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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Reading other's posts, especially Barkley's, I now realize how ignorant I was. Due to Totem's crushed hind leg we didn't have time to research and learn. Our vet gave us 3 choices -- major orthopedic surgery in another city to repair the 3 breaks which would require 8-12 weeks of confinement in a crate other than to go out to pee. Amputation or put him to sleep. After much angst my husband and I decided to amputate. The ball started rolling.
The surgery was done the next day on Monday morning and we were told to pick Totem up the next day. He would remain at the vet overnight with no staff. We picked him up at 10:00 Tuesday morning and were told he was doing well. They sent him home with one anti-inflammatory pill per day for 10 days.
Reading about how he should not have been left alone the first night and all the other pain meds some of you have had makes me a little sad. We just didn't know, and did not find this site until after all that.
I guess all's well that ends well...Totem appears to be doing great now. I will always wonder if his first 10 days of recovery could have been less painful had we been better informed.
Okay, first of all, Totem is thriving and every decision made is what has gotten h to this point!!! There were no bad decisions!!! Totem is recovering beautifully because of your exquisite care!
Now, there ARE times when a dog does stay overnight at an unattended clinic for a variety of reasons. Usually Vets don't even leave the Clinic probably before 8:00 at night anyway and someone is back in by 7:00 a.m. the next morning. Your Totem would still have been pretty well drugged from the anesthesia and hospital meds that are given during surgery.
In a perfect world an overnight stay in a staffed clinic is ideal, but not always an option. And even then, unfortunately a crisis can arise that still can end badly. Even though you weren't given the option of taking Totem home that night, some still opt to leave at the Vet's "unattended " because it can be very difficult .
This site was created, in part, to provide FIRST HAND BEEN THERE DONE THAT information that the Vets and Surgeons don't tell you! We don't know what we don't know.
Lack of good pain management ifrom some Vets is one of our biggest complaints around here!. Some are still "old school" in their way of thinking about treating dogs in pain. Again, another value of this site.
So no, we are all handled differently by different Vets. Options aren't always the same, nor is level of car. The thing is, we learn from each other on this site bec of the way their situation was handled (good or bad) and that empowers us to ask more que anytime we may have any ki d of surgery, etc for our pets.
Long winded way of saying kick that "useless, unwarranted, energy sucking guilt" to the curb and celebrate what a great job you've done for Totem!! YOUR CARE is what has pulled him through! We've all seen how devoted and conscientious you are about giving Totem the best life poss. And it's beau to behold!!!💖
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!
Rest assured we all do the best we can with the information we have. As Sally said the pet is still on the surgical pain meds for the first night. Their pain meds are very different when we take them home and like you and Sally said, sometimes they just aren't good enough. I remember when I phoned to check on Mona after her amputation the vet said her heart rate increased so he administered more pain medication. They have equipment to monitor the pets that we don't have.
I was expecting to take Mona home but the vet said he wanted to take her to his house overnight and maybe even the weekend! I felt really possessive and negotiated I visit with her at the clinic before she went to his house and if she was doing well I would pick her up in the morning. Mona was wonderful for the vet and got lots of attention from him, his wife (also a vet), two teenagers and The Professor, a cat.
Please know that the vets want the recovery to go well and some clinics have technicians who check in on the animals through the night.
I'm impressed with Totem's recovery. He's very adorable - love that sweet face. 
Kerren and Tripawd Kitty Mona
The key is Totem is doing well now. That's great news and worthy of your focus. There's no point wondering what-ifs for things you can't change.
None of us we're ready for this journey when we each started. You learn as you go and make the best decisions you can with the information you have. That's why this site is so great, it provides us all with a lot of useful information from those who have already been there.
David and Rocky (and Baxter now too!)
Rocky had his right front leg amputated on Valentine's Day 2017 after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma.
He joined the September Saints on September 3, 2017.
He is the toughest, bravest, sweetest and best friend I'll ever know.
I don't know about you but Maggie's amputation was the first major surgery I had dealt with in my dogs. Maggie's amp was before Tripawds so we went it alone. I didn't have any idea what to ask the surgeons or other vets about caring for a new Tripawd.
I would never leave one of my dogs in a un-staffed facility overnight now- but back then I didn't know to ask about that.
We were raised to not question doctors and by extension vets, they are the experts and you do what they say.
But as my journey with Maggie continued, and as I dealt with lots of issues in my other Pug Tani I learned to do research, ask questions, and advocate for my dogs. I am fortunate to have a primary vet I love and have been with for 20 years, but I still ask lots of questions so I fully understand what we are trying to accomplish with meds or treatment- that wasn't something I did until I was dealing with Maggie's cancer.
Totem is young and resilient- and you did your best for him with what you were told. Now you have learned from your experience and it will make you a better guardian going forward.
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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