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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My 5 yr. old Doberman went lame in June 08. We thought he had hit his rear leg on something while running. It didn't seem to bother him very much, so we weren't concerned until it started to swell at the end of July 08. We took him to a Veterinarian and had X-rays of his left rear leg. The diagnosis was devistating to us. We thought at the time that this was a death sentence. My main focus at that point was pain control. I found information about treatment with radiation to shrink the tumor which would help the pain. I went to UC Davis Veterinary Hospital to see an oncology specialist. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that not only the pain could be treated, but my dog Toby had a clear screening for the spread of the "Osteosarcoma" and treatment could extend his life. Amputation was a turn-off me me until I saw another dog treated by Amputation and Chemotherapy. That dog was so happy, playful, and carefree that it instantly changed my mind about Amputation. My dog Toby is having the surgery as I write this. I don't know what the outcome is going to be, but I feel good that I choose this treatment to give him a chance. This web site has reinforced my choice, so hopefully I will be getting a phone call soon that Toby did fine in surgery.
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Jim,
"Toby the Doby," we love it! We hope that the surgery went fine, as we are sure it did, since you have the good fortune of working with the wonderful people at UC Davis. Who is Toby's surgeon? Did you meet Theresa Varland in the office? Is she how you heard of us?
Anyhow, we're so glad you found us, and are finding the site inspawrational. If there are any questions whatsoever, please don't hesitate to write. It's good therapy!
The day I had my surgery, my pawrents started putting together this site while they were waiting to hear back from Dr. Stepnick. They weren't sure about their decision either, until they saw me hop out of the hospital the very next day!
Good luck with everything, please let us know how it turns out.
Your friend,
Jerry
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hello Jerry,
This is a great site! My oncologist is Dr. Anna Szivek and the surgeon is Dr. James Kim at UC Davis. As of 5:30pm today, Toby went through surgery without any problems. That is 1 hurdle down and several more to face, but my outlook is much brighter now. I can't remember the lady's name that I cornered in the lobby to ask her questions about her dog that had a front leg amputation, but she was very helpful. She told me of your web site and she seemed to know Dr. Szivek very well. That occurred yesterday around 3:30pm, so to the nice lady I spoke to yesterday, I apologize for not remembering your name. My head was spinning at that point, but you were very helpful and your wonderful dog convinced me to go ahead with the amputation and chemotherapy. Thank you so much to both of you. I hope you see my post and remember me. I will update further when Toby comes home.
Oh right on! We don't know those particular docs but everyone at Davis is awesome. It's so cool to think that people are spreading the word about Tripawds in the halls of their vet school, what an honor. Thank you to the nice woman who told Toby's Dad!
Great to hear Toby made it through. The first few days are the hardest, but try not to be discouraged if post-surgery issues come up. There will be ups and downs, but overall, as you can see here, we dogs adapt so well!
If you have any questions or whatever, you know where to turn to.
Your pal,
Jerry
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Toby and Jim and welcome to the forum.
So glad to hear that Toby's surgery went well. In the next couple of weeks you may face challanges but Toby will surprise you - dogs are incredibly resilient and he will be back to his happy self in no time.
There are a lot of great stories and great people here. If you have any questions at all, or you just want celebrate all of Toby's little successes - we are here for you.
Hugs
Connie & Radar
Hi Toby's Dad
I didn't get to go through the surgery portion of this Tripawd business with my dog so I don't have anything concrete to contribute. I adopted my girl 6 weeks post op. I can tell you that she is 100% as active as my other dogs and while her amputation was not as the result of cancer, she still had to go through the tough part of the surgery - that was before she entered rescue.
I can hardly wait to hear stories of how Toby is bouncing around like his old self as I am SURE he will be.
Hugs,
Mary and Pogi
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Hi Jim, I feel your pain and your concerns as my dog Bandit went tripawd on September 11th as well. Bandit is 9 yrs old and he is 1/2 Rottweiler and 1/2 Doberman. I discovered that there was a problem when Bandit was playing around the pool, acting silly as usual, let out a loud squeek when he slipped in some water while running around the corner taking a face plant into the pool. For two days afterwards his limping seemed to get worse. I figured he sprained his leg or tore an ACL. Vet took X-rays and saw the tumor. I was never so shocked! Bandit had no swelling and there was no slowing down in his running around. The vet and the surgeon both agree that we have caught the osteosarcoma in the beginning stages. Anyway, I am sure Toby is doing very well and will definitely look forward to coming home to you soon. Take heart in knowing that dogs are really resiliant animals and bounce back quickly from things like this with the right care and love. Take care and let us know how things went for you. Bandit and Mommy |
Hi Everybody,
No matter how well you think you are prepared, amputating your dogs leg is tramatic for everybody involved. Toby came home on Friday, the day after surgery. He was able to walk very well immediately. It is a blessing and a problem at the same time. I'm trying to keep him calm so the drainage will slow and hopefully stop this week. He had some pain issues for 2 days, but it has seemed to have resolved itself. I have an Rx to calm him, but does little to slow down his activity. I am babysitting a 3 legged tornado. If he doesn't wear me out by the end of this week, I think I am home free as far as damage to the surgical area. This doesn't seem to be much of an issue for Toby. I think the tumor was very painful and removal has increased his activity because he feels so much better. 10 days ago I would have never thought that removing my dogs leg would have made him feel better almost immediately. Go figure??
Thank you to all of Toby's well wishers and my thoughts go out to all of you too. This is hard, but well worth the effort for our K9 friends that give so much and require so little other than our love and attention.
Best wishes to everybody,
Toby and Jim
Hello Toby the Doby....great to hear that you are feeling well and best of all no more pain. Just make sure to take it easy and one day at a time. You will see that you and your pawrents will forget pretty soon that you had 4 legs as you will be doing all the things you like to do with the 3 that you have left. Like the vet told my mom, we are very resilient and do not have any concerns as what others may say about us because we are tripawds. We just feel happy that we are in no pain and go through life as happy go lucky. The best to you pal and welcome to the tripawd family.
Kellie
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Hey Toby the Doby! Glad to hear that you are doing so well. I have worn my mommy out too. I have discovered that I can trott better than walk slowly. Tee-Hee! In fact, I walking around a lot easier than trying to sit. Anyway, I know what you mean about the frustration. The amputation seems to have been more draining on my pawparents than on me. Well, I still hate my meds and the stupid e-collar that I have to wear when my pawrents are not around. But the flip side of things is that I am really getting spoiled. I get to go in and out of the house as I please. With the hot summer though here in California, I am really enjoying the air conditioner while my pawrents are at work. Mommy comes home at lunch to give me my meds while daddy is away. Otherwise if daddy doesn't have to work, I get to hang out with the guys! Keep up the good work Toby! And keep us posted about your new adventures as a tripawd. Lots of licks, Bandit and Mommy
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Hey Toby the Doby! Glad to hear that you are doing so well. I have worn my mommy out too. I have discovered that I can trott better than walk slowly. Tee-Hee! In fact, I walking around a lot easier than trying to sit. Anyway, I know what you mean about the frustration. The amputation seems to have been more draining on my pawparents than on me. Well, I still hate my meds and the stupid e-collar that I have to wear when my pawrents are not around. But the flip side of things is that I am really getting spoiled. I get to go in and out of the house as I please. With the hot summer though here in California, I am really enjoying the air conditioner while my pawrents are at work. Mommy comes home at lunch to give me my meds while daddy is away. Otherwise if daddy doesn't have to work, I get to hang out with the guys! Keep up the good work Toby! And keep us posted about your new adventures as a tripawd. Lots of licks, Bandit and Mommy
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