Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi all. My 4yo Auasie Aggie lost a front paw about 3 months ago. Last weekend, she suffered a compound break in a rear leg. It was amputated on Monday. The first couple of days she seemed to be recovering well. Then day 3 post-op everything started to seem worse. She became very restless and irritated. She seems very uncomfortable and tried to hide. She is drinking and will eat canned food and treats. She is on Rimadyl. Her incision site looks good on the top half but has one small open area, and looks bad below the site. Red and swollen and bruised. She is constantly biting at it, so I think most of the redness is caused by her, not due to infection. I asked my vet today about Gabapentin. He wasn't familiar with it but said he will try it. Aggie will be laying, and jump up quickly and run to a new spot. I'm so very worried. I don't know what is normal pain and norml reactions vs a bad reaction. Any thoughts or advice would be welcome !!!
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Hi Laura,
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Sorry to hear about your pup. So you're saying she now has a missing paw and a missing leg? Wow. She's been through so much! How did she break her leg and lose her paw?
Her incision should not be open. Have you taken her to the vet? I wouldn't let that go even if you don't think it's infected, it would really help to have the vet look at it just to be sure and avoid further complications. Get that cone of shame ready, it sure sounds like she needs to wear it. And it does sound like she is in pain, make sure your vet is aware of her symptoms so you can get her pain meds adjusted.
Good luck and please keep us posted, we're here to help.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Gosh! So sorry you and Aggie are going through all this!! Scarey and exhausting, stressful and uncertain...yep...all emotions we can relate to!
Yes, as Jerry said, get that inciision checked out.! May I suggest a second opinion? I'm no vet but this dog needs to be on pain meds! Many are on Gabapentin AND Tramadol for two weeks...tapering off some towards the end of second week. This is such a major surgery and it sounds like she is experiencing real pain. Rimadyl is just not strong enough. again , I'm no vet! Three days is "usualky" when all the meds from the hospital have worn off and their pain meds realky need to be dosed properly.
Try not to worry as this does sound like a "normal" reaction to pain. And the restlessness, not eating, trying to get up to move away from the,pain...hopefulky the right mix of pain meds can help.
I KNOW the first two weeks can be so difficult! Please stay connected to us and keep us posted on her pain management and what the vet says about the kncision site. This dog sojnds amazing! How in the world she is getting around so well ks such a sign of her stre gth and will and determi ation!
Hang in there! You are not alone!
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!
Thanks for the help thus far! The story on her paw: at the end of March she went missing. After awhile we assumed she wasn't coming back. We had no idea what had happened to her. Well, 18 days later she just shows up, her paw was missing and bone exposed. She was nearly starved. Our guess is that she was in a trap in the woods near our farm. This amazing girl was able to survive that long, we assume alone and starving in the woods. The story on her leg, well we also don't know what happened. We went to a fireworks show one evening, and the next morning we realized her leg was broken. I will have her vet check her incision again tomorrow and get us more help with her pain. She seemed to be resting pretty well all of last night and so far today.
Wow she's quite the survivor! So glad she's back at home and recovering. You might want to consider working with a rehab therapist once she's healed, her gait will be significantly altered because of her new challenges.
Keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Oh gosh!! How awful! I just shutter and what she endured! Just makes me sick to my stomach!! Don't even get me started on the cruel and barbaric brutal traps! NO animal should ever have to suffer from being caught in a trap!
Her determinaton and will to live are remarkable!! Many animals will eventuallychew through their own leg tl try and escape this "living death" Yoour dog is an imcredibly brave soldier!,
I bow down in absolute awe of this dog!!
Did the leg do any further testingmon the amputated leg...send it off for a pathology report...anything like that to determine if there was a medical cause tomthe break?
Let us kmow what the vets says tomorrow abiut the pain meds and the incision.
Please give that miracle dog hugs and extra treats....and save skme for you too! You've been through a HUGE amount of worry and stress!
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 pathology on the leg. And yes we are pretty sure she did chew off her leg in the trap. One of her canine teeth was broken off also when she came home ;(. She has definitely suffered a lot in 3 months. Makes her even more loved!!
Update -- Aggie has seemed to have settled down a lot yesterday, last night and today. Instead of seeming restless and agitated, she seems peaceful and is actually resting very well. She is still eating and drinking well. We did start her on another antibiotic today. Her Rimadyl runs out tomorrow (one week ago today was her surgery), so we plan to start her on either something else or more of that, to continue her pain relief. She seems to just want to lay still today and not go outside at all. I'm not sure whether to be relieved that she seems to feel less anxious, or more worried that she seems maybe a little too-laid back. Giving her lots of love and treats as of now and staying in contact with her vet. Her incision site isn't as swollen or red today. Thanks for all of your support so far!
Yay! That's a great update. Why the additional antibiotic? Just curious.
As long as she's eating and eliminating, I wouldn't worry about her laid-back attitude. She needs her rest right now, there will be plenty of time for fun later after she's healed.
Glad to see you registered as a member!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Laura,
Aggie is a beauty! What a story. She is strong and so are you. She will probably rest for a couple days now. Just make sure she gets lots of love and stays hydrated. You both are doing great!
Oh, man!! Your story sounds very stressful!!
I'm in the process of building a fence for my dogs. I have a pittie mix that got hit about a month ago and is 2 weeks post op tomorrow from a front leg amputation. Sometimes, I just kick myself because I delayed the building of the fence, and Calvert got hit. It definitely would have been cheaper to put the fence up ASAP!!
Are you thinking about a prostethic? I hear they are really expensive, at least in the research I did before Calvert had his leg taken I found they ranged from 400-800 dollars.
eylara, No I haven't looked into prosthetics . When she lost her paw a few months ago, we assumed she would use that partial leg kind of as a peg leg, or for balance, but she has never put any weight on it. The first day after this leg amp that she was up moving around, I did see her use that partial leg for balance as she stopped for a drink. Wondering if she may begin to rely on it a bit more now...we shall see with time how that plays out!
Overall update: This morning was the first time (9 days post amp) that Aggie seemed playful and wanted to spend some time outside other than just pottying. I did take her to the vet this evening just for him to have a quick look at her incision. Some staples were partially out, and she still had a small place of drainage coming out. He said she looked great though, better than he had imagined from my messages. She has seemed happier today than in 10 days. She is also fully off the Rimadyl, so I'm thinking maybe that plays a part in her feeling more like herself also. She is on amoxycillin just as a precaution, and he didn't think she needed any more pain meds right now. Plans are to remove her staples on Monday-ish. Thanks again for all the answers and support. It's been so, so helpful.
eylara said
Are you thinking about a prostethic? I hear they are really expensive, at least in the research I did before Calvert had his leg taken I found they ranged from 400-800 dollars.
Here's a series of posts we wrote when we interviewed OrthoPets founder Martin Kaufmann. The articles/videos talk all about what to expect both in cost, training, etc.
OrthoPets Talks Prosthetics for Pets
That's really great that Aggie is feeling spunkier! Glad the vet got to take a look at her, that's real peace of mind isn't it?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
GOOD GIR L AGGIE!!!!! SO GLAD SHE'S FEELING PERKIER!
And, the avatar picture...when it shows up...tee hee...is ADORABLE! Precious, precious girl! I'm just so glad she was able to make her way home after all that happened to her! An amazing dog!
ENJOY THE BLISS!
Sally and Happy Hannah and Myrtle 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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