Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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There you are Suzanne. I just replied to your thread. Thank you for your support and advice. I am going to provide a full update in another reply because Jerry had some questions.
jerry said
Michael,It's good to hear from you. Before I forget, here are some ELIAS links to check out:
This is a general search to any post mentioning ELIAS:
https://tripawd.....;include=1
Riley's ELIAS story:
https://tripawd.....e/#p254215
Did you see Roscoe's story?
https://tripawd.....treatment/
Beast Ann's story:
https://tripawd.....3/#p197055
She spent last night with my ex and they met us at her physical therapy appointment. The PT advised me to check out this site btw.
Aww that's nice the PT mentioned us. Can I ask who you are working with?
Hi Jerry. I will check out those ELIAS links here in a little bit. I am already strongly leaning towards that as the primary treatment after amputation. It's going to be pricey, but I am willing to sacrifice for my girl.
The rehab group I have been working with is "Canine Rehabilitation & Conditioning Group" (the Englewood, CO location)
Her pet insurance will pay 90% of everything except for the immunotherapy.
That's interesting. What insurance do you use?
Trupanion. I have a $500 deductible and then they cover 90%.
Let us know how the next appointment goes OK?
Ophelia was evaluated by the Orthopedic surgeon on Thursday afternoon. It's Dr. Prpich at Colorado Animal Speciality and Emergency in Boulder. She has great credentials and did a fellowship at CSU Flint. She also specializes in oncology surgery. So I feel comfortable with her.
She said that Ophelia is a candidate for amputation but wanted to warn me that recovery may take longer for her because she is slightly overweight and her age (9 yr, 4 mos). I was surprised to hear that Ophelia is overweight. She is just really active for a Saint her age. Goes for walks of a mile or more every day, has been going to physical therapy and doing hydrotherapy for the past 18 months, and looks pretty healthy to most people. Dr. Prpich told me she judges this based on how easily it is to feel a dog's ribs. Ophelia does have a bit to grab onto around her midsection so I suppose that I can't argue.
Ophelia has been acting herself lately. I took her to do her PT on Tuesday. They did some massage and she did her hydrotherapy, albeit not as intense as usual. They fitted her for the harness that is recommended here (the webmaster). They're holding it for me.
Question - should I go ahead and get the webmaster now? The surgeon told me that they will send her home with a harness that helps support her from both he front and the back. Which is better? Or is the intention the one that they send home is temporary?
I took Ophelia to the park with my ex wife to day for some professional photos to be taken. I let her off leash for a little bit and she was actually running. Just a little but that has been her normal for about the past year. My point is that she seems completely normal right now. In some ways, that is making this decision even more difficult. If sometimes feels like I am having her leg amputated for no reason at all. She's happy, active, and isn't expressing pain signaling at all. Yes, she is still on gaba at 400mgs every 8 hours and carprofen at 150mgs every 12 hours, but geez she seems completely normal right now.
I am so sick about this decision and still haven't made up my mind 100%.
Last night I really panicked. I read a thread about a question re amputation for a Saint Bernard on another website. I think that it's called "dogforum" or something like that. But there were several people advising the woman asking about whether or not she should have her Saint's leg amputated not to do it. One, even said that it is cruel to do that to such a large dog. It almost had me changing my mind on what I am doing with Ophelia.
I've seen several good stories here on Tripawds that are encouraging, but are there any where things didn't work out after amputation? I guess my question is what does the worst case scenario look like? Of course i dread reading that, but it is knowledge. My worst fear is that Ophelia's leg is amputated and she just can't adapt. Then she spends the last weeks of her life disfigured and in pain. I know that no one can promise anything, but how do others get beyond this? Are there options if my dog can't walk after surgery where she can still be happy? Ugh. I seriously cannot think of ever having such a heart wrenching decision to make.
Did you look in to limb sparing surgery? Wasn't an option for us because Nicholas's bone damage was too expansive. Also maintenance was too complicated for a farm dog, but it might work for Ophelia. I understand why "overweight" is a problem for a dog with osteosarcoma, but can you imagine a greyhound leaping into the icy North Atlantic to rescue a drowning sailor or a Doberman climbing all day through ice and snow to rescue a traveller lost in the Alps? Breeders I know think Nicky is just right but the vet wants him a lot thinner! So now I've got to admit the vet was right.
Michael, as we say around here, unless someone has been through amputation with their dog, they really need to keep their opinions to themselves whether it's in person or on the internet. Even a lover of the breed who has never been through it could never understand what being in this situation is like, so I would disregard that nasty comment.
Have you seen our Quality of Life survey responses? I would dig through those (download the entire report) to see what people say about the experience. It's nearly unanimous, even when a dog doesn't live up to the prognosis, that most people are glad they made the choice to help their dog out of pain and spend quality time together again.
Like anything in life there are no guarantees. We have seen the worst case scenarios happen, from a dog not making it through surgery to passing away days or weeks later. It's tragic and horrible. We try to help people decrease the risk of bad outcomes by choosing their practice wisely, knowing who is doing the surgery, how much experience they have, etc.
Then she spends the last weeks of her life disfigured and in pain. I know that no one can promise anything, but how do others get beyond this?
Well, first, you need to remember that a dog has no ego. Unlike humans who constantly compare themselves with others, always wanting things to be different, struggling with their ego ... dogs do not see themselves as "disfigured." That is strictly a negative label that humans put on other people or animals with bodies that are different. So first, you have to get in the right mindset. A dog, just like a person, is so much more than their physical presence. It's their spirit, their will to live, their love for their human or others in their life.
How do you get beyond it? Well that's up to the individual. For me personally it was seeing my dog happy, not limping, knowing that we did the best we could to help him enjoy his life for whatever time he had left. It was knowing that today is all we have, and trying to guess the future is a fools game. We humans are so arrogant to think that we can predict the future! And We call this learning to Be More Dog . It's the greatest lesson we can learn out of this crappy situation.
I agree with Jerry. I have no doubts about the amputation surgery we did. All the dog really knows is that the thing that was causing them pain is no longer there. For me, personally, I wanted all of the osteosarcoma gone and I wanted less of a chance for it to still hang around in there since it’s aggressive and likes to spread little cells.
For me, like Jerry, when I saw that my dog was happy and had his spark and was playing and doing all the things he did before, that’s what got me through this. Seeing him happier than he was before the surgery is worth it. Knowing he’s no longer in pain now is worth it. Dogs are strong and resilient. A lot more than we sometimes give them credit for. Amputation is not a cruel or selfish thing. Sure, it’s a major surgery. But think of it this way. You manage their pain with meds and it’s not so bad.
By the way, if you want to check it out, I posted Kota’s Story and I talk about the surgery and after care experience. Maybe it’ll help a little.
Thank you everyone. I will real your post about Kota’s recovery. I’ll also be take a look at the “Be More Dog ” page.
i am still wondering about the possibility of limb saving surgery. I really don’t know if it’s possible because the surgeon that Ophelia saw will not do them anymore. She was a fellow at CSU, who does them and still does, and she talked about the complications, dogs living with infection, and not being able to be sure that they get clean margins around the tumor. She flat out told me that she wouldn’t advise it and that if i wanted that for Ophelia that I’d have to speak with another surgeon.
what is the general opinion about this idea of limb preserving surgery here?
Yes limb salvage is a complicated and somewhat risky procedure when done the usual way with hardware. We have seen some successes but they're rare, and it's a very expensive endeavor especially if things get complicated.
Did you see the cementoplasty episode on tripawd talk ?
Thanks Jerry. I read something on here about limb preserving treatments. Everything that I’ve read makes it appear that it’s just not a great option. I’ve made my decision to move forward with amputation.
They moved up her surgery to tomorrow morning. They didn’t have the personnel to begin the harvesting of her amputated leg so that they can send it to ELIAS for a vaccine to be made.
I am still very nervous and second guessing myself at every turn. But at some point, I’ve got to make decisions and stop going down rabbit holes. I’ve worn myself out exploring every option and researching this vaccine.
tomorrow is a big day.
On a lighter note, i grilled ribeye steaks for Ophelia and i last night and she scarfed hers down. And tonight she had her first vanilla soft serve ice cream. She’s always eaten so healthy, and will again, but i want her to have some special experiences before going into this period of struggle.
I’ve made my decision to move forward with amputation
But at some point, I’ve got to make decisions and stop going down rabbit holes.
Sometimes the indecisiveness on a path forward is so excruciating emotionally it's almost impossible to think with a clear head
As emotionally draining as this hss been, we applaud you for processing everything and coming to some resolution to move forward. I call it a "forced choice".....a choice we don't want to make, but a better choice than doing nothing and not giving her a chance st a pain free, happy, quality life.
For now keep things chunked down. You can decide on chemo, or. not, vaccines or not, etc later. Let's just get the surgery done and fet her home and on the road to recovery.
Assuming this is a 24/7 fully staffed clinic, they'll keep her at least one night, maybe more. That's the time for you to catch up on some. much needed sleep. She'll be on some great meds and feeling no pain and resting comfortably.
Maybe she'll share her rib eye steak and ice cream with you once you get her home and get her settled.
Please I ow we are here for you. As we've mentioned before, understand all the emotions, the fear, the second guessing. I, for one, am relieved you have made this decision to give her a chance and to eliminate her pain that could only worsen very quickly.
(((((((((((((((((((((Hugs))))))))))))))))))))))
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie!
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!
Michael,
Glad to know you've made a decision. You are not alone in this, always remember that. And it doesn't necessarily have to be a struggle either. As Sally mentioned, one step at a time and you can get through this with an even stronger bond than before.
I love that you spoiled her with the steak and ice cream!
Tomorrow IS a big day, but when surgery is over you will be so relieved and so will she. Keep us posted.
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