Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Thank you so much everyone!! We are just thrilled she's doing so well, and get to spend more time with her 🙂
I guess they're going to order the Metronomic chemo right to our house - still not sure about the dosage, but we're going to start it sooner than originally planned.
Meanwhile, Athla has befriended absolutely every house in this quiet neighborhood - cars pull over to meet her when we go on walks. They all seem to be praying for her - it's incredible to witness the love people have for her and the way their eyes light up.
After the walk of fame, we usually find a quiet spot and reflect in the cool grass. 🙂 Happy Fall!!
That is the best photo! What a happy dog!
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
WOW... that is pure dog bliss!!! Happy Happy!!!!
Shelby Lynne; Jack Russell/Shiba Inu mix. Proud member of the April Angels of 2014.
October 15, 2000 to April 8, 2014
Our story: Broke rear leg in June 2013 - non-conclusive results for cancer so leg was plated and pinned. Enlarged spleen in September 2013 and had it removed and was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma and started chemotherapy. Became a Tripawd January 8th, 2014 and definitive Hemangiosarcoma diagnosis. Three major surgeries in 7 months and Shelby took them all like a champ only to lose her battle to cancer in her brain. We had 8 amazing extra months together and no regrets. #shelbystrong #loveofmylife
ATHIA!! You are such a cutie!!
I love that you do all tripawds somproid as you prance on your well deserved Walk Of Fame!! 🙂
Keep lighting up the world sweet girl!! You sure are lighting up oirs!!
Lots of love!
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!
Athla is the coolest dog ever 😎 luuurve the picture 💚
Good luck with the metronomic therapy, Eurydice started hers 2 days ago so fingers crossed for our girls 🙏🏼
Big hug and cuddles to miss Athla 🐾😘
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
I don't know how I've missed this thread, but could you please sign me up to the Athla fan club, and if there's no spaces left, then the waiting list please? OMD! Just oodles and oodles of gorgeousness. So pleased to hear she is doing well.
Meg and Clare (and Elsie Pie) xxx
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, November 2023, adopted January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Elsie Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
And now, the bad news...
Pretty sure we see a met in her xrays. However, this spot was also on her xray 2 months ago - same place, hasn't grown. There's a tiny chance it's NOT a met, but tiny. If we xray in 6 weeks and there's no growth... then another 6 weeks...
For now, we will continue everything we're doing with metronomic chemo. Homegirl has some terrible allergies right now, so we're doing some steroids to try and knock that out until all the little plant buggers in the air are gone for the winter.
I am... not shocked. I knew this was probably going to be how it went down. I love her very, very much and I'm so glad I'll have time to spend with her before she goes, whenever that will be. I'm not feeling any more anxiety than normal - I guess I must have accepted this at some point.
Hoping to find a cabin in the mountains this weekend, if any are still not booked. Take her out there. Cuddle a lot. xoxo
I am sorry to here there might be a met, but it surely doesn't sound conclusive yet. I hope you can find that cabin and do a lot of cuddling.
We are doing Metronomics, too. Our first scan there were clear osteomas (benign) and POSSIBLE micro mets, but 8 weeks later, they did another and ruled out the lung mets for now.
Are you doing Cyclophosphamide? Palladia? Combination?
Lots of good thoughts for you and Athla.
Lisa, Minneapolis
On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly. His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.
Many here have lived for months with mets ... Jerry, Sassy, Hannah ... even my Shelby had a few mets but it didn't impact her life. So I'll hold hope that Athla's mets won't be a problem. And remember, Athla doesn't know any different. She has no clue anything has changed in her world!!!
Hugs and love to you!
Alison with Spirit Shelby in her heart
Shelby Lynne; Jack Russell/Shiba Inu mix. Proud member of the April Angels of 2014.
October 15, 2000 to April 8, 2014
Our story: Broke rear leg in June 2013 - non-conclusive results for cancer so leg was plated and pinned. Enlarged spleen in September 2013 and had it removed and was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma and started chemotherapy. Became a Tripawd January 8th, 2014 and definitive Hemangiosarcoma diagnosis. Three major surgeries in 7 months and Shelby took them all like a champ only to lose her battle to cancer in her brain. We had 8 amazing extra months together and no regrets. #shelbystrong #loveofmylife
And I'm not just blowing smoke, but I've been on here long enough to see scenarios where a met was "suspected" and it turned out to either be nothing, or very, very slow growing. What you KNOW right now, is it's not a met!
So yeah, this changes NOTHING in Athia's world, and shouldn't change anything in your world! But I think you've already figured that out and you're just gettin' on with gettin' on...just loke Athia!!
Okay, now go take Athia out for another ATHIA WALK OF FAME and celebrate how good she feels...because she feels great and that all that matters! 🙂
And we can't wait to see pictures of your cabin get- a -way! 🙂
Love!
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!
Thank you guys 🙂 It was a really weird day yesterday. I feel really weird today. Trying to be in the moment, and accept if it's mets, or if it's not.
No cabin this weekend, sadly - all booked! But maybe walks in the changing leaves, we'll take pics of that for sure - it's very beautiful here.
xoxo
I think anytime you near the word"mets" it's a kick in the gut. You completely block out any other words like "maybe" or "possibly". One word you did not hear was DEFINITELY'or CONCLUSIVELY!
As much as we think we can "prepare" for the met possibility...nah...just doesn't work.
So, it boils down to shifting your focus bzck to what you do know with certainty! And that goes back to Athia feeling great and NOTHING has changed that!!
IF things show up later, you'll deal with it THEN...no sense on focusing on anything that has not happened...and may never happen!
Yeah, it takes a little work sometimes to zap yourself back I to the moment...into BEING MORE ATHIA!! Give her an extra special treat and a couple of extra tummy rubs and watch how she is LOVING the moment! Yeah, being in the present with her is the best place to be!!
Continue to let NOTHING rob you of your time together. Worrying about the tomorrows takes away from enjoying today. Athia is havi gg THE best time getting all that spoiling and attention from you and from everyone on has the privilege of knowing her!
She is going to ja4ve such a great time prancing arpund in tne leaves and sniffing all the scents of nature! Cannot wait to see all the pictures!!
Lots of love!
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!
Wish you were in Idaho. You could have used our cabin, that's for sure! Have fun kicking leaves and loving on Athla.
Kathi and the Turbotail April Angel...and the Labradork
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
Ok - need advice time --
Over the last week I've noticed small things - I was gone this past weekend and out of town, so I wasn't there - but when I got back, Athla seemed to have a lot of sensitivity on her butt. She's been so very clingy, as well - strangely so. Thought it might be anal glands - nope. Thought it might be limp tail syndrome - but she has full motion of the tail. Her oncologist checked out the amputation area - seemed fine.
Today things have gone from fine to not fine. Firstly - sitting down with me - a squeek. She went up the stairs just fine - but then as she came back down, more squeeking. Finally - real big yelps sitting down (and she even started shaking) There is a very specific motion - not walking or jumping - something that has to do when she sits down - that is caused more vocal pain than before we amputated her tumor site. I'm super terrified - if she loses the ability to walk - that's basically my worst nightmare (that's not cancer) because then she has no quality of life.
But, let's take a step back - she can still walk and hop and use the restroom. It's something about her lower back - could it possibly be the joint they amputated? She would have to put weight on it every time she sits down - but why would that start to bother her now?
I was supposed to take her off rimadyl, which I did in preparation for giving prednisone for those allergies - but now I don't think it's allergies keeping her awake at night - it's this.
I gave her 100MG of Tramodol a few hours ago - she did nap some, but again, a lot of pain shifting positions and moving while laying down, even with the pain killer. I left a message for her dr/oncologist, but he's not open until Monday morning.
SO HARD To see her in pain. SO AWFUL to be so powerless. UGH. Has anyone else had a similar experience?
It sounds like she's tweaked something while you were gone. Possibly a disc issue, a muscle issue, a knee or hip issue...ao many possibilities when it comes to "tweaking" things. And it's always on a week end!!
Try massaging up and down ner back..her spine..her neck..her shoukder...does she tense up anywhere? Does she feel thight anywhere? You mentioned the amp site. Is there any swelling or tenderness when you touch it?
I know you want a good wash out period before putting her on the Rimadyl, but wondering if it woukd help tomout her back on til Monday? I've forgotten her weight, but maybe you coukd increase her Tram...if you have leeway.
For now try not to let her do stairs...just rest.
Certainly if you have any concerns or she gets worse, call the ER.
It ost likely is something along the lines of a pi ched nerve or muscle strain , etc. I knkw it's really hard not to worry and not TO think scary stuff! Thate what we humans do!!
Lots of 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!
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