Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

corrina said
Bacons mom,

i am in the same boat and have questions as well.

Our English mastoid just turned 9 on Halloween 2015. He had bone cancer in his front left leg so we had made the des idiom to amputate. He is doing a lot of laying down hops to go potty, still hasn't pooped! His surgery was also on Friday 12/4/15 but we had to take him home the same night. He's been restless at night panting and crying, but he does have his appetite. A lot of swelling, we were in contact with the vet and were told it is normal and continue with cold compresses, still worried!

we just have to keep in mind we made the right descision for our furry babies, lots of lovin and attention.

this is me talking on a total of 6 hrs sleep in 3 days. But Maddox is always happy wagging his tail when someone comes in and greets him..

im sure I didn't give you any helpful advise just wanted to share a little. 

Good luck in your recovery with Bacon

Thank you for responding, Corrina.  It is VERY helpful to have someone familiar with what we are experiencing.  Given that our furkids had surgery the same day, maybe we can exchange victories and defeats.  My stomach is a wreck today.  The emotional ups and downs are upsetting.  The one minute I see him making what I see as progress is followed by something upsetting.  We are in this for the long haul. Having this community has been so helpful.  

Good luck as well with your boy.  

Warmly,

Rebecca 

T

annapyr said
Hi Bacon Family,

Our Ellie was maybe a year younger than Bacon and she was a rear amp, but I'll chime in anyway.

Everything you've said seems completely consistent w/ our experience. I think you answered your own question---it is still so very very early. The period immediately after amputation is by far the worst. But from your description, Bacon is doing well. He's eating. He's standing. He's trying to get up. And most importantly, he's rid of the pain from that bad leg. Recovery will take some time and there will definitely be good days and bad but he'll make progress each day. 

I would not worry about the lack of poo. As you've probably read, the pain killers can often constipate them. Also at this stage, they're probably trying to avoid squatting since they feel so weak and disoriented. Ellie also had a lot of post-amp weakness. It seemed she'd take a few hops and then her remaining rear leg would just sort of crumple. So I would not worry about Bacon's unsteadiness. He's working muscles in new and different ways and it takes time to adjust.

Most important at this stage is to make sure he has non-slip flooring and that you're keeping ahead of the pain w/ his meds. I think keeping a journal is a great idea, especially if more than one person is giving meds. If he needs to go up or down stairs (to go outside) he'll probably need help at first. But he really should be doing nothing more than resting and eating right now.

The most important thing though is to remember why you did this. He could not have continued like he was. You may be surprised at just how rambunctious he is now that the pain of that leg is gone. 

Denise, Bill and Angel Ellie.

Thank you Denise,Bill and Angel Ellie.  How long did you have with Ellie after her surgery?  I am new to this community so I am learning that "Angel" is referring to a furkid that has passed.  Forgive me if she has not.  

I'mbenny55 said
Any updates?

Hi. It has been a long time since I have checked in. Bacon had his 4th of 6th chemo tx this past Friday (2/26/2016). It has been up and down with how he has felt. Worst response was this past one. He vomited bile twice the night of his 4th chemo tx and would not eat much at all until this morning. Last night we took him into our regular vet because of his refusing to eat. A blood test revealed a very high white blood count (only 5 days after chemo) and low red blood cells. Bloodwork prior to chemo revealed low wbc. Other than the bloodwork, the vet said he looked good. He prescribed a medication that would coat his stomach (Sucralfate) and changed his Pepcid (which he takes daily) to Prilosec. The vet thought he may have developed a stomach ulcer. Both the local and msu vet were pleased that the bloodwork revealed his bone marrow was intact. His liver enzymes were low but that is not alarming them. I'm alarmed enough for the three of us I guess. 

He ate all three meals today with minimal coaxing. He also played with a stuffed toy just a few minutes ago. Between chemo txs Bacon is full of life. It can be depressing as he just starts to feel really good and he has to go back for another tx and another week of not feeling well. I still feel we did the right thing by moving forward with chemo and I do not regret even one minute of deciding to amputate the source of his pain. Seeing how he is the week before chemo makes me long for his last tx. 

For those thinking about amputation: Bacon lost 10 lbs as a result of his amputation. That was just from the limb removal. He has lost two pounds since this past Friday but had not lost any weight since the initial weight loss. He has gone to physical therapy once a week (except the week following chemo txs when he is too tired) since January. I highly recommend PT. We take him to the Animal Neurology and Rehab Clinic in Commerce Twp, MI. There he worked on core strengthening abd endurance via obstacle course work and the underwater treadmill. Due to logistics we will begin a second round of PT at the Animal Rehab Facility (ARF) in Dexter, MI. I will let you know how that goes. 

We also bought Bacon a big dog stroller . He prefers we call it his shuttle as he says he is not a baby. We are conditioning him now to being willing to get into it as independently as possible. He is able to leash walk around one city block fairly easily. It takes him between 9-12 minutes. He could easily do that twice per day if enough time was given between walks. We will take the stroller with us and put him in when he is tired so our other Golden can go longer. 

We have to be mindful of Bacon's feet. He has always been a tenderfoot even with all of his legs. There is now increased pressure on his right back leg so the pads can take a beating. We have to keep the hair trimmed on all his paws to prevent slipping. We bought him the balloon-like "shoes" for things like trips to MSU where he will be walking on slippery surfaces but we quickly found he slipped more with them on because they get a powdery residue in them and lose their traction . We just make sure to have his help-me-up harness on in places like that and keep a hold of him. Other than flooring issues, endurance issues, and difficulty with stairs he is our same Bacon. His personality has not changed one bit. 

On November 29, 2015 he was given three months to live and in nearly unbearable pain. He is now pain free and alive. I will post the pictures of rehab as soon as we figure out how. For some reason my phone makes the files huge. Even clipping the videos down doesn't help. But, if we can get them up on the site we will. 

I will check in later. Thank you for checking in on us. 

Bacon's mom.