Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
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I am new to this site, so bear with me. my precious yellow lab/ret mix boy, Sonny has been through a pretty rough time. He started to develop a lump on his hind right leg a few months ago, it just started to grow and get bigger as time went on. At first I thought it was just a benign limpoma due to his breed, etc. It started to bleed so we took him to a vet who just dug out a huge glob of bloody tissue from his leg, she then washed it out and gave us fura zone and bandages to see if it got better. Well, it did not. So he had a mass tumor removal from his leg less than a month ago. It did not heal well, and it started to bleed and grow again. So...called the vet again and she said she felt it was cancer, but localized so we had his leg amputated on Monday. I am upset that the vet never tested or biopsied his leg to see what it was. We are not wealthy people, we have already spent at least 1,000.00 on our boy this month. He is doing pretty well with his recovery. I just would like some advice on how we can tell if the cancer has spread, or not. I feel like I failed him in not getting the vet to test his leg so we really know what is going on. He is lying beside me as I type this and resting well. Any insite or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Sonny & family, thanks for joining us here. We are so sorry we missed you in the chat today.
First of all, give yourself some credit for being such caring, loving pawrents. You tried your best and Sonny knows that. All any of us can do is the best we can do with the information we have at the time. You did what you thought was right, and this time, by getting rid of the pain from the tumor, you have helped him tremedously.
It's great to hear he's recovering nicely! And as a hind-leg amputee, he will have it a little easier than front-leggers. How old is he? If he is at all overweight (I ask, bcause he's a lab after all!) you can do him a great favor by keeping his weight down. Tripawds should be on the lean side to keep pressure off of their joints. It's good for all dogs, but especially good for Tripwads.
Ok, so as far as the vet. Honestly, try not to think of all of the "should-haves," because what's done is done. Perhaps your vet was trying her best to save you money, so she took the least invasive route possible at first. A lot of vets would do the same I think. Yes, a biopsy the first time around would have helped, but like all of us here, I'm guessing you're new at the cancer thing and probably didn't think of asking. I know we didn't with our Jerry at first. Try not to beat yourself up there. Did she give you any kind of diagnosis once the leg was removed? If you go to our Resources Page and scroll down to "General Information" you'll find lots of links to medically-oriented websites about canine cancer.
While it would be have good to know what kind of cancer he has so you know what to expect and what kind of prognosis, if the reality is that you don't plan on pursuing chemotherapy, then just do your best to live your life together, live each day to the fullest without regret or sadness. The pain from the cancer is gone, Sonny is doing great, and that's all that matters.
Many hugs to you and Sonny, please keep us posted OK? Thanks again for joining us.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Sonny's family,
I'm sorry for all that Sonny has had to go through so far... but at least his painful cancer leg is now gone.
I understand about all the what if's you're feeling... My Jake (10yr old golden retriever) had been limping on and off for several months. We just assumed it was due to old age... until he fractured his leg suddenly while playing. That's when we discovered his bone cancer. They did a bone biopsy to confirm... because if it's cancer, they couldn't repair the fracture. Within a week or so after, he had his leg amputated. Jake recovered quickly and did pretty well for a while... but then his cancer spread to his spine, just less than 8 weeks post-amp. I also think from time to time, what if I had brought him into the vet and got him diagnosed months earlier... would he still be here with me? I don't know... But I don't regret having his leg amputated, as it gave us more qood quality time to spend with him...
As for Sonny's prognosis... well, without knowing what kind of cancer it was, and if it had already spread... it's impossible to say. But then again, even when we do know what kind of cancer... some dogs live way longer than the quoted statistics, and others (like my Jake) do much worse. None of us have a crystal ball into the future... not even your vet can know for sure. So all you can do now is to love and spoil your Sonny for as long as you can!
Sending you both a big fat hug!!!
Angel Jake and Wolfie's Mom
Jake, 10yr old golden retriever (fractured his front right leg on 9/1, bone biopsy revealed osteosarcoma on 9/10, amputation on 9/17) and his family Marguerite, Jacques and Wolfie, 5yr old german shepherd and the newest addition to the family, Nala, a 7mth old Bengal mix kittie. Jake lost his battle on 11/9/2009, almost 8 weeks after his surgery. We will never forget our sweet golden angel… http://jakesjou.....ipawds.com ….. CANCER SUCKS!
Hello,
I will also say please don't feel badly for the "should have's"....again, you're doing the best you can with what you were given for information. FWIW, my dog was biopsied before amputation and all they could tell me was that it was STS(soft tissue sarcoma - very aggressive). They never could tell me what TYPE of STS, even after SEVERAL special stains after the initial biopsy.
My sister and I just decided that Maggie did NOT want us to know what type because by not knowing, they couldn't prescribe a chemo for her...they could of done a "shot in the dark type(Doxyrubicon sp?)...BUT Maggie also put a wrench in that by getting very sick after surgery and the vet didn't suggest I do chemo as thought it would reallly put Maggie thru the ringer....
So.....long story, short....don't worry about the what if's, etc... Do what you can do for your boy with what information and finances you have.
I would like to suggest homeopathy....it's not a real common treatment modality here on Tripawds but I can tell you that Maggie has been on it since the end of December....two great things about treating with homeopathy...it's gentle to the system and it's WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY cheaper than chemo etc. 
If you do a search on this site for Dr. Charles Loops, there have been a couple of blogs about him...he is my dog's Homeopath.
Thinking of you and Sonny,
Tracy, Maggie's Mom
Maggie was amputated for soft tissue sarcoma 10-20-09
Maggie lost her battle with kidney disease on 8-24-13
The very fact that you're asking for advice shows what a caring and concerned parent you are, and our fur babies can't ask for anything more than that! When Jack started limping, it took 8 months of us going back to the vet before he actually grew a visible tumor. Even when he had the tumor, our vet initially treated it as an infection because it did not feel like a typical tumor. Please don't be upset at your veterinarian (although it's very very easy to be!). There are many factors that go into diagnosing, and when things don't appear typical, it makes it even harder. That being said, Vets are people just like us and can easily make mistakes. For us, Jack was only 5 so bone cancer was not the first thing that popped into anybody's head. Of course I was upset that we did not find the problem sooner, but as soon as our veterinarian saw me crying after we got the news, she came up to me and said I looked like I needed a hug and gave me one of the best hugs I've ever had and I still remember it over 14 months later. Even though it took a long time, I knew that she still had our best interests at heart. The fact is, you now know what the problem is, and have dealt with it to the best of your ability. As for advice, just treat Sonny like you always have. Nothing has changed except for the fact that he has 3 legs instead of 4. Keep him rested until the doctor OKs physical activity, and shower him with treats, love, and affection. All that matters is your future with Sonny, and man, it looks bright 
<3 Laura and JackAttack
So glad you found this site!
I, too, have a yellow lab. He started getting the lumps about 6 years ago. After aspirating the first three and finding them benign, I stopped getting them tested. First, due to the cost, and second, because he had so many of them, I started to forget which ones we had checked.
Had it not been for the limp and pain, I probably would have assumed that the growing lump on his leg was just another fatty tumor. Within 2.5 weeks of the first limp, it had grown to golf ball size. When he had the amputation, I asked the surgeon (jokingly) that while he was in there, he could feel free to take some of the lumps out, too. Charlie had two lumps the size of softballs that the surgeon ended up removing. Those did turn out to be fatty tumors, however, now I look at all of his lumps with a twinge of fear that it could be cancer, however hoping it's just the fatty deposits that make him look like mom. 
As far as cost is concerned, we can only do what we can. One thing that we did prior to the amputation (and I did again last week, just to put my mind at ease) was get chest x-rays to see if the cancer had/has spread to the lungs. Mine cost about $180, but it's one way of being able to tell if the cancer spread (although by the time it can be seen in the x-rays, well, it's not the best news). For osteosarcoma, I was told that 90% of the time it has already spread, just isn't picked up yet in tests. So it's more of an 'when' than 'if'. Tomorrow will mark Charlie's 8 week ampuversary and I would do it all over again.
Just love Sonny and try to get in as many of his favorite activities as you can. Ask the folks here tons of questions. It helped me a tremendously and even saved me money along the way (after reading all the stories on this site I opted to not get a bunch of expensive tests done and also solidified my decision of amputation versus limb sparing which was 3x as much).
Look forward to hearing more about Sonny!
"I don't know where I am."
Hi All. Thank you so much for sharing your stories with me. I really appreciate all of the great advice and hope you are all well. Sonny is on day 6 post opp. He has been doing better every day. He is almost back to his normal self. He is pretty spoiled and would crawl up in my lap I think if he could. We take him back to be checked and have his stitches removed a week from Monday. Again, thank you all so much!
sooooo great to hear sonny is doing well!! our tripawd brothers and sisters are amazing! paws crossed for continued improvement...but really...we don't know if you can spoil them too much!! thanks for the update, hoping for some pictures next time --
charon & gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
I have one more question. As my boy is a 'licker', we opted for the e collar. He hated the one the vet gave us, it was big enough for a cow! He couldn't see, bumped into everything and just paced and paced around. it was a combination of the collar and the fentanyl patch, I believe. Anyway, my husband made him a homemade one out of clear plastic backing that is much better and he does not seem to mind it too much. Every time I take it off he goes straight fro his stitches, so...How long does he need to wear it? Until we take him to the vet to have the stitches removed? Or will it be safe to take it off sooner? I just don't want him to reopen the site.
i'm thinking you need to keep him from licking the incision site, until the stitches come out. the 'cone of shame ' is a total pain, but i don't know what else to recommend for a rear leg amputee. gayle lost her right front leg, so we went with the t-shirt route, and that kept her from bothering the site while it healed. i think clear (that's the one gayle started with) is better, at least they can kinda see out periferally.. maybe there will be other suggestions from rear ampawtation folks coming up... good luck.
charon & gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
Good to hear he's on the mend! If he's a real licker, the cone of shame should definitely be left on till the stitches are out, it's the only way to keep the site healthy and healing. The area gets itchy though, and while we have heard of others rubbing Neosporin around the area, you may want to ask your vet what s/he recommends to alleviate the itch factor.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thanks for the advice. Yes, the cone of shame . I have been putting talcum powder on the areas that were shaved and that seems to help him. (Not on the stitches). I did put some neosporin on it and am thinking that vaseline might be good, as well, to help with the itching. The vet gave me the spray on bandage, he does not care for that, so I have not put any on him for a couple of days. The site seems to be healing well, though. I also massage him and scratch him and he loves that. The cone my husband made for him is soooo much better, it is not so stiff and it is clear and does not cover his whole head like the other one, and he cannot lick or get to his stitches. I would post a picture but am having trouble with that.
I would say no on the vaseline because I recall reading somewhere that it can trap bacteria, it doesn't breathe. Aloe Vera is probably better or you can look in the natural/organic area of a pharmacy and find some plant-based itch relievers. Sounds like you're doing all you can. We just have to see the homemade cone so we can put it in the Cone of Shame Hall of Fame!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
OK I have Aloe Vera. Thanks for the suggestion. I just am having trouble posting picture for some reason. It is probably me, doing something wrong.
sonn7 said:
I would post a picture but am having trouble with that.
The easiest way to share pictures with the Tripawds community is to start a blog, but here are detailed instructions for adding photos to forum posts. In short, they must be hosted online somewhere first, like Flikr, photobucket etc. if you don't upload them to your blog.
You can, however, upload an avatar image directly to your user profile. This will appear next to all your posts. Just follow the link in your Forum profile (see button at top right) to get to your avatar upload page.
Hope this helps. Thanks for sharing your advice!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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