was unsure what to do but so far I'm really feeling good about going ahead with chemo to give her the best chance to be with us for as long as possible. We are doing 6 rounds of Carboplatin. If at anytime we don't think Lylee is having a good quality of life we can stop the chemo.
Gabby is a young girl and so you can always start and then not continue if you don't like the side effects which can really vary with each dog. Lylee just seemed a bit lethargic and off her food for a few days so far. We took her to the beach on day 7 after her chemo and she is rolling and digging in the sand! I put a video on her blog (I sound a bit manic with joy! 
)
We really don't know how much the chemo will help but we are trying everything.
Whatever you decide it is all the right decision. We love our furkids.
Sending best wishes,
Lylee's Mum
http://lyleegir.....ipawds.com
THANKS everyone for the kind words and help!!
I went ahead and sold my favorite toy, my apple MacBook pro, to help pay for the chemotherapy. Our first session is this Thursday. I will keep you guys posted on how Gabby is doing. I will also post a new YouTube video of Gabby running around with her sister, our black boxer Fendi. Fendi is very very agile and very fast, but Gabby somehow can very easily stay on her heals with the 3 legs!!
After reading through your great website, that new studies showed that 6 treatments of chemotherapy are better than 4. However, I asked that question when I met with the oncologist and she said anything over 4 does not help....
Thanks again for all the kind words, it's been a hard journey for my wife and I, but we wouldn't have changed a thing. Watching gabby pain free these last 9 months has been Amazing. Our son is 19 months old, and is Gabbys best friend!
gabbydog said:
I went ahead and sold my favorite toy, my apple MacBook pro, to help pay for the chemotherapy...
That's love!
when I met with the oncologist and she said anything over 4 does not help…
Dr. Rosennberg (in the video) is a Board certified oncologist who reported the news about six Carboplatin treatments from their 2009 annual conference. The effectiveness and number of recommended treatments may be different for other chemotherapy protocols. We have another video of Dr. Chretin discussing Doxyrubicin vs. Cisplatin. What chemo drug will Gabby be getting?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
from my oncologist:
"It is highly likely that chemotherapy would improve Gabby's survival time, however how long this time may be is not easy to predict as we are already 9 months into her disease process. We would typically recommend a carboplatin chemotherapy protocol, and this protocol is well-tolerated."
Hey Paul,
Hmmm. Interesting. Well, every doc has their own protocols they like to follow, it's best to go with the one that works for you and Gabby. Remember that even with chemo there are no guarantees, we've known lots of dogs who have beaten the odds without it too. Go with your gut and what feels right, you can't go wrong.
Let us know how things are going OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Wishing you all the best with Gabby!
Keep us posted!
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.
Been a while. Next month will be 24 months since amputation and we have no signs of cancer! I have the last and final chest x ray next month. The doctor told us that if she still has no signs of cancer in her lungs after 2 years, our chances of being cancer free are very good. The last x ray was 2 months ago, and it was all clear!
That is sounding so wonderful. You have well and truely beaten the stats. Thanks for sharing this fantastic news with us.
Karen and Spirit Magnum
Magnum: 30th May 2002 to 5th May 2012. Lost her back left leg to osteosarcoma on 5th Sep 2011. Lung mets found on 20th Mar 2012 but it was bone mets in the hip that ended her brave battle. Magnum's motto - "Dream as if you'll live for ever, live as if you'll die today" (James Dean). Loyal, loving, courageous and spirited to the end. My beloved heart dog, see her memoirs from Rainbow Bridge ...... http://princess.....pawds.com/
Wow, it HAS been a while! Two years is just miraculous, what terrific news to share, thank you for coming back and letting us know how she's doing. Every story like Gabby's really brings hope to so many. We send all our love for many many more hoppy healthy good times ahead! Keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Not sure if any of you visit reddit, but I posted my story on it today. It did very very well and is now on the front page of reddit at the number 7 spot:
my post:
What awesome news for you and Gabby! I can't tell you how thrilled I am (though partly for selfish reasons, I must admit). I also have a 2 yr old dog who had his hind limb amputated last month for osteosarcoma. Due to the subtlety of his symptoms, his diagnosis was delayed for 10 months before the leg was amputated, so I can totally relate to you and Gabby and not starting chemo right away.
Anyway, I just wanted you to know how happy I am for you and Gabby and how much HOPE you've given me today!!! 
Right hind limb amputated 7/3/12 for OSA, started on alternating cycles of Carboplatin and Doxorubicin and oral Palladia. Single lung met 9/1. Met in the neck muscle removed 9/30. Large mass in sublumbar lymph node 10/2. Rescue chemo with ifosfamide 10/6. Mets to the rib and axillary lymph node 10/21. Started Leukeran and Pred 10/25. Wookie left this Earth for a far better place on 12/4/12. I miss you, Boo, you were my heart.
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