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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We did 6 rounds of carbo with Abby. She tolerated it quite well except for some tiredness after the 5th/6th treatments. As others said, you could always stop if your pup didn't tolerate it well.
It's a personal decision, and I'm sure you'll make the right one for your pup since your decision will be made with love.
We've kinda seen it all here on Tripawds - dogs who do well with/without chemo, and dogs who don't, either with or without it. I know the onc's say the stats show chemo helps, but I do have to wonder if the dogs that don't get chemo are really accurately tracked in those stats??
I don't honestly know if we'd do chemo again, even though Abby lived 15 mo. post amp, and had very few side effects. I always kinda wonder what would have happened if we'd totally gone the holistic route. No regrets, but I just wonder...
One thing to consider if making your decision (I think) is why your pup does at vet visits. Abby LOVED going to the onc's office cuz they made such a fuss about her. If she hated going, we would not have put her through that'.
Good luck making your decision, and keep us posted!
Jackie, Angel Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
Amy & Sambuca, welcome. You are in a great place to hear feedback from others and what they have experienced with chemo.
As for me...we chose not to do chemo for many reasons but the main one being the distance to the clinic (six hours!). But just because we didn't do it then doesn't mean we wouldn't do it now for our current pup, Tripawds Spokesdog Wyatt Ray if he needed chemo. Every dog is different, every pack has different reasons for choosing or not choosing it, and every dog has different side effects from chemo or repercussions from not having it...so a blanket statement just can't be made about what is or isn't "right" for a dog. Like life itself, there are no guarantees about the road you choose to take but just know in your heart that by investigating your options, you are doing all you can for your pup. The only right decision is the one that's made with love.
I'm surprised that an oncologist said that to you. Maybe the doc was having a bad day?
Whatever you choose to do, know that we will support you no matter what you decide. Keep us posted OK? We'd love to hear more about Sambuca.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I agree that it is a very hard decision to make about chemo. We went to CSU and did the carboplatin , studies at CSU have shown 4 treatments are just as good as 6. So we are finished! Tiffany did very well no side effects. We struggled to decide if we wanted to do chemo and for us we felt it was the best decision for us keeping min mind quality of life.
We are not doing any other treatments beyond the chemo other than giving her high quality food and natural supplements.
Best of luck with you decision and no decision is right or wrong it is simply the best decision you can make
Well, we are not much further along in our journey than you, but I will add our experience.
On Wednesday (march 6), Sampson was diagnosed with OSA. On Thursday, we amputated his left front leg. Sam is an Akita cross, and 12 years, 8 months old. He has a few other health conditions (arthritis and mild dysplasia; an autoimmune condition), but nothing life-threatening and his quality of life was fine other than the disintegrated front leg. No visible lung mets.
We are NOT doing chemo. We were eligible for an experimental study at the U of Minnesota, and elected not to enroll, as well.
Aside from the amp, the only "treatment" we'll do is pain reliefe and diet. He eats Taste of the Wild grain free , has an Omega 3 supplement, and we'll be starting a mushroom supplement as well. He is now on piroxicam.
For us... it was a matter of cost, convenience, and quality of life. Sam is almost 13. For a large breed dog, he is not just "older," he is geriatric--no matter how spry he seemed to us. Our vet said nothing is a guarantee, but he estimated amp alone at 3-6 months max survival time, and said chemo might get us 6-12. Even wthout the cancer, 12 months or thereabouts is probably as much time as Sam would have had with us anyway, given his age.
Amputation was $800. Chemo would be $3000-5000, and we'd have the strain of taking Sam back and forth to a strange vet in a strange, chaotic environment, etc. He doesn't have much time, regardless. We wanted it to be as pain free and as comfortable as possible, so that was our decision. Had he been younger, it might have been different, and we may have done it more aggressively. I think it's a case-by-case thing.
"Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all."
-Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
"May I recommend serenity to you? A life that is burdened with expectations is a heavy life. Its fruit is sorrow and disappointment. Learn to be one with the joy of the moment."
-Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
I want to thank everyone for their input and thoughts. It's been a busy couple of days. We picked Sambuca up from his surgery Friday and have been taking care of him and the other three dogs almost constantly. I have to say Buca is doing pretty good. It's been rough here and there but he's getting the hang of this hopping thing and really only wants my help with the two steps going outside. The only problem I seem to have is keeping his bandages on his incision. It keeps sliding off and then the bandages stick to themselves and it's hard to get them back up there. He's been wearing a t-shirt to at least keep it away from the dirt and such.
I see now that chemo is a decision where we really have to consider a lot of things, even things like how Sambuca gets stressed going to the doctor's office. Luckily we have a couple of weeks to consider all of the pros and cons. I do want to look into the metronomics (I think that's correct). And maybe we will try a couple of treatments and see how it goes. Lots to think about. But at least we are getting over this hurdle of the amputation pretty well.
I do want to point out that I may have misspoke about my oncologist's opinion on chemo against osteosarcoma. I wasn't offended by what he said, and didn't mean to offend other people. Everyone wants what is best for their dog and is concerned about the quality of life. I think he was just trying to make sure I knew that this cancer is the hardest to fight and chemo isn't always the first and best decision. I did fail to mention that he told us that whatever we decide, he will support us and do what we want.
Again, thank you everyone for discussing this with me. This site is great and there are so many resources to read and stories to relate to, or to get a feeling of what to expect. I could spend days on here just learning about all of the pets! It makes me feel better that I am not the only one who would go to whatever extreme necessary to help my dogs. Some people don't understand how they become an important part of the family and are just like my children.
Well, Sammy is sleeping so I think I might join him for a nap. Not sleeping a lot at night, so gotta catch some sleep when I can. See, it's just like having a new born baby 
Welcome home Sambuca! Even though the coming days may have ups and downs, take comfort in knowing your baby no longer has that horrible pain.
Libby was bandaged up pretty well when she came home. After a couple of days it kept slipping as well. We just did our best to try and pull it back down over the area. It never sticks again if you try to unwrap it and re do it. We picked her up on a Friday and returned Monday for bandage removal so we just did our best for a few days.
It sounds like Sambuca is doing pretty well so far. Is he peeing, pooping, eating and drinking? I look forward to his updates. Hang in there!
Liberty (Libby) was diagnosed with OSA on 1-22-13. Right front amputation on 1-31-13. No IV Chemo. Metronomic Therapy started 2-19-13 along with supplements and some home cooking. Lungs clear until 1-06-14. She's still her happy, hoppy, bossy self. Living the dog life to the fullest and a proud Winter Warrior. :) RIP my Libby 4-21-03 to 3-19-14
A lot of vets don't bandage over the incision at all. Kermit had a bandage on his but they told me when it fell off in a couple days not to worry about it. He also wore a t-shirt to keep it clean & I think as long as it's well-sutured & doesn't get really wet or muddy you should be fine.
Get some rest anytime you can; I think that might be the hardest part- trying to do the best job you can while sleep-deprived!
Trouble was a front amp and never had a bandage or cone of shame . She laid on her incision almost from the beginning. She loved being outside, so I would keep a toddler T-shirt on her to keep the incision clean. They are so much more adaptable than we are.
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.
My Tazzie was also a 6 yr old Mastiff when she was diagnosed with OSA and she also had her RF leg removed. I did bandage her because she was very large for a female (185 pounds) and she did not develop a seroma . After a few days she rocked a Led Zep tshirt.
She took a little longer to heal so she did not have her first chemo injection until 3 weeks post-op. We did 5 doses of carboplatin all of which she tolerated very well. After that I tried metronomics with Cytoxan but we stopped after a few months due to side effects (bad bladder infection which she was already prone to) and then did artemisinin and some other holistic things like Power Mushrooms.
Her quality of life was very good until her last day when she suddenly could not get up most likely due to spinal mets. She lived a little over 14 months and I would not change anything.
Chemo is a personal choice so follow your gut. I have treated many large dogs with chemo for OSA and have never had any get any serious side effects but if your dog is very stressed at the vet that may be a factor. Most dogs can get a cbc and carboplatin injection in a 30-40 min visit although vet schools probably take a bit longer to get things done!
Pam
We're struggling with this decision now, as well. Lili's right rear leg was amputated March 12. She has done pretty well through recovery -- I would say very well physically, but less so mentally. She was in a funk for week 2 of recovery, but started to turn a corner at about the two week mark. I'd say she's 75% back to normal now -- just more tired. It's wonderful to have her start to feel like her old self.
Unfortunately, right as she started to rebound, we got the osteosarcoma diagnosis. I'm still not entirely sure what we will do. We went in this morning to have staples from the surgery removed. She's always been a bit shy/nervous at the vets, but she was a mess -- shaking like a leaf, climbing onto my lap (all 50 lbs of her), etc. She had both a bone biopsy and the amputation in the past month, so I suppose it's not a surprise she didn't love going back to that place. When I think about having to bring her regularly, and leave her all day, it breaks my heart.
The vet today prescribed Prednisone; she's off all other pain meds. There were no mets as of the time of her last x-ray (during the bone biopsy a month ago). We may just try holistic therapies and see how she does. There's a lot to think about! Just downloaded the Dog Cancer Survival Guide and hope that gives some guidance.
Chemo is a tough decision, but remember there are no right or wrong choices.
I'm curious why the vet put her on Prednisone?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
There is a new way of doing chemo: your pup would stay with the onco/vet for a few days and they administer all the chemo she'll ever get! Maybe not ideal, but something to consider. We also have some pawrents here who are skipping traditional IV chemo and going right for metronomic therapy. That's a daily pill you give your pup. These may be things to talk to your onco/vet about as alternatives to 4-6 trips to the vet every 3 weeks. FYI - Jackson's chemo appts took <1hr. Vets do it differently - some want the pet there all day, and some, like Jackson's, it was a quickie in-and-out appt.
Keep us posted! Lots to think about, but thankfully we've all got opinions and experiences to share!
~ Katy
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
Peterlili, Sambuca actually had the same "funk" in the second week. He got kind of depressed for a couple of days - didn't want to lay with me, laid in the other room, didn't do a lot of anything. On some advise from a friend in a similar situation, I asked my mom to come over and visit and that helped Sam's attitude a lot. We are just over three weeks after amputation and Sambuca is doing well. After about a week, he decided he wanted to go upstairs and sleep like normal. Because we have four dogs, we let him do this only at bedtime and come down in the morning. Other than that, I'd be afraid he would slip in the stampede to go up or down.
The bandages - I took them off right after that post and he started wearing t-shirts. He has completely healed physically and is getting along better every day. If there is a treat to be had, that boy can move! He doesn't do well with bones yet, although yesterday gave up on holding it with one paw and just put it in his mouth, stood up and did some kind of chewing talking dance with it.
My next step is to set up an appointment and to see what else we do, what's next? I'm not talking about chemo, but things like grain free food, K-9 immunity , metronomics , what kind of exercise, etc. Any lifestyle changes for him that we can make we will do. And will these things help the other dogs in staying healthy also?
However...... we have decided against chemo treatments. Like Lili, Sambuca has always been a little nervous going to the vet's office. Since this fiasco started, nervous is a major understatement. He is finally getting back to his old self and is relaxed and happy and pain free. I want to keep it that way and not have him stress out and be on edge. When it comes down to it, I would rather have him live a short happy stress free life instead of possibly a little longer life but with too many ups and downs. I know some people will say why don't you do EVERYTHING you can to extend his life, but with this particular dog and this particular family, we have done what we feel is best. If this was his sister, she would thrive on all of the attention she would get and prance around like an entitled princess , so we would probably do the chemo. But that's not Sambuca. We will do everything else, as I talked about above, that may help, but we don't think Boo would want to go through the treatments. Who knows, maybe we'll be that less than 10% that didn't have cells already spreading at the time of diagnosis. One can always hope!
We had the opposite experience of many of the folks here. Tucker was diagnosed with OSA in his right hind leg, his amputation was September 4th. We opted for the chemo, he was the best family dog & LOVED his people. He was 8 1/2 years old & otherwise in good health & his lungs were clear prior to amputation. After the 4th treatment, he started to cough. We were unsure about xrays & our vet said that she would recommend completing the chemo even if he had mets because it would still be beneficial. He completed his last round of chemo the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, felt absolutely terrible the whole weekend (when he should have been hanging out with his doggie cousins & playing) & continued to cough. About a week later, he coughed up some blood, so we took him in for xrays, which showed lots of mets. Tucker went to the Rainbow Bridge on December 14th. Would we do chemo again? Yes, because we would have always wondered "what if" if we hadn't done it. That being said, I wish we would have done xrays prior to the final chemo so that we would have seen the extent of the mets. I would not have given the last round & he would have had a fun weekend with the "cousins." It is a tough decison & you need to decide what is best for you and your dog.
You know your Sam UCA and you have researched everything thoroughly and you are making g a decision based out of love AND that is a RIGHT decision. I know you feel relieved to move forward with z nutritional and supplement plan and I know Sambucca is thrilled to be getting on with his life without a vet's office in sight!
You enjoy and savour every precious moment and you will build a lifetime of happy memories to stay with you eternally . You are a good paw parent and Sambucca is lucky you are walking with him on this journey! Let the excessive spoiling begin!
Sending you sunny days filled with a bright future! 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!
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