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.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
Hi everyone,
I thought I'd put his updates in one spot. Surgery went smoothly and I got him home on Saturday. Since then, he's mainly been sleeping but gets up to go potty and eat and drink. He's not had a problem with either potty breaks or eating, although he's not eating quite as much as he did before surgery. His wound looks okay to me - I noticed some swelling and redness today - it feels like fluid but he's not having any leakage. Spoke to the vet who said that can happen and to just watch it. If it gets much larger, I'll take him in to have it drained.
He's adapting it seems - he already is bringing his left front leg more to center to accommodate and is getting more confident. I think once he's healed he's going to do really well. His bone biopsy came back with a definitive diagnosis of osteosarcoma. His lymph node biopsy came back as "reactive" but with no cancer cells. The vet said that is encouraging. I know that it doesn't mean he's cancer free, but I'm hoping it means we have a little more time than if it did have cancer cells. I wish I could afford chemo, but I'm going to look into supplements that might help (and can't hurt)
I'm just trying to keep him comfortable. The "cone of shame " seems to depress him, I keep it off when I'm in the room with him as long as he's got a t-shirt on. Today was a hard day for me - the swelling at the wound site and the fact that he seemed less interested in things this morning really hit me hard. I try to remind myself that he's recovering from major surgery and will have ups and downs - I'm personally recovering from a major surgery myself so I should know better, but its still hard because I can only do so much to help.
My house is covered in yoga mats which makes me laugh. I found cheap ones at a store called Tuesday morning, so bought 12 of them. They work way better than the carpet runners I bought - I tripped over those myself a couple of times and so they had to go. Yoga mats work way better!
Clyde's mom
Hi, Clyde's Mom:
Such good news you have to share with us. Glad you see him adapting already. Remember some of the meds may be suppressing his appetite a bit - it is sure to improve with some time.
Really great news about the lymph nodes - something to feel very positive about.
And LOVE the yoga matts!
Cheers - can't wait to hear more!
Lisa and Pofi
Lisa, Minneapolis
On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly. His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.
WELCOME HOME CLYDE!!! 🙂 You and your Mom can help each other rrecover together. What a devoted team!
A lot of times there will be aa bit.of a crash around the third day. Hospital meds are out of their system by then and he may be feeling the pain a bit more. Keep a lot of how often and thee amount of his pain meds and any display of pain. It may be that you'll have to lessen the time inbetween doses if he starts to get uncomfortable before his next dose. Talk to your vet about it if that's the case.
PLEASE, PLEASE, do not spend one more second reflecting on chemo! There really are NO guarantees eith or without it!'''Chemo...no chemo...it's all a crap shoot! We have many members here who do not do chemo for a host of reasons. And, loke Jerry, we have seen members get several years extended time without it! Going the route of nutrition and ssupplements with complimentary holostic therapies is a great treatment plan.
The most important lesson the this journey is to Be More Dog ! Be more Clyde! He isn't worried about a thing and coukd care less about days on a calendar or any ole stupid diagnosis! Clyde does NOT jave a timeframe stamped anywhere on his adorable doggy butt!
Let NOTHING rob you of your time toegether! Everyday is aa bonus day that you can spend with Clyde loving him and spoiling him! Make everyday count! That's the best treatment plan of all!
Thanks for the great update...And keep em coming! Stay connected. Recovery is still no locnic for a bit longer. You'll see Clyde :-)'s sparkle come back bigger and. brighter than before real soo !
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!
Sadie is 1 week post-op and still sleeping a lot. As you noted, it's major surgery, plus Tramadol can make them sleepy. I just remind myself that sleep is very healing. The first few days were definitely the hardest -- on both of us. I called the vet several times with "Is XYZ normal/okay/allowed?"
I'll be keeping both of you in my thoughts.
Super duper news! I know Clyde really appreciates how you're keeping his recovery, and his current behavior, in perspective. Major surgery is the pits, it's no fun as you know, but dogs sure handle it better than humans don't they?
Yeah keep an eye on the seroma . Jerry's never drained by itself so the vet had to do it. No biggie, just a little grossness in the clinic, but it was over in a sec.
Have a relaxing day (and don't let him get away with chewing those stitches, keep an eye on him!).
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Lovely to hear Clyde is back home 
and things are progressing well. And the fact he is getting his balance right is great, he will be hopping around before you know it!
As Sally says, don't think about chemo any more, there are really no guarantees if we do it and if we don't ... we can only do so much.
Sending you a big hug and cuddles to your gorgeous boy
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Sounds like Clyde is doing great. Like Sally said, there can be a bit of a crash when the hospital meds come out of his system. Keep monitoring his pain and call your vet if you feel the meds aren't controlling it well enough. You will be amazed at how much he perks up when the staples come out (day 10 or so), so just hand in there!
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Awe, Clyde, you keep resting up! So cute! Rest is the best right now 
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
Today is one week post amputation! 
Clyde's mood is so much better today! He's following me around my (small) house sometimes and generally has his goofy smile on his face. His wound looks good - the fluid buildup never got any larger and is now much smaller. I took his Fentanyl patch off yesterday as instructed, he's still on Tramadol and once a day Rimadyl. He got wise to me hiding the Tramadol in hotdogs, so now I have to hide it in peanut butter. He laps that up like crazy!
I'm feeling really good about my decision today. The only thing that makes me sad is that he hasn't been able to figure out how to chew on his Nylabones - he used to brace them against his left front leg with this right front paw to chew them, and he can't do that now. I'm trying to figure out a way to make that easier for him - anyone have any ideas?
I go back to work full time on Monday - luckily, I can work from home some of the time and I plan to be home in the early afternoon next week until the staples come out. I think he'll be good on his own once the staples come out.
I really appreciate all of your comments!
You BOTH sound like you've made amazing pawgress, hooorraaay!
It's funny I was just looking at this pic of Jerry today. What if you held the bone and put it in Clyde's remaining paw to guide him? Have you tried that?
Here's a blog post we did about a new "wishbone" type:
http://amazon.t.....-tripawds/
Here's the accompanying (crazy long) video:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Funny you mention this, I have exactly the same thoughts concerning my girl as she, like Clyde, used to hold the bone using both front legs.
The first time she went for her bone my heart sank as she couldn't deal with it (we have grossly oversized bones which used to last a few weeks, anything smaller would be pulverised into oblivia in a blink of an eye)
So, I helped her and held one side of the bone for her which worked for a while.
Eventually she gave up and looked at me with a sad "I can't do this any longer on my own" look ... but I am hoping with time she will find a way to get independent, bone chewing wise!
And she is doing so well in everything else that this is just a little detail in her life, I bet Clyde is the same, right?
I am just so happy she is happy, that is all that counts for me
Sending you a big hug and cuddles to gorgeous Clyde
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Jerry, I loved the video, it goes to prove our furry friends will get there in the end but ... that loud music was a bit too much !
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
I too loved the video! And clyde was just like Eurydice - I held his bone for him, he chewed a little and then gave me this look like "this is just not the same" and stopped. I bought the Benebones and although he's not yet in the mood to try them, I think they'll really work once he gets the hang of them. Thanks so much for the info!
Today was staple removal day, yay! Clyde was a trooper and did really well. The vet was really happy about how he moves. I've been worried about his back - he said that I can give him Rimadyl as needed and maybe some light massage. I've also been worried about his (what seems to me to be) excessive panting/rapid breathing, since of course I'm paranoid about his lungs. Vet said it could be the meds, just his recovery process or all sorts of things I don't need to worry about. He said that we'll let him clear the meds out of his system and then see where we are.
I'm so glad the staples are out and so is he I think. So glad that his sparkle is back. Thanks to everyone for your support!
Staple removal day is another celebration Everything will progress so much faster and you won't have to be so concerned about the surgical site. I like that your vet is encouraging that the medications just need to clear out of his system before worrying.
Have fun with the sparkling Clyde!
Kerren and Tripawd Kitty Mona
1 Guest(s)
