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.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
Hey all, my name is Taylor and my sweet girl Lucy had a front leg amputation on Monday (July 1) after an ulcerated soft tissue sarcoma left Lucy with no other options. She is a 13 year-old 60lb terrier mix and became mine 2.5 years ago by way of a Senior dog rescue after her elderly owner passed away. Lucy can be a stubborn old gal, so I have been really worried about how she would adapt after her amputation.
The operation went well and she stayed overnight at the hospital one night and came home Tuesday. The tech at the hospital told me that Lucy is able to walk but did not want to walk for them. She has been on gabapentin 300mg every 8-12h (has been closer to every 8), hydromorphone 1mg every 8h, and an antibiotic. She had been eating and sleeping which is great. She eats and urinates while lying down on her dog bed at home. She will eat and drink if the bowl is reachable but will not try to scoot or crawl even a few inches to a nearby bowl. On and off she has been whining or screaming. If I lay next to her on her dog bed she will sometimes stop but I am never more than 5 ft away from her on the couch and there doesn't seem to be something obvious she could be trying to tell me (not related to food/potty and she does it when her pain should be managed, etc.). I relayed this info to the hospital and they said she had been on 75mg trazodone during her stay so we are in the process of getting her back on that (Walgreens is giving me trouble).
The most concerning part is thar Lucy either can't or won't stand. She has been head-down laying flat on her dog bed with her back legs to either side (not fully laying on one side or the other). When I help her up using the harness, she will sometimes work with me using her remaining front leg, but doesn't seem to want me to help lift the back legs with the back handle. She will growl or snap at me. The times I do lift her up, she won't put weight on her back legs. I'm not sure if something is wrong that she physically can't use her back legs or if she is just not feeling well/is medicated or is distraught. I don't know if I should be more persistent about trying to get her standing or if it is okay to let her be for a little while longer.
Hello Taylor and Lucy. So are you find yourself here but you and the best place for support and information and understanding from those who have been on this journey. Your post has been approved post away.
We know it's hard to be patient this early on, but Lucy has just had major surgery and she is a more "mature" girl. Add being a "stubborn mature girl" and you have your hands full.
The fact that she is eating and drinking is really good! Partying, even if it's in her bed is still a victory!
The trazodone, as you know, is more of a sedative and anti-anxiety type med. It doesn't do anything for pain.
First of all, not a vet and not giving a Vet advice. Before making any medication changes or additions, speak with your vet.
Couple of thoughts, just wondering if the hydromorphone 1mg every 8h is causing her to be sort of out of it. It may be that she needs a bit more of the Gabapentin every hrs. Also ask the Vet about adding Amantadine in lieu of the hydromorphone. Is she on an antiinflmmatory like Rimadyl (Carprofen)?
The fact that she does snap at you when you try to lift her up does make me think she still has unaddressed pain.
One thing you might try if she will let you is to massage very gently up and down her spine around her neck area Etc Does she so any signs of tension or pain?
If you pinch her toes does she react and try to pull her leg back? Just want to make sure there doesn't seem to be a disc issue or something Neurological.
Keep your Vet in the loop and try and have a direct conversation with the Vet.
Stay connected and let is know an update when uou can.
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!
Thanks so much for approving the post and for your response and words of encouragement!
Touching her spine she reacts but doesn't seem to have pain. If I touch her back legs/paws she reacts and grumbles but doesn't move her legs. I did get Lucy back into the specialty vet center yesterday and they didn't think she had a disc/back issue. They had multiple techs working with her in the back and said they were able to get her to put weight on her back legs. Hard to operate the help 'em up harness on my own and even the surgery vet intern said he wasn't sure how exactly to adjust those harnesses. I'm glad I went in as now I feel better about trying to get her up knowing there isn't something extra going on with the back legs, but they also told me not to worry too much about her losing muscle mass over the span of a week or two if she continues to progress slowly. Lucy and I got an appointment with a rehab vet for Thursday of this week, which will be 10 days post op. I'm looking forward having direction from them and getting tips on fitting the harness correctly.
We only have 2 more days on the hydromorphone, but will continue the gabapentin, so we will see if progress towards standing improves once off the hydromorphone. She has been quite disgruntled so I think the trazodone may help with that. Even on the trazodone it has been a battle to get her to let me clean her, move her, put her harness on her, etc. I'm going to ask my regular vet about an anti-inflmmatory, thank you for the suggestion.
Thank you again for your support,
Taylor
Thanks for the update Taylor! Glad you were able to get some reassurance from the vet visit.
Yeah, that help him up harness can be a challenge to put on, especially if it's just yourself and she's not able to stand on her own. Check our Gear Shop for more options. I wonder if the Rough Wear Webmaster harness might work better.
So glad you have an upcoming Rehabilitation Specialist appointment! They will give you some exercises and tips on how to build Lucy's core muscles etc. The best news is the Tripawds Foundation will pay for the first appointment! Sometimes you only need one appointment because, if given proper instructions, you can do a lot of the therapies at home.
Lucy is very lucky to have you as her caregiver and to be such a powerful advocate for her. I know it's hard to be patient, but she'll make progress in her own way at her own pace.
Oh, and another quick thought. Sometimes there are no signs of arthritis until a surgery like this takes place and it can be more pronounced and visible than before. That's one reason the anti-inflammatory can help if that's the case. Even if not, it's still a good idea.
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Do keep us posted after you stop the hydromorphone. You may see a difference in a positive way
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!
1 Guest(s)
