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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I'm sorry to hear that Alexander is not feeling well. I hope it is the 'normal' ups and downs of those dreaded two weeks post op.
Don't second guess or question your self now (easier said than done). You are doing your best for Alexander- no regrets!!!
Of course I have some distance that allows me to say that. Maggie had her amp before Tripawds was in existence. There were many times, especially those first weeks of recovery, that I was worried I had done the wrong thing. I came to realize that I had given Maggie the best chance for a longer life.
Stay strong and positive for Alexander- he needs to know from you that everything is fine.
Let us know how the blood work turns out.
Sending stong, healing thoughts your way.
Karen
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This is a stressful time. I know, we all unfortunately do.
I can tell you that yes, there are ups and downs and certainly with not only the meds, but this was major surgery.
With my Kona, she the surgery, maybe the meds (I dunno) and the chemo, her white count was at one time pretty low, and her red count is still low. But, our doctor said that this is 'normal', considering the situation...removal of a limb and also with us, chemo.
Kona's white count came back up, and we've been working on building up her red count with cooking her small amounts of lean beef, cooked on a high fire, rare............yeah, she's not spoiled 
Kona, like Alexander, was fast out of the gate after surgery. In fact, she even leaped out of her raised kennel the morning after surgery, over the techs legs (that were blocking the opening while she was trying to get her to eat something) the only thing that stopped Kona was that she was still attached to her IV ! That being said, she definitely had her down days after that and is more reactive to heat now. That really slows her down, even now.
I know that the meds, like tramodol (thats what Kona was on too) are suppressive and sometimes depressive.
Please don't dispair with these new results. It's part of the process. He will power up. I know he will. These pups, we love them, they are our family, no doubt, so it's hard not to take it hard when you look at them and they are down. I'm sending you both positive thoughts and prayers. I just know Alexander will do well.
hugs,
Denise
Kona turned 9yrs on April 16, 2010.
Kona was diagnosed Memorial Weekend 2010 with osteosarcoma.
Right rear leg amputated on June 4th. First chemo June 18th 2010
Second chemo July 9th, 2010 Third and final (yea !!!) chemo July 30th, 2010
ONE TOUGH GIRL this Australian Cattledog !
***Kona's journey/fight ended late in the evening of December 22, 2010***
We Love you so much Kona….always
Bella 9yrs, albino lab/aussie shep/pit?(abandoned in mts as a puppy) deaf & blind (from birth) in one eye limited vision in other.(laid back, ok lazy 73 lbs)
Cotton, 5yrs, albino hound/terrier of somesort/???(abandoned in mts as a puppy) deaf & blind in one eye(from birth), excellent vision in seeing eye. (ball addict…destroyer of Kong balls…yes,etc), high energy 55lbs knots of muscle)
Kona Kai's pup brother and sister as well as her buddy and playmate cat, Shaymous 12yrs (like Seamus), miss her terribly.
More good thoughts for you and Xander. I know this is stressful for you and I hope you see a turn around really soon.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
Not sure that we can help with the meds as Rusty tolerated everything given to him; the bruising around the public area sounds the same as Rusty's. His area around his penis and penis turned almost black; we sent photos by email to his vet and he said that it was normal trauma from the extensive surgery. Rusty had a portion of his pelvis removed in addition to his leg. Hang in there, we are sure things will improve for Alexander.
Chuck & Rusty
Rusty is a Labradoodle who was diagnosed with level 3 Fibrosarcoma on January 16th, 2010 and had his left hind leg amputated on January 25th, 2010 five days before his 18 month birthday. Please see Rusty's blog @rusty.tripawds.com. He is putting up one heck of a fight against this terrible disease.
Oh you poor thing you must be a wreck. I can't help w/ the meds except to say don't hesitate to demand input from your vet.
On the swelling - Ajax is a rear leg amputee. His surgeon told us there would be swelling and to put ice (ice cubes in a ziploc) on it for 10 minutes each time, 4 times a day.
By day 2 post op he was so swollen in his groin area that it was pushing his private part sideways so that he was peeing horizontally. This may not seem like a big deal, but if he hits a banker on his way to work on the sidewalks of NYC, things could get very unpleasant. This motivated us to be extra diligent w/ the icing. He didn't love it, but we applied treats, did the icing regularly, and when we went to get the stitches out the surgeon was extremely surprised and pleased about how much the swelling had gone down.
hopefully the swelling bruising will turn out to be your worst problem. wish I could help more.
Always remember, there are no right or wrong decisions OK? We all do the best we can do for our furkids. Hang in there OK, this is just part of the two week hell. Xander will bounce back, just wait.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Roxy did the same thing as you have described with Alexander. She started off running (metaphorical of course) the first couple days and then crashed...hard. She was down for what felt like an eternity, but was really only a week and a half or so. I panicked of course, and was pretty high strung the entire time, beating myself up over the decision I made for her when she didn't have a choice. But she came out of it like they tend to do and she's doing well now. I know I didn't write anything original here, but I thought maybe hearing that there's another tripawd on here with the same story line you might be able to relax a little bit and not be hard on yourself.
Keep your head up and love on your pup. He should pull through just fine and love you just the same.
Leslie
Sending some more pawsitive thoughts. I'm keeping all paws crossed it's only the 2 weeks of hell that happens during recovery.
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
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