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Frank Heads in For His Amputation Tomorrow, 5/29
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Member Since:
28 May 2020
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28 May 2020 - 1:34 pm
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Hi everyone,

I am new to the site as we just found out on Tuesday that Frank, our 5 year old Australian Cattle Dog mix, would be having one of his front legs amputated on Friday - tomorrow, 5/29. I have been reading several posts and stories and can't thank you all enough for your contributions to this site! I am sick with anxiety about his surgery and that he won't be able to tell me how he feels when he wakes up and eventually comes home. Any "must do" advice for the first several days / week? Or, "must have" equipment?

Thanks everyone and please pray for Frank's surgery to go smoothly tomorrow!

Brittany "Franks Mom"

Livermore, CA




Member Since:
18 October 2009
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28 May 2020 - 1:48 pm
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Hi Brittany, welcome to you and Frank.Ā  Your future posts will not have to wait for approval.

I'm sorry you are dealing with cancer and amputation but glad you found our family here!

You can look through the Reading List for lots of links from this site, information on what to expect with amputation and recovery.

Very important is good traction for Frank so if you have any slippery floors you want to cover them with rugs or yoga mats.Ā  A small room or part of a room blocked off for a recovery area with no furniture or stairs available to him without supervision.Ā  Some pups need raised food and water dishes.Ā  Talk to the vet about what medications Frank will come home with so you understand what he will be taking and the dosing schedule.Ā  You might need a sling to help him get around at first, if the vet doesn't give you one you can use a towel or make one out of a reusable grocery bag.

Here is a Shopping List for Recovering Tripawds.

Probably the most important thing though is a strong, positive attitude from you when you get him home.Ā  You are the pack leader and need to show Frank that everything is fine and normal.Ā  (I had trouble with this part!)

Best of luck with the surgery tomorrow and keep us posted!

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

Ā 

Ā Ā Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Maggie's Story Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā Amputation and Chemo

New York, NY
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28 May 2020 - 2:25 pm
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Hi Brittany!Ā  Welcome to Tripawds! I saw your comment on Griffin's blog and sent you a message already, but I'll post my response here as well.Ā  Ā I'm sure you have lots of questions and I hope Griffin's blog is helping with some of them.Ā  What Griffin is wearing in that photo is actually a human neck gaiter that is meant to be worn as a bandanna or face covering, but with a hole cut for his remaining front limb, it worked really well as a shirt for Griffin after surgery.Ā  Here is the Amazon link to the ones I bought (although the same pattern doesn't seem available).Ā  They are fairly inexpensive (come in a pack of 6) and worked well to keep Griffin from bothering his incision.Ā  He had internal stitches which never seemed to bother him too much, so he wore his "shirt" usually when we were outside just to keep it clean.Ā  Karen's response has you covered with the "must dos" for now, but please keep asking questions as they arise - someone on here always knows the answer! ~ Stacy

Griffin lived an amazing life for 11 years! Diagnosed with osteosarcoma on March 17, 2020, Griffin's right forelimb was amputated on April 2, 2020. Ten days later he was running and playing fetch! Lung metastasis discovered in July 2020 did not slow down Griffin and he lived joyfully for the next 7 months, passing peacefully at home on February 11, 2021. https://griffin.tripawds.com

On The Road


Member Since:
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28 May 2020 - 5:17 pm
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franksmom said
I am sick with anxiety about his surgery and that he won't be able to tell me how he feels...

Welcome and best wishes for Frank's speedy recovery!

Yeah, we sure wish they could talk. But pain management is the biggest concern, and there are various ways to identify pain in dogs that many people aren't aware to look for. See the growing list of pain management posts for helpful tips, articles, and video interviews with leading experts.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Member Since:
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29 May 2020 - 4:44 pm
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Good luck. This site is brilliant - and has been a real help to me so far.Ā 

My lab boy Max is 8 days post op (his right front) - heā€™s gradually getting used to it, but is very stiff from having to use his muscles in a totally different way. Heā€™s currently half way through the 2 week strict rest period, so is spending a lot of the time sleeping and recuperating at the moment.

Jill & Max

Virginia







Member Since:
22 February 2013
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29 May 2020 - 5:12 pm
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CatchigĀ  up just in time to check-in.Ā  Update when you can, okay?Ā  We are all here for uou and with youā¤

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!

Member Since:
4 April 2019
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29 May 2020 - 5:25 pm
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Hi, I love the name Frank, and he looks like a Frank.

I understand your worry. I felt sick to my stomach the day before surgery. But all the worry was for nothing, because Brownie did great. He was almost 12 at the time of surgery.

Enjoy this evening with Frank, and spoil him! Try not to worry because as Karen said you don't want Frank to pick up on that. Dogs can read us more then we realize. When you pick him up just smile, and look into his eyes, and he will see how much you love him.

So stay positive, and I will include you and Frank in my prayers this evening.Ā 

Sending positive thoughts!

My Beautiful Beloved Brownie was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma on February 26, 2019.Ā  With all odds against him he lived an additional one year and eight days with amputation, love, and prayer.Ā  I was honored to be his mom, and I have never been so proud!Ā  He will live forever in my Heart!

Brownie Bubba Bell

04/01/2007 - 03/05/2020

"March Saint"

Member Since:
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30 May 2020 - 7:34 am
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Sending positive and good thoughts today.Ā  Let us know how it goes.Ā  I asked Angel Brownie to watch over Frank today.sp_hearticon2

My Beautiful Beloved Brownie was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma on February 26, 2019.Ā  With all odds against him he lived an additional one year and eight days with amputation, love, and prayer.Ā  I was honored to be his mom, and I have never been so proud!Ā  He will live forever in my Heart!

Brownie Bubba Bell

04/01/2007 - 03/05/2020

"March Saint"

Member Since:
4 April 2019
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31 May 2020 - 12:17 pm
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I was just wondering how you and Frank are doing? it looks like I was a day late on my previous post. I know it's early, but I hope recovery is going well

Would love to see some pictures.

Nancy and Angel Brownie

My Beautiful Beloved Brownie was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma on February 26, 2019.Ā  With all odds against him he lived an additional one year and eight days with amputation, love, and prayer.Ā  I was honored to be his mom, and I have never been so proud!Ā  He will live forever in my Heart!

Brownie Bubba Bell

04/01/2007 - 03/05/2020

"March Saint"

Livermore, CA




Member Since:
18 October 2009
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31 May 2020 - 1:21 pm
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I hope everything is going OK for Frank.Ā  You probably have your hands full but please update when you can.

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

Ā 

Ā Ā Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Maggie's Story Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā Amputation and Chemo


Member Since:
28 May 2020
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31 May 2020 - 8:30 pm
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Hi everyone!! I am soo humbled by all of the messages and support for Frank!

Surgery on Friday went well! The surgeon said after opening him up that the limb was absolutely not saveable given the depth and severity of his infection. So we did the right thing for him as he was definitely miserable with how far it went into his leg, muscles, and even his ribs. That was really helpful to hear as a dog mamma who was feeling guilty about making the decision.

The vet called today and said he got up on his own this morning!! Which sounds like great progress already. He is a very anxious boy with lots of energy (cattle dog nature) so he had been kind of whiney in the hospital but that's normal for him.Ā 

He is high risk for another infection so they are keeping him there on IV antibiotics for one more night but he is scheduled to come home tomorrow afternoon!! I will definitely keep everyone posted and send pics.

Thank you all sooo much for being so caring and supportive!! This community is truly amazing!Ā 

Lots of love,

Brittany - Frank's Mom

Virginia







Member Since:
22 February 2013
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31 May 2020 - 10:21 pm
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We are sooooo relieved to hear from you and to know that Frank's surgery was successful!Ā  Bummer about the infection, but really glad the Vet is staying in top of it.

And YAY for getting up this morning!Ā  Ā Huge victory!!

I know you are excitedĀ  about getting Frank home.Ā  Ā We look forward to celebrating his homecoming with you so keep us posted.Ā  In the mean, get some rest.Ā  RecoveryĀ  is no picnic for a couple of weeks.Ā  We'reĀ  here to help you get through it all, okay?

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!

Member Since:
15 May 2020
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1 June 2020 - 9:06 am
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Hi Frank and Frank's human!

My dog Kinzi had her front leg amputated 12 days ago. The first week was hard, but the second week is so much better. She has a similar build to a cattle dog or a corgi, short and stout! And yet, she can already climb upstairs and jump on the couch (when she sneaks by us or out of her enclosed recovery space).

There are videos of her in the Kinzi Pupdate thread on Share Your Story. I found looking at videos of other tripods hopping around helpful. It reminded me that things will get better. Griffin is inspiring but also love following Ziva and Arktik's stories. šŸ™‚

The ride home is hard. Bring a friend with you if you can. We are thinking of you and here for you! <3

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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1 June 2020 - 1:24 pm
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Aww good boy Frank, I'm so glad you're on your way to feeling better! What a relief for your people and we are cheering you on too. Here's to better days and no pain or infection. We hope you can come home tomorrow.

Brittany, how's your house, is it all Tripawd-proofed and ready for his homecoming?

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet


Member Since:
28 May 2020
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2 June 2020 - 11:39 am
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Hi everyone!

Frank is home and resting comfortably. He's doing as well as I can hope for! He's cruisin around the house already! I have to force him to chill so he doesn't rip his stitches šŸ™‚

Stacy "Griffin's Mom" reminded me that I never really filled everyone in on how we got here. So, here's the long saga if you are interested:

Back in 2018 he started to develop a lump under his left front leg that was tested and deemed a non-cancerous lipoma. It grew slowly throughout the year and started to develop skin tags from rubbing against his leg. Eventually it started to be in the way when he was running / causing him to limp so our vet recommended surgery to remove it in December of 2018. Once she was in there, she realized it was infiltrative (in his muscle) and she couldnā€™t remove everything. She cautioned us that it would eventually grow back but that we could repeat surgery every 2 ā€“ 3 years as it got in his way. Unfortunately, it grew back more than two times the size in less than 6 months. In an attempt to avoid surgery every 6 months, our vet reached out to her network for alternative recommendations and received feedback that infiltrative lipomas often respond well to radiation. So, she referred us to Lakeshore Vet Specialists in Glendale, WI where we opted to proceed with the radiation.

He went through 3 ā€œroundsā€ which was 3 consecutive days of radiation in mid-October of 2019. We were advised that he might have some irritation and lose his hair where it was targeted, however, the proceeding 3 months were absolutely miserable for him. He developed a terrible open wound that was infected on and off and would not heal. It then developed a layer of what I think the vet referred to as exudate that was yellowish brown and has a significant odor. The vet explained that the idea around radiation is to restrict blood flow to the bad cells and that is, unfortunately, slowing the healing of the open wound. He couldn't exercise because the rubbing irritated the wound and was on 5+ medications. That caused him to gain over 10 pounds in 3 months which obviously wasn't good for his health overall. Fortunately, he still had an appetite and his personality which was our positive light throughout the entire ordeal. So, we reached out to our personal network for advice on what to do next. Several people recommended the University of Wisconsin Vet Hospital and we were able to book a consultation for Frank in early March of this year.Ā 

With one exam and a few tests, it was deemed that the open wound was necrotic / flesh-eating bacteria. The only option for treatment was to surgically remove it. He had a CT scan done which also showed recurrence of the lipoma so the surgery plan was to remove the necrotic wound / tissue and as much of the lipoma as surgically possible without damaging the leg. The surgery lasted almost 5 hours long but went well overall with the exception of the resulting incision. Because of the loss of skin from the necrotic wound and the removal of a significant amount of lipoma, he was left with a T-shaped incision - meaning there was an area at the base of the "T" where three pieces of skin needed to heal together. Again, because of the history of radiation, we knew that the healing process would be slow, and we were in for a journey.Ā 

The healing went well initially but about a month after surgery, we noticed discharge and an odor coming from the center of the T-shaped incision where it wasn't closed completely. The vet had us start with a different oral antibiotic but after a culture, it was realized that the infection was resistant to anything we could give orally. So, for 6 weeks we had to flush this "hole" in his side where the incision didn't close with a topical antibiotic and stuff the wound with gauze soaked in it (imagine pulling out and stuffing gauze into a 2 cm hole on the side of your dog), he had to wear a t-shirt with Poise pads stuffed inside to soak up the discharge, and he had to go back to the UW Vet Hospital 2-3 times per week for checkups (not a big deal except for the fact that this is a 90 minute drive from our house in the middle of a global pandemic).

After the first 2 or so weeks of doing this, we noticed Frank wasn't putting much pressure on his left front leg (where the surgery had been done) and his energy level was decreasing. After another week or so, he almost completely stopped using that leg and was holding it up while he hopped around on just his other 3 legs. The vet still wasn't willing to say we were out of options so while we continued the wound care and he started Physical Therapy to work on gaining back his strength in that leg. It was going pretty well overall but very slow progress.

Then last week they noticed the discharge increasing, which it hadn't done in quite some time. The vet ordered another culture of the infection and unfortunately deemed that it was also resistant to the topical antibiotic we were using the flush the wound. So, last Tuesday, 5/26 after 2 and a half years of doing everything we could to save his leg, we were officially out of options and they strongly recommended proceeding with the amputation quickly as there was a risk of him becoming septic if we didn't act fast to remove all of the infected tissue which included the limb. Oh, and did I mention that 5/26 was our 1-year wedding anniversary - UGH! With lots of research, discussions with the surgeons at UW, and the help of this community we decided to proceed with the amputation to do everything we could to save Frank and give him the best possibly quality of life.Ā 

They removed his leg on Friday, 5/29 and as much of the infection as they could. As I mentioned, the surgeon said after opening him up that the limb was absolutely not savable given the depth and severity of his infection. So we did the right thing for him as he was definitely miserable with how far it went into his leg, muscles, and even his ribs. He is high risk for another infection so I am giving him a shot of a pretty strong antibiotic twice a day and we have to keep an extra eye on his incision. He also came home with a drain to help alleviate the fluid build up which I have to clean our 3-4 times a day. Luckily they were able to keep this one fairly straight with no T-shape so we are praying it heals quickly before another infection can develop.

WOW I haven't typed that entire thing up prior to this and it definitely has been a journey! I tried to attach a picture of our handsome boy from yesterday when he got home but I can't seem to figure it out on this forum editor - any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for checking in and for taking the time to listen to our journey to amputation!

XOXO

Brittany - Frank's Mom

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