Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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My sweet Charlie (11 yrs) had a soft ball size tumor on his back right thigh. Due to him also having Congestive Heart Failure and on 15 pills a day, the only way to be sure to get the entire tumor and not risk his heart by going through radiation/chemo, was to amputate. He's 24 hrs post op and eating, but not doing much more than that. I have the guilt that everyone talks about.Â
I'm so glad this site is here. I found it and did a lot of research before the surgery. I prepared my house from all the suggestions before Charlie got home from surgery and hoped it will help with recovery. I'm so happy to be here. It just helps so much knowing I'm not alone.
Welcome to you and Charlie, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
I'm sorry cancer and amputation have brought you here, but as you have seen this is the best place to be for info and support.
And I hope you don't mind that I moved your post here- since you are in the recovery phase.
You are not alone in this, we have been there and can help. Do you have any specific questions or concerns?
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
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        Maggie's Story          Amputation and Chemo
I cannot wait to see more loctures of Charlie! If his other poctures are as cute as his avatar picture x but sure and put a "CUTENESS ALERT" before you llst his photos! Too much cuteness all at once can make us dizzy!!
Did Charlie spend the first night at the vet? How long has he been home? All he needs right now is rest, short potty breaks and ro be drinking water. The fact that he's not "doing much" is completely normal. He's still doped up on hospital meds and pretty groggy. It takes several days sometimes for dogs to get their "sea legs" and become mobile enough to do potty breaks without assistance.
Which pain meds is he on?
Has he peed? Not eating much and not pooping yet are all pretty "normal" too for now.
I KNOW it is soooo distressing to see your Charlie feeling so rough. You can read over snd over here thst the first two weeks (sometimes more, sometimes less), can really tough. It just doesn't hit home though until yoj are in the midst of it.
It did take me almost three weeks during Happy Hannah's recovery before I could say I did this FOR her, andnot TO her!!
There is NO need to waste one second of your energy on guilt! You are ding everything possible to give your Charlie a chance for more loving, more spoiling, more trests and more tummy rubs!! And you can bet this is what Charlie wants too!!
Stay connected and let us know how he is doing. His sparkle WILL come back, slowly but surely!!
And no way are you alone! We are all family here and we understand like no others can!!
TRY and get some rest, okay? Getting to this lart of the journey is physically and emotionally draining...very exhausting. But once you see Charlie start ro be Charlie again, it will all br worth it.
Hugs and love!
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!
Hi There!
I'm sorry that your Charlie has joined the club, but you've found a home here. We've all been through it so we'll help w/ whatever you need.
Charlie of course has just had major surgery so he really won't (and shouldn't) be doing much more than R&R right now. If he's eating and drinking (and peeing and pooing) that is really good! So soon post-amp, he's probably still feeling the drugs from the surgery so you might see more discomfort as they wear off. What pain meds did they send you home with? Tramadol, Gabapentin are pretty standard.
If Charlie has other medical issues, he might not be able to take certain drugs (our Ellie had mild kidney problems and could not take NSAIDs) so hopefully your vet has worked out which will be safe for Charlie. You definitely don't want to do this w/o proper pain management . Charlie will be relying on you to read his signals about pain, which isn't always easy. Our Ellie would mostly get and "inward look" to her when the post-amp pain was rearing it's ugly head. But each dog is different and it can be hard to know exactly what you are seeing, so ask away if you're worried.
I'm glad that you had time to prepare the house, that is really important for Charlie's recovery. And I'm glad you found us here, because that is really important for your recovery!
Denise, Bill and Angel Ellie
Active 10+ Pyr mix suddenly came up lame with ACL tear in left rear leg. Scheduled for a TPLO but final pre-op x-rays indicated a small suspicious area, possibly OSA, which could have caused the ACL tear. Surgeon opened the knee for TPLO but found soft bone. Biopsy came back positive for OSA. Became a Tripawd 9/18/14. Carbo6 with Cerenia and Fluids. Pain free and living in the moment. Crossed the Bridge on 7/12/15 after probable spread of cancer to her cervical spine. A whole lifetime of memories squeezed into 10 months. Here's her story: Eloise
Charlie's a real sweetie! Â Welcome to the guilt and second guessing club. Â We've all done it. Â Charlie's not doing it though. Â Charlie is busy focusing on getting better and learning how to adapt to his new normal. Â Day by day Charlie will show improvement and will amaze you. For now Charlie's doing exactly what he should be doing resting and recouping. Â In the next few days I think he'll surprise you. Â You're very early in this process and things will start looking up shortly. Â Kudos to you in doing your homework and preparing yourself for this journey. Â You can do this and we'll all be right here doing it with you! Â Keep us posted on sweet Charlie's journey and let us know if we can help in any way. Â Hugs!
Linda, Ollie, Riley & Spirit Mighty Max
Thank you so much for the support. Tomorrow will be a week post surgery and he's still sleeping a lot. He's on Tramadol. Every day he does something that was in his normal pre surgery. I've been sleeping with him downstairs, but last night when I asked him if he was ready for bed, he walked to the stairs. He wanted to sleep in our bed. He slept all night until my husband got up and gave Charlie his Tramadol.Â
I love this photo of Charlie. I had left the room for a second and I looked back. He had gotten up and peeking around the corner as if he was saying "hey, where do you think you're going?"
Y'all have been so kind and helpful. He is using the bathroom and eating as normal now too. It's been a long week, but worth the results of no cancer! xo
That picture is adprable! ADORABLE! And the little thought bubble...yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what hes saying!
Based on your update, he seems to even be a little ahead of the curve as far as recoveries go! And rest is still important so that's good that he is taking it easy.
It is so gloriois to see our dogs start to revisit their normal routines, like wanting to sleep in bed with you, eating normally, etc. You'll find that you will never take even the littlest "nuance" for granted again! Everything becomes adorable, even bein naughty! And then add in Charlie's cuteness factor? OMD! Let the outta' control spoiling begin!
Thanks for updating us. We look forward to more victories AND more adorable pictures!
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!
Looking good threre Charlie! Â Getting through that first week is a huge hurdle. Â Great job both of you!
Linda, Ollie, Riley & Spirit Mighty Max
ADORABLE!!!!
Howdy and welcome!!
I am totally impressed with Charlie's recovery and your advocacy for his well-being! You both are rocking this!!
pam
Harmony became a Tripawd on 10/21/14 (MCT). She left us way too soon on 11/1/14.
"We miss you so much; our love, our heart, our Harmony."
- Pam, Ron and Melody, Meesha, Doublestuff and Mariah Carey
That's such great news! And an adorable photo for extra smiles, go Charlie!
I love how you are noticing that every day a little bit of his old self bounces back and celebrating those little milestones. That's what I call living in the Now 🙂
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Good job Charlie, sounds like things are going very well!
It's so wonderful when you start getting those glimpses of 'normal'. We spend our time worrying about everything and our pups just deal with what is in front of them!
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Â
        Maggie's Story          Amputation and Chemo
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