Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Yay!! She's gotten the all clear from the vet and she's coming home tonight. I'm so happy to finally get to see my girl after everything she's been through. So...any last minute advice before Marley comes home in a few hours? I won't be picking her up, have to take our daughter to dance, but I've sent my husband with a list of questions to ask the vet. I've vacuumed the first floor and made sure all runners are in place. Sending the hubs to the grocery store tonight to pick up some food for Marley. Any suggestions? As of yesterday, the vet said she had been eating some baby food. As excited as I am to have her home so she can recover where it's comfortable, I'm nervous I'm going to hurt her when I lift her and carry her out to pee. Hopefully we will manage just fine.
YAAAAAAAAAAAY!! This is WONDERFUL news!! Yes, exciting and scarey at the same time, but you'll get into the natural rythym of things.
Marley probavly won't need much assistance going to pee uless you have stairs, then maybe the carrying, or a sling. She'll still be whacky on hospital meds soprobavly wn't feel much anyway.
Okay...remember...we are all here for you, okay? Recovery can be a little squirrelly sometimes so don't hesitate to let us know how we can support you.
Sounds like you've got everything in place. Let us know when she has her first pee and poop at home! Yeah we celebrate anything around here!
Look forward to your next post!
Sending everyone congratulatory hugs!! Ice cream tonight!
Sally and Happy Hannah
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!
Yay for Marley!! Here's a couple of suggestions that really helped me out when my boy Max came home.
First, Marley will come home with a boatload of meds. Some of the meds will make her pant a lot, so don't freak out right away. If you feel there is an underlying issue going on, call your vet. You've paid them a lot of money, so they can take the time to answer any additional questions you may have. Be sure to have food on hand that Marley really likes, because you may have to hide the pills. Cooked chicken, cheese slices and peanut butter worked well for us.
Also, be sure to sleep when Marley sleeps! This is a stressful situation for everyone. So get your rest when you can! Marley may be uncomfortable during the night, and you may find yourself not getting a lot of sleep. It took me a few days to figure out, but eventually I just put myself on Max's sleeping schedule.
And this is probably the most helpful advice I can give you: don't let Marley see if you get upset. Walk into another room to have your meltdown (if you ever feel that way). Like I said, this is a major surgery, and stress can set in easily (at least it did for me!). Just stay calm in front of her, and she will know that everything is okay!
Be sure to post questions often, we've all been where you currently are!! Let Marley know she's got a lot of people thinking about her!!
YAY!!! Happy DAY! I agree w/all that has been said before. As someone who's dog had 3 major surgeries (two of which she was home and being normal right away), I can tell you nothing prepared me for this. Shelby was a perfect angel the first night (still high as a kite, I guess) and I thought, this will be a breeze! What a difference 48 hours makes. I was ready to take her back to the vet and have them keep her till she stopped panting, pacing, standing, staring. This has been hard on us BUT it does get better!!!
Shelby and I have long conversations about how proud I am of her, how beautiful she is, how much I love her ... you get the drift here.
I also had to cook for Shelby, chicken (plain, no salt, boiled), pure pumpkin, chicken stock (low salt) all to mix in her food since she got spoiled at the vet and likes their food better (and my dog is a healthy eater - and ate right away cookies, etc).
As you have seen from my posts about Shelby - she has taken to making my bathroom her den so Marley might want to be off, alone, and that is totally normal. She is healing and that is the right place for her to be.
But the panting (worse at night for us) was hard to take and try as much as you can to ignore it (unless it's a real issue) but I know it's hard when you can't soothe you baby.
I also snapped photos of her amp site daily so I could see the swelling, etc go down. It was (and still is) helpful for me to visually see progress. And while I complained about Shelby a lot her and was super concerned, this site brought me such peace and calmness .. they could see Shelby was doing better before I could! So check in with us. Share photos. Share stories. We are all here for you! (and when all else fails, drink wine - kidding, that might just be me).
Sending you lots of love and hugs!
Alison and Shelby
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
I'm going to bet Marley is home by now! Yay!
OK, instead of carrying you'll want to assist using a sling. That way you can hoist her gently. A temporary sling can be made using a canvas grocery bag. Just cut the sides open and use the handles to lift her gently as she needs it. She may not, many dogs won't have anything to do with it. But it's good to be prepared.
The advice you've gotten here otherwise is spot-on. You will probably have a restless night together but just keep telling yourself that it's only temporary. This will pass and life will get much better!
Hang in there and let us kn ow how it goes. We're so happy you're reunited again.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Yay, Marley !! Just want to simply add my support, and that everyone else here has already said things better than I can. We are all in this journey together, and the support here is the greatest.
Best wishes for your family, going into this new adventure.
Bonnie & Polly
She's home!! I can not express how happy I am to have her home. She's doing great. As far as pain management
, they have her on the fentanyl patch and carprofen. Apparently when they had her on the tramadol and the gabapentin she was excessively sedated. Hopefully this works. As I write this I hear here snoring away on her bed. 
She's already eaten a nice sized treat and a hard boiled egg. Hopefully she'll eat a little more in a bit. I'm so proud of Marley. She's gotten off her bed a few times on her own and she's even hopped 4 steps to me. She's only been home for an hour and a half. I think she's doing great. Hopefully the night will go smoothly.
The vet said, while they were there they would just keep her crate door open hoping it would encourage her to get motivated to get up. One time they had a patient they were working with, they turn around and Marley had quietly hopped out to them tail wagging. She definitely made a few fans while she was there.
Oh good to hear she's home! She'll rest easy with the patch! Withdrawal is another matter but for now just enjoy the quiet time and get your sleep tonight. The patch usually wears off on day 2.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
HOT-DIGGITY-DAWG!! Marley is home and happy.....ad ready for more loving and spoiling than you ever magined possible!
Celebrating with ice cream over here!! YAAAAAAAAY MARLEY
Love and hugs!
Sally and Happy'Hannah
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!
No one understands the joy we have for our furkids when we see them conquor what other people don't think can be done!! And becoming a Tripawd is one of them!! Our hearts fill with joy, love, pride, and worry when they come home... we are so happy they are here.... we love them to bits as always... we are proud that they are going to kick cancers arse all the way to the curb and back... and we worry.. worry they will hurt themselves.. worry they are in pain... worry they will eat ok.. worry that they will fall. And that is okay... that is normal... our worries will become less and less.. and the love, pride and bonding will become a stronger link...
It is hard not to let them do too much when they seem to adjust so well.. but remember that there are many vessels and veins, etc that have been stitched and sutured inside... don't let Marley do toooo much. You don't want any of those to pop! I kept my Franklin confined to the tv room with his bed and water dish (raised up of course) and he stayed there for about 5 days. He had his duties to do in the backyard and then back to the tv room. After that.. he came back to our bedroom at night which was a bigger space.. and then he was allowed to be in the tv room and dining room for a few days... it was probably about 10 days before he got back to having the run of the house on the main floor.
It does all our hearts good when we read how well they are doing.. and I look forward to seeing more updates to make us grin!!
Christine..... with Franklin in her heart♥
Franklin, he was the Happiest Dog on Three Legs! Diagnosed 09/26/2012 with Osteosarcoma, amputated 12/4/2012. Had a wonderful 5 1/2 months painfree until he ran for the Bridge on 5/15/2013. Always in my heart, and always a guardian angel of my pack... You can follow his Tripawd Adventures, before and after, in my blog, Frank'n'Farter!
Awwww! So...how'd the first night go? It sounds like you had some great people looking after her and learning her signs of medication. Hard boiled eggs sound mighty tasty! Lucky girl.
Looking for an update! I hope all is well.
~ Katy & Jackson
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
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