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 apologize for all of the videos but I’m going a little crazy with YouTube tonight.
I’ve had Ophelia doing physical therapy once or give a week since December of 2021. So about 18 months. Little did she and i know that she was training to become a Tripawd. I do think that this is paying off for her because there was a lot of core strengthening exercises along with cardio work and laser treatment on her joints. 🤞
Sounds like you’re doing an awesome job! I love the videos of the progress. The tail wags when she looks back at you made me smile. She looks like she is getting around very well. It’s impressive how resilient dogs are, really. It’s funny how each tripawd has their own unique way of walking and running with three legs.
And yes, the seroma (fluid buildup) is the body’s natural response to something like this. Your doctor is right - it’ll go down soon. Don’t worry about the appetite. That’ll come back once her pain level is lower. The first few days after they come home are probably the hardest. It took Kota a few days before his pain level came down and with that, his appetite came back up. Albeit, just like Ophelia, he’s not a great eater. Unless it’s people food.
Keep up the great updates and videos! She’s precious and you’re an awesome pet parent. Looking forward to more pawsitive updates!
That’s actually excellent that she already had the physical therapy beforehand. Would explain why she looks like she’s getting around very well. I’m both impressed and proud of her!
Also, don’t apologize for all the videos. We love them!
Thanks for the videos. She's getting around so well! Does she prefer to go up the stairs and down the ramp?
She has always refused to even try a ramp. I put this one out prior to her surgery but just can’t get her to try it.
That's interesting. Ophelia knows what she likes! Teenage Nick loved to race down a long ramp we built to the family room but he always used the steps going up. We tried his old ramp last week and it's too steep and slippery feeling. I think I'm going to use 18" wide Petloader steps so the rise will be lower and the impact not so hard on the leg (5 steps, used many times a day).
Just like Ophelia. Lola was a very lucky girl to jave your care and love all those hears. I'm sure she's watching over you and Ophelia and is your Guardian Angel
And YAAAAAAY FOR PEE!!! Huge victory!!!!
Dogs have trouble figuring out depth differences when on a rampmod there are no sides or rails. Heck, cant remember the fancy word, but try pit5ing up some sort of visual on each side, or at least one side, and see of that helps.
And YES.....keep these videos and pics coming!!! We love seeing all our tripawd members any chance we get!!
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,
I see this post was from a couple weeks ago. I wanted to let you know all your questions and the answers are invaluable to me right now as I just got this nightmare diagnosis for my heart dog yesterday. Every emotion you described feeling, the questions, even your dogs current state, pain management not being sufficient etc. ..I feel like I could have written your posts and you’ve saved me from having to write some of them when I can barely think straight anymore. I can’t sleep, can’t eat, was up all night frantically researching. It being a holiday doesn’t help because I can’t even call University of FL to see if I can get him in there ASAP for a 2nd opinion and guessing every office will be slammed tomorrow with calls after the holiday.
Hello Eustacia,
Welcome to Tripawds. Your future posts will not need moderation. I'm so sorry you are dealing with this diagnosis. Please make a new topic under the Diagnosis forum and introduce yourself and your furbaby there
In order for us to help you, please start an all new topic here so that your story isn't lost in the post here. We can help you better that way and answer your questions. A new topic makes it easier for everyone to follow along too.
Thank you.
Sassy is a proud member of the Winter Warriors. Live long, & strong Winter Warriors.
sassysugarbear.tripawds.com
07/26/2006 - Sassy earned her wings 08/20/2013
05/04/2006 - Bosch, Sassy's pal, earned his wings 03/29/19 fought cancer for 4 months.
"You aren't doing it TO her, you are doing it FOR her. Give her a chance at life."
A bit of bad news tonight re Ophelia. They’re having to hospitalize her because she is having a very strong reaction to the chemo. I could tell that she feels like crap.
Her white blood cell count is very low and she is running a significant fever. Meaning that she has some kind of infection. The condition is called neutropenia and it is caused by chemotherapy. Humans get it much more often than dogs. In fact the oncologist told me this afternoon that she is one of the 1% of dogs who do get it.
The good news is that she will be fine. I could have tried to treat her from home but the recommendation was for her to stay one night (hopefully). Of course i chose the safe option. She will be IV fluids and antibiotics.
I was actually worried that she might have a fever last night, and I’ve been worried that she she has been feeling really crappy for a few days. I’m kicking myself for not calling the doctor or taking her in sooner. I just chalked it up to the pain meds and the sedatives that i had to give her because of the fireworks.
Poor girl has been trying so hard even while being sick to make me happy by walking when we would go outside to practice. Dogs are amazing creatures.
I sat with her in the ICU for about 10 minutes before i left. It was really awful having to say goodbye to her when she was trying to walk out with me.
The silver lining is that the oncologist told me that, in her experience, dogs that have this happen tend to do better in their fight against the osteosarcoma. I spent about 90 minutes reading some studies that do show this to be true in both humans and canines. Although still debatable, it is believed that having this condition shows “chemo-sensitivity”. Meaning that the chemo drugs will work better in their bodies.
Oh gosh Michael! Such a bummer you're sweet Ophelia is feeling so rotten. She's in good hands tonight. Getting the fluids, the antibiotics and shaking off the fireworks sedation should start making her feel better.
And there was no reason to think that her being a little bit off was nothing more than the often seen mild reaction to the chemo, and then the sedation on top of that. The important thing is you recognized that it was a little bit more than that and took immediate steps to get things handled.
The one thing about chemo and the one reason most all of us proceed with it is that you can stop if a side effects are too much of a severe reaction. . I know I've also read somewhere that if the dogs develop a low WBC, fever Etc it's a sign that the chemo is working. Whether this is the case or not, I have no clue. If you proceed I imagine the Onco will lower the dose next time around.
We'll be looking for your update in the morning. You know we are all cheering for her and part of the Ophelia Fan Club.👍
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
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, I'm so sorry she had to get treated for side effects. She is a special girl in many ways isn't she? And yes it's true, infection has been shown to give the immune system an extra boost for fighting cancer, so try to look at this as a good thing. Plus, she's getting great care from her vet team and I'm sure spoiled rotten too.
Don't beat yourself up, you are really doing great in reading her, caring for her needs, and making sure she has everything necessary to thrive. She will get there!
Thank you both for the encouragement. I was beating myself up for not trusting my instincts. I allowed others to convince me that it was just the medications causing her to appear ill.
Turns out that she had sepsis as a result of the extremely low WBC. They are going to lower the dose of her second, and last chemo treatment. She will then begin the ELIAS immunotherapy. I’m told that adverse events are rare with ELIAS.
Anyway, Ophelia was feeling much better today and i was able to pick her up from the hospital. Her appetite has been horrible but i got her to eat a whole can of cat food (yes, she loves cat food so i get if for her 😂) and dog food (plus some steak) so that made me feel good that she is improving.
One thing that is bothering me is that it appears to me that she doesn’t want to do small things. For example, she loves being on the couch in her normal spot. I have up on trying to keep her off and on her nice dog bed a couple of days after her amputation. I do have to help her up and off though.
Anyway, what i mean by her seemingly not wanting to do small things is that she sometimes acts as if she wants to move, like get up into a sitting position. I assume that she is uncomfortable and wanting to change positions or move to another area of the couch. So i see her push up with her left leg, but then she gives up and just decides to continue to be uncomfortable in the slot that she’s in. I’ve also noticed this when she’s in her dog bed.
This is worrying me because I’m afraid that she isn’t strong enough to push herself up so she is giving up. Maybe it’s because the couch and her dog bed are not solid surfaces and sink down as she’s pushing to get up. I’m not sure.
Is this common? Does anyone have experience with this? Or is this something that i should be concerned over?
You are soooo welcome. Of course you thought it was the medications, after all, you just went through that experience with her amputation recovery. I would have thought the same thing. I think most of us here would have.
Thank goodness they found out what caused the low WBC. This is how chemo fine-tuning can happen sometimes, by learning things the hard way. But unlike with human oncology the chemo drugs get dialed back to ensure her quality of life is #1.
Of course you can feed her WHATEVER! Many dogs here love cat food. It's not good to feed it as the main meal so that's good you are also mixing in other dog-friendly foods.
As for her not wanting to get on the couch and stuff. Yeah, I'd say that's common. She's tired. It's work. And it's a LOT of work standing and moving around on soft cushions. It's one reason why we recommend a firm bed for new Tripawds (although not all dogs love the change). Have you tried putting the couch cushions on the floor? That might not be as tricky for her, although still somewhat if they're high and fluffy. Or, you could try putting a board under the couch cushions while they're on the couch, so that it's a more firm surface for her. See if something like that helps her out a bit. It's these little modifications that we need to make to help our pups adjust to the new normal.
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