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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it's hard to make decisions on an unknown future.
Precisely. With cancer or without, only a fortune teller knows the future.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi There! I just got caught up on this thread and wow - lots of great thoughts and advice and back and forth here. I've never heard of the SRT, but that sounds like an interesting proposition.
Like many of the other folks here, I am pro-amputation. Our dog, Aspen, is now almost 2 months post amp and he is doing phenomenally! Much like your wife, the thought of a potential fracture scared the bejesus out of me (most likely b/c I broke my own leg a few years ago and that is NO FUN!). Plus if there is a fracture, then you're either putting the dog down, or you're doing the amp. I also couldn't take watching him limp around. I was wincing all the time just watching him. This past weekend, Aspen was sprinting up and down the snowy trail, up and over rocky ledges and down shale-y walls. He seems to have it all figured out. It is the humans that have the tough time with a "missing" leg - not the dog. The dogs live in the moment. So, if we could take that pain away, we knew that's what we had to do. Sure, walks get shorter, but Aspen is no less enthusiastic about them! Just lots of breaks and enjoying life. Aspen has certainly made me stop and smell the roses more often in the past few months, and I couldn't be happier with our decision to amputate.
That said, you guys will do what's best for your pup. You know her, and she trusts you. Good luck and do keep us posted on your journey! That said, I didn't even realize the vets would start chemo before amputation (or SRT). This has all been one big learning adventure for us.
Take care!
-Lauren & Aspen
They started chemo because you can do it with stereotactic radiation. Since we were talking about that, they said it'd make sense to do, and of we amputated we'd just have to wait. Neoadjuvant (sp?) chemo - chemo prior to surgery - is usually done in people with more chemo after. You "settle" the cancer, then remove it, then kill off the rest. Or so I understand.
According to the UF oncologist, the purpose for amputation or radiation is primarily pain management . The purpose of chemo is metastasis. There is one study out there that showed the removal or non-removal of the primary tumor had no effect on metastatic rate... not sure if that is true; I've just read the information indicating so.
So, unless I'm being given wrong info, you have 2 independent concerns: local tumor and tumor elsewhere. How you treat one or the other are independent of each other. So doing chemo to slow metastasis, then removing the tumor, is ok (except for how it has now altered our chemo schedule).
Or that could all be wrong. I imagine that, at some point, keeping the primary tumor around will cause problems. So we don't want to wait any longer.
I took Bree to the beach today. She ran for 2 hours straight, chasing a tennis ball through some pretty intense surf. She's in pain now, but honestly I think it's more her hind legs (hip problems, though she runs through the pain - she's had it for years). As I was watching her today... I know she'll recover on 3 legs, but charging through large waves and swimming against a strong undertow in the Gulf of Mexico... I don't know how feasible that'll be.
Since we have to wait til Thursday anyway, I've started her on artemisinin (nutricology brand - the quickest I could get delivered). Honestly, we're praying for miraculous healing. Maybe artemisinin will do something.... there are a few amazing anecdotes about it out there. Worst case it can help prevent spread. I'm not sure how we'd know if it was working anyway.
If anything miraculous happens, it will be God's hand working. And even if with less legs, we want her to survive this. So we're praying.
org9o said
I know she'll recover on 3 legs, but charging through large waves and swimming against a strong undertow in the Gulf of Mexico... I don't know how feasible that'll be.
Well, here's Jerry swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. Feasible indeed!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I'll never forget the day that I watched a dog playing and frolicking in the ocean with some seals on Vancouver Island where the water isn't very warm. He was out there for a long time and the parent yelled for him to come in. When he got to shore I saw he was an old, arthritic hound dog. He could barely walk on shore and needed assistance. I talked to his family and they took him out swimming every day and that seemed to be the only time he could move well. And he got to play with his seal friends!
I hope Bree has many more happy beach days.
Kerren
I'm sure she'll still be able to swim in calm water. This is what I'm afraid she'll miss doing (from yesterday):
New issue so new post here:
http://tripawds.....n/#p185752
I'll update this thread soon. Long story, but we're going back to UF for SRT.
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