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
We have decided to stop chemo and ler her live out her life without chemo. She is very comfortable and Happy. We have no idea on how long she has, we are just gonna spoil her until she tells us shes ready.
Awww smoochy face Coco, good to see you! 
I can't blame you for the decision to opt out of more treatment. There is a sense of freedom in that decision, and it's nice to know that as long as your pup is comfy, that you won't have vet appointments and possible side effects interfering with their joy. Coco is so fortunate to have humans who care so deeply about her own happiness.
Don't forget to keep us posted, it's always nice to see her and know how you are all doing.
I keep trying to write vutI keep scrolling back up to smooch sweet Coco 's mig!! Sich a wonderful picture of a very content dog white at peace with kist being Coc.
Ditto everything Jerry said. Mny ofus have made similar decisions and no one ever regretted it. As Jerry said, it's very freeing for the hoomans and the dog.
More stress free time for spoiling and loving is something I'm sure Coco thinks is a brilliant idea!
Give her some extra smoo for is....and extract treats too👍
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!
I totally respect your decision!
I would like to offer a couple pieces of advice.
First- write down your decision making process and tuck it away somewhere.
Second- define Coco's minimum quality of life.
My Pug Maggie beat her first cancer and was doing well. She developed incontinence then kidney failure and then a second cancer. After looking at all options I chose not to treat the cancer and only do palliative care. It was so clear to me at the time that this was the right decision. I was keeping a log book for her and documented why I made the decision not to treat the cancer. I also defined and wrote done some notes on her minimum life quality while she was relatively happy and I wasn't overly emotional.
3 months after the second cancer diagnosis she slipped below the minimum life quality I had defined and she crossed the bridge. Although I was very comfortable with my decisions grief can put funny thoughts in your head! I found myself wondering what would have happened if I had done the surgery, reading my notes reaffirmed my decision making process.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Great advice. Thank You!. That sounds like a great Idea. Although there is nothing we can do for her cancer at this point. She is happy and still eating well and active. She has had a couple accidents,but i think thats partially our fault for not letting her out enough. I know she is gonna be happy although up til the end and I to am going to have to make that extremely difficult decision. I still believe though she will let me know when its time.
Sweet Coco you still have so much sparkle and spunk! That video says it all, and it's a pure joy to see you looking so good. 
As far as letting you know when it's time, that's a tough one. If you don't count things like eating, drinking, and tail wagging (all things that dogs will often do even when they feel crappy), you may be able to better gauge her point in the journey to transitioning.
So have benchmarks written down as Karen suggested. What other activities bring her joy, other than things she cannot physically do right now. For example, visits from friends and family, do they perk her up? What about her favorite pee spots in the neighborhood? Or a certain way you rub her ears? Dig deep to recall things that always pick her spirits up, write them down. Then come to an agreement with everyone in the family that if she is no longer doing a certain amount of those things, then you will know it's time.
Also, consider having a heart to heart with her, about letting her know that you are OK when she is ready. Really have a soulful conversation, a heart to heart, and tell her you understand when she needs to move on. I believe that our dogs sense when we are sincere about this, and it helps a soul (human or canine) move on to their next journey in the universe.
I'm not sure if I showed you this "Prepare for Pet Loss Before It's Time" post, but it has other ideas too.
Smooches to Coco! I so needed to see her today!
Yes indeedy! That video speaks VOLUMES about how Happy Coco is and how she is still enjoying be Coco.
This vido made me sooooo happy seeing her sooooo happy!!!
Keep on keeping on Coco! You have many more adorable videos to. star in, okay? And we can't wait to see them!!
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!
Here's a pic. Just lounging around. Coco still continues to be happy despite her tumor seemingly is growing by the day. I havent had her back to the vet since her last chemo appointnent and quite honestly at this point I dont see the point of anymore vet visits. With this decision there has certainly come with a sense of relief and freedom with just her living her best life vet free. Shes happy all I can ask for. She is coming up on 11months since her amputation and quite honestly, its much easier not concerning ourselves with what the vet is going to say or you should consider this or consider that. Its really all up to her now and i feel when shes ready she will let me know. Hopefully later than rather sooner.
So, so pretty! I love seeing Coco's sweet face
I couldn't agree with you more about living life vet-free. When we made that decision for Jerry, a huge weight was lifted. You know what's coming, and yeah you hope for later rather than sooner and no suffering. And in the meantime, at this point in the disease, allowing our pets to enjoy the day without those kinds of interruptions is a huge gift to us and them.
The more time you and Coco can spend together the more precious every moment is. Use one of those moments to tell her how much we love knowing she's enjoying life to the fullest! And post as many photos as you'd like, we always enjoy hearing from you two!
Jerry and Benny55 your words, your wisdom, empathy and seemgly spot on advice for whomever your giving it to has helped me and I am sure several others in the forum nobody wants to be apart of(lol), more than you will probably ever fully know or realize. I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for the continuned support throughout this journey.
You are too sweet, thank you. It's the community made of great pet parents like you that inspires everyone here, and keeps us wanting to be there for others during a very emotional time. It's an honor.
Everytime I see a photo fo Coco it melts my heart more and more. Ahe just oozes with gentleness and sweetness♥️
It really is freeing to let our pups "just be". Basicalky that pretty much is how dogs live their lives anyway. We just have to follow their lead and "just Be More Dog ". And Coco is a master teacher for you! And you truly have become his stellar students😎
And thank you for your very kind remarks. They were heartfelt and we appreciate that. But as Jerry said, it is OUR honor to be here and such a privege to get to know these most incredible dogs and cats on the Planet and their incredible hoomans who love them so dearly. ♥️. We gain more than we could ever give. Thenk you.
And abs, keep those wonderful pictures coming! We love her!
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!
Just had to chime in. When I see a choc lab my heart melts. Brownie my choc lab did not have chemo. It just wasn't for him. I couldn't see putting thru all those visits to gain a few months and he did awesome. I thin the most important Medicine is just plain LOVE❤️
By the way listen to Karen (pug Maggie) I did and so happy I did.
My Beautiful Beloved Brownie was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma on February 26, 2019. With all odds against him he lived an additional one year and eight days with amputation, love, and prayer. I was honored to be his mom, and I have never been so proud! He will live forever in my Heart!
04/01/2007 - 03/05/2020
"March Saint"
And yes,Brownie is quite the inspawration around as a"mature" pupper who handled three like a Champ and made up his own statistics (no chemo)!
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!
1 Guest(s)
