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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Hi everyone, I just wanted to introduce myself and my family to the Tripawds community. I am still working out how to navigate this site but I am so grateful to have found you. My name is Robin and I am privileged to share my life (currently) with 2 great danes, Willow 9.5 years and Rossi 2 years. As well as 2 cats named Kat and Mouse plus 2 horses named Stinky and Spud and a pet sheep called Basil.
In 2013 my 8.5 year old dane ‘Thumper’ was diagnosed with an Osteosarcoma high up in his hip joint. Because of the location of the tumor and some pre-existing arthritis issues I decided not to amputate. This was also the recommendation from our Oncologist. We treated him with Chemo and pain relief and Thumper lived another 18 fantastic months after his diagnosis and enjoyed every single extra day we had together.
On the 10th December this year, it was the 1st year anniversary of Thumper’s passing. If that was not hard enough to deal with, my youngest dane ‘Rossi’, who had started to show some signs of hind leg pain a few weeks before was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma. I actually hit the floor when the vet told me. Rossi’s tumor was in his left hind leg, just below his knee. To say that I am devastated is an understatement, I can’t believe I am having to face this all over again and so soon after losing my beloved Thumper.
Rossi and I had our first consult with the Oncologist on the 14th and he had his hind leg amputated on the 16th. Having been through the Osteosarcoma journey with my boy Thumper, I have not wasted anytime getting up to speed with the treatment options. However this is my first experience with an amputation so here comes another step learning curve.
Rossi was a little super star and the morning following his surgery was able to stand and walk (carefully) all by himself. He returned home that afternoon (24 hours after surgery) and has continued to recover well. His wound looks good with no signs of infection and Rossi is able to get around easily, in the small area he has available. He is not showing any signs of pain and when he is awake, he is happy and interested in everything that’s going on. I think my next challenge will be when he no longer needs the pain meds (which keep him a little drowsy and calm) in a week or so but still needs to be confined and take things slowly. A 2 year old dane never takes things slowly.
As long as Rossi continues to recover well, we will be starting Chemo as soon as the surgical team are happy to proceed.
I am looking forward to sharing our journey with the Tripawds community and I know I will need some ideas and help along the way. We are lucky enough to live on a large rural property with hills, natural bush and a dam, which is an absolutely amazing place for 4 legged great danes to run and play but I know it will bring challenges for Rossi while he adapts to life on 3.
Robin.
Hi Robin and Rossi
So sorry you are having to go through this with your belpved Rossi.. To have just lost Thumper a year ago..ugh.
You are not alone, okay? We are all right here by your side!
When you can, we'd love to hear more about your precious Thumper, with pictures of course! We love pictures here. To jave gotten 18 months bonus time is quite a victory! You did an outstanding job of caring for Thumper and giving him all that extra quality time for loving and spoiling. Now he's a magnifw Guardian Angel watching over you, Rossi, Willow, Kat, Mouse, Stinky, Bud and Basil.
To hear that Rossi is doing so well this soon after surgery is quite encouraging! Big dogs sometimes take more time to work things out.
Check out the story of Atlas, another .magnificent Great Dane who .mastered life on three legs perfectly! This was after TWO vets suggested he be "put down" after osteo diagnosis. He had Wobblers and, if I recall, arthritis. The third vet looked at Atlas and saw his spark and spunk and advised to proceed. Atlas had over two more years of loving and spoiling!!!!
Yes, keeping a Great Dane youngster in slow gear will be hard. Actually .maneuvering up and down small hills slowly can help build core strength. Dogs can do everything thing have done before but with more rest stops in between. It's up tonus to make sure they don't over do. Walking on three legs can be exhausting.
If you have jardwood floors you'll want nonslip scatter rugs for traction . You probably already have raised food bowls.
Here's a link to great ebooks written by "Jerry" full of great information. http://tripawds.....-library1/
You may want to get Rossi so e Kong toys that you can fill with treats, etc. to help keep him from being too bored while he's recovering.
Looking forward to more pictures and sharing in all the adventures of Rossie living life to the fullest!
Oh, my Happy Hannah had four rou ds of Carboplatin and sailed through chemo with zero problems. Some dogs experience a little nausea, perhaps loss of appetite and some fatigue. That usually lasts just a few days, if at all. The vet will give you Cerenia for nausea should it happen.
Sending lots of hugs to all!
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!
Hi Robin and the pack, welcome. You all have really adorable names!
Hope you don't mind I moved your post here, but this is a good place to share stories of giant breed dogs like your sweet Rossi. I just can't believe you're dealing with osteosarcoma again, what a shock to get that kind of news, I'm so sorry. How awesome though that Rossi is recovering so well!
If we can be of any help in your journey don't hesitate to ask OK? We're here to help. In addition to Atlas' story that Sally mentioned, you should also check out Nova the Great Dane's blog. She was one of our longest surviving Dane osteosarcoma survivors and a true inspawration.
I'm curious, what country are you located in? Also, when you mentioned you did chemo with Thumper, what kind of chemo and pain relief did you use? We often have folks here who are going the palliative care route for similar reasons, it would be good info for us to know.
Thanks again for joining. Please keep us posted OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Robin and Rossi and the rest!
I just wanted to add my welcome. It must be really hard dealing w/ OSA a second time. I feel for you, really and truly. I have a terrible fear w/ my new pup Toby that "it" will happen again so it just breaks my heart that Rossi and you are going through this a second time. But it sounds like you took charge and wasted no time, and Rossi is already up and ready to live life to the fullest again, this time on 3-legs! Please let us know how things are going.
Denise, Bill and Angel Ellie.
Active 10+ Pyr mix suddenly came up lame with ACL tear in left rear leg. Scheduled for a TPLO but final pre-op x-rays indicated a small suspicious area, possibly OSA, which could have caused the ACL tear. Surgeon opened the knee for TPLO but found soft bone. Biopsy came back positive for OSA. Became a Tripawd 9/18/14. Carbo6 with Cerenia and Fluids. Pain free and living in the moment. Crossed the Bridge on 7/12/15 after probable spread of cancer to her cervical spine. A whole lifetime of memories squeezed into 10 months. Here's her story: Eloise
Thank you all for your kind words of support, they are very much appreciated. I will keep you up to date with how Rossi goes and I will see about adding some pictures but I don’t use an online tool for sharing pics so I might have to work something out. We have very poor internet reception here so I tend not to bother with anything too high tech. I will post again soon but for now I will try to answer your questions so far.
We live in Perth, Western Australia so I’m not sure how many other Tripawds members are out this way. Unfortunately we only have 1 Oncology specialist in the entire state but thankfully he is absolutely amazing and very passionate about his work. He also treated Thumper and I credit his care and dedication to helping Thump do so well for so long. I will post later with more specific details about his treatment, if that can be of benefit and encouragement to others in the future, that would be wonderful.
We are currently owner building so our inside space is ridiculously small however this will work in Rossi’s favour because we pretty much live in one room with the kitchen at one end and the living space at the other. On the day of Rossi’s surgery my partner and I pulled out all the furniture and covered over the hard wood floors with one roll of carpet. Then replaced the lounges with mattress on the floor and low dog beds (which we already had to cater for Thumper’s needs), it looks a little like a retro 70’s style pad now but it is perfect for Rossi. This means that Rossi only has a small area to move around in but he is still in the middle of all the action. I have raised food and water bowls inside as well and just a small fenced off area out the back for when he needs to go to the toilet. I pretty much have just camped in this one room with Rossi and Willow for the last 2 weeks.
I have also downloaded your ebooks which I have found invaluable. The information on this site has given me the confidence to know what to expect. I feel that having read some of the stories and the ebooks has prepared me for what was to happen and allowed me to take much better care of Rossi without getting stressed over every tiny little thing that happened. Knowing what ‘normal behaviour’ was, really helped. So I can’t thank you enough and only hope that by sharing my journey, it can help others in the future to. I have also ordered a harness through the site, one of the Custom Pet Support Suits and it should hopefully arrive soon.
XXX Robin and family.
Hi Robin and pack,
I'm glad to hear Rossi is doing well after surgery.
I'm glad also that you have found your way around here a little, and that the site has been helpful. I won't repost all that I sent you in the PMs we exchanged, but I have been thinking about you and Thumper and Rossi.
As far as pictures go, you can start a blog here and load them there, or email the pics to Admin, Jerry or me and we can post them for you.
We do have members in Australia, but I'm not sure where they live.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
We live in Perth, Western Australia so I’m not sure how many other Tripawds members are out this way.
I know there is Huckleberry the Dane. He's in Melbourne though, which I know is all the way across the country, but at least it is the right hemisphere!
Denise.
Active 10+ Pyr mix suddenly came up lame with ACL tear in left rear leg. Scheduled for a TPLO but final pre-op x-rays indicated a small suspicious area, possibly OSA, which could have caused the ACL tear. Surgeon opened the knee for TPLO but found soft bone. Biopsy came back positive for OSA. Became a Tripawd 9/18/14. Carbo6 with Cerenia and Fluids. Pain free and living in the moment. Crossed the Bridge on 7/12/15 after probable spread of cancer to her cervical spine. A whole lifetime of memories squeezed into 10 months. Here's her story: Eloise
I think I spoke too soon about the dream recovery we were having. 2 days ago Rossi become very ill with vomiting and diarrhea and has ended up back in hospital on a drip. The vets think it's some sort of gastro but are not 100% sure. Sadly because of his surgery his little body doesn't have its usual reserves of strength to fight this.
Please keep my baby in your thoughts and I will let you know how he goes.
Oh drats I'm sorry! Poor Rossi. I wonder if he's having a side effect from NSAIDs? Let us know what your vets say, and we'll keep our paws and fingers crossed for a speedy recovery. Hang in there, Rossie WILL overcome this!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Howdy and welcome!!!
I sure hope Rossi is doing better. Please update us when you can.
pam
Harmony became a Tripawd on 10/21/14 (MCT). She left us way too soon on 11/1/14.
"We miss you so much; our love, our heart, our Harmony."
- Pam, Ron and Melody, Meesha, Doublestuff and Mariah Carey
rossi46 said
I think I spoke too soon about the dream recovery we were having. 2 days ago Rossi become very ill with vomiting and diarrhea and has ended up back in hospital on a drip. The vets think it's some sort of gastro but are not 100% sure. Sadly because of his surgery his little body doesn't have its usual reserves of strength to fight this.Please keep my baby in your thoughts and I will let you know how he goes.
Keeping sweet Rossi in my thoughts & prayers. Please keep us posted! Hugs to you!
Sorry that I have not posted for a long time but here is an update on how Rossi is travelling. He has continued to adapt brilliantly to life as a Tripawd and I have found that there is nothing that he did before, that with a few little modifications he can’t do on 3 legs. We live on a pretty challenging rural block so we have been building up slowly but he is now back to having full access to our place, just as he did before his surgery.
He and his sister Willow (10 year old Great Dane) will be starting hydrotherapy next week and are also booked in for some Bowen therapy. I think that because we don’t just have a small flat lawn for him to move around on every day has actually helped him adjust. Before the surgery he already had great muscle tone and good core strength. The fact that he has to deal with so many different terrains and natural obstacles all day, every day, has meant he just gets on with life.
He has now had his first 3 rounds of Chemo and he is absolutely ‘rocking it’. His blood work has been fantastic which means his body is handling the medication without any negative effects. After his first treatment his CBC results were great so they increased the chemo dose by 10%. Yesterday his CBC results were fantastic, so they have increased the dose once again. Usually after an increase in the dose they do another CBC in 10 days but the Oncologist is so happy with his overall heath and blood work that they asked that I just monitor him and give them a call in 10 days. This morning he is bounding around like an idiot, so full of energy and joy, so I think we are on the right track so far.
As you all understand, amputation is a huge decision to make but for Rossi, it was the right one. There has not been a single day that I have regretted my decision. Of course I would rather not have ever had to make it but Rossi is living life to the fullest every single day and that is what is important. I will try to create a blog so I can share some photos with you. Thank you for this wonderful site, you guys have made this journey so much more successful.
Oh how we love happy updates!!!! Thank you for updating and so HAPPY to hear Rossi is doing SO great!!!
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
Love this update! Thanks so much for letting us know Rossi is back to his beautiful self. You are rocking this Rossi!
Linda, Ollie, Riley & Spirit Mighty Max
Such a relief!!!!! Such a huge relief!!!! When you ppsted in December things weren't going very well. Such a relief!! Yeah, worth repeating!
Wonderful update! Just thrilled to hear how well Rossi is doing! Thumper is a good Guardian watching over all of you!
Sounds like the terrain is a very ood way indeed to build up core muscle strength for Rossi. I know Willow loves having Rossi around to keep her "young".
One little heads up...and someone with a better memory than I (JEEEERRRRRYYYY) will jave to fill in the details, but water treadmill work can sometimes have a negative impact on tripawds. I hate to throw that out there without finding the link for you, but just discuss it withnyiur Rehab Specialist.
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!
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