Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Tazzie here following the first chemo (adriamycin) and also a thorough check up to try to figure out why I am not running around catching frisbees yet like all the other tripawd dogs do at 2 weeks post-amp.
On the latter general health note, all checked out well. The Ortho specialist could not produce any pain. The bloodwork was great (Susan thought I was anemic or had low WBC before beginning chemo). The only comment was that Tazzie seems to be still learning to walk and has come up with a rather unusual gait. He actually seems to have invented a few gaits, so it will be interesting to see which one he sticks with in the long run. I don't know if that explains why he sleeps for 24.75 hrs of every day. On that note, Tazzie actually got up on his own volition this morning (after two dogs in the house got up) after only 14 hrs of sleep!!!! Let's hope things continue to look up after we get home. Maybe it is just too darn quiet down at the ranch.
As for chemo, it seems okay so far, but I guess we will wait and see what happens this week. They did have a little oops with the catheter. They do not think any drug got outside the vein (or is it an artery), but gave him the antidote drug just in case and want to see him once more in the morning to administer another dose just in case.
Susan
Tazzie & Susan,
Congratulations on getting though the first chemotherapy treatment. For me, the chemo was far worse than the amputation. Dad said that he could taste the chemicals as he kissed me good night. He should see how bad it tasted on this side. That is why I just did not want to eat anything. Dad stuffed nearly every morsel of food that I ate. He was not too bad as long as he just got it past the tongue before he let go. Once the chemicals left my body, dad says things improved exponentially. I think that means that I again enjoyed a high quality of life.
Dad said to remember to treat the spirit as well as the body. He says to find something that Tazzie loves and then exploit that love. Give Tazzie something to look forward to and provide a purpose to life. For me it's those great rides in the truck/car. It was so exciting that I actually did eat small biscuits or jerky treats.
There will be ups and downs but things will improve. Dad kept a journal so that he could look back and make honest assessments to my progress. All I know is that I finished eight months of my recovery just ten days ago and I am looking forward to next years month long trip to Yellowstone. Dad actually allowed me to sit in the truck and watch the geysers as he radioed the eruption times to the ranger station. Boy was that FUN!!
Sending you positive thoughts and wishes for a chemotherapy experience without the complications.
Cherry
Great advice as always, Cherry, thanks so much.
Tazzie, this all sounds pawsitive, whew! Glad to hear you were able to get checked out thoroughly. Now, remember, not all of us caught frisbees two weeks post amp. It was more like 2 months for many of us. I know you want to be better soon, but healing the body takes time. You sound like you're on the right track though. All those naps should definitely help!
Take it easy, and keep on keepin' on. Let us know how morning goes.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Good luck Tazzie 2! Kick some cancer butt!! Maybe your unique gaits will confuse the cancer cells 
Yoda&Mom united: 9/5/06 …….… Yoda&Leg separated: 6/5/09……… Yoda&Leg reunited: 10/14/09 ……… ……………….………….………….……. Yoda&Mom NEVER separated! …………………….….……....….…… Though Spirit Yoda currently free-lances as a rabbit hunting instructor for tripawds nationwide
Thanks guys. I must say that at least for tonight my mum is taking some deep breaths for the first time since diagnosis (myself, I am sound asleep although I did stay up for most of the evening and then got up and made BIG BARKS when a human friend visited). Having gone through the chemo, it seems as though things might brighten up and I'll get my spark back, although I'll probably sleep solid for the next 7 days after the last two day of activity (they kept me awake all day!).
Cherry: my mum also takes me on car rides, but it is kind of different. I have a love/hate relationship with car rides, in fact my mum almost did not adopt me because my previous owners left a 3 page note about my car phobia on my cage at the humane society. Now, I get oh so excited and pant and drool and pace (more like hop now). It is great because I know I get to go to a park for a walk or something good, but it is also awful because I am so scared to ride in a car. I am especially neurotic when there is a lot of traffic - I am a pyrenees cross so need to keep my eye on the entire herd. Short car rides are proving invaluable for stimulating the GI tract. But there is no way in H*** that I would eat a morsel of even a juicy steak in a car.
Hi Tazzie:
Don't worry too much about not tearing it all up just yet. I think the two weeks is more of, 'things are starting to finally look up', rather than, 'oh boy we are good to go'. I guess the two weeks sticks with everybody because maybe it's the first night in 14 days that everybody gets a full nights sleep?
I understand the car ride thing. Tika is very much the same, or was. By the end of her chemo sessions she had several 1+ hr car trips each way to the oncologist and she finally started figuring out that hey, if I just chill out, this car thing isn't so bad. The only bad thing now is the darn dog discovered she has a need for speed and keeps harrassing the driver if they slow down or stop. When we rented the RV we had a really interesting moment when Tika managed to shift gears while we are trucking down the road at 60mph. Thank goodness it was to neutral and not park or Tika would have been a permanent dashboard display.
So, anyway, here's hoping the Tazzie gets better in the car. I bet everything else will improve also, we don't realize it, but we start calming down and the pups start getting better in proportion!
Good luck, I'm glad over all he's doing well!
--Kim
Kim and Spirit Tika http://www.tika.....ogspot.com
Tikaani said:
When we rented the RV we had a really interesting moment when Tika managed to shift gears while we are trucking down the road at 60mph. Thank goodness it was to neutral and not park or Tika would have been a permanent dashboard display.
–Kim
Woooooaaaah! Wow, that is CRAZY! Maybe she was really trying to get you to make a potty stop?
Glad that things turned out well for you guys, that's scary to imagine!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank goodness things turned out okay with Tika driving the RV!! That tripawd might have become very famous (or infamous) if the story ended differently!
I vaguely remember a story about two golden retrievers, left on a boat ramp in an air conditioned pickup, who ended up shifting the car from park to neutral with the truck sliding into the water. The story did have a dramatic rescue and a happy ending, but I always think of it when I leave Tazzie in the A/C car, as I have been doing a lot recently (with the drives to the cancer clinic). Thankfully he is usually too terrified to move to the front seat.
The tramadol does cut the edge. He is mostly standing in the car these days rather than whining, so I might see if I can use tramadol on any long journey, even if we don't need it for pain. On one 14 hr drive to Boise a few years ago, he sat down for 4 seconds, once in the two day journey. I blame it on the nuttie border collie that probably lurks within. Actually it is the sight of other cars nearby that REALLY gets him going. As the traffic gets worse, he gets worse. When he was first diagnosed, I thought of taking him on one big road trip, but then realized that is not exactly HIS idea of fun. Perhaps that would be different if we had an RV.
Anyway, I guess this doesn't have a lot to do with cancer!
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