Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi sweetie 🌺
So sorry to hear your baby is not feeling better ...
If she needs to stay a little longer at least you know she is in good, competent hands.
Steroids work very efficiently, very quickly and your team is very competent so I would follow their lead.
Please do not get discouraged, we are all by your side sending as much positive energy as we can master !
Sending you a huge bear hug and cuddles 😘😘🐮💫✨🌟🌹
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 :-)
Bummer!!!
Glad they're taking fluid and getting it analyzed.
Okay, keep in mind I have nooooo idea what I'm talking about, vut ask of they can do a joint fluid tap...or is that what they are doing?. I was juat reading mipmon some stuff and, apparently there is actually a joint infection related to arthritis! I could be full of beans, but that's what I remember reading. Its treatable.
Keep us post4d. I know this is frustrating to say the least!
Extra 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!
Yes! That’s what the did. A joint tap. So they did that this morning. The vet isn’t 100% sure there is no infection so he wants to hold off on any steroids until the analysis comes back on the fluid they got out. They changed the bandage around her chest. He said having the extra padding from the bandage is a good idea. And they put a new compression wrap & splint on her leg. She is still pretty painful, but they thought she would be good to go home. Still on the gabapentin, tramadol & metacam. She is currently sleeping with her head in my lap. Did take her out to pee & that was not successful. She still turns into a rag doll & refuses to stand at all & as a result didn’t pee. Fingers crossed for pee next time out.
melinda
Okay, WELCOME HOME AGAIN SIERRA 😁 Juat being home will lift her spirits. .and yours too.
My tripawd Vrankie jusr had a tap today,an xray and a lot of manipulation. Je waaa sedstedand he is NOT a happy camper ! It's supppsedly not too painful a procedure , but Frankie didn't get the memo
Im sure Sierra is not feeling soperky either , ESPECIALLY with everything she has been thrpugh recently!!!
Hoping she's feeling vetter soon and you can get on with a treatment plan.
Cheering for you Sierra😚
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!
Wow two Tripawd taps in one day? That's a first around here. I'm glad you're home Sierra, and Frankie, feel better my friend.
Melinda, if she doesn't urinate in 12 hours let your vet know OK? Do you know how to express her bladder?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We took her out again before bed with no pee. She just acts like a floppy rag doll & refuses to even stand let alone walk. I watched that video on expressing her bladder but I’m feeling her belly & not feeling anything that feels like they describe. Her normal vet is only a couple miles away. If nothing overnight or in the morning, I’ll take her there & have them teach me.
She is just so sad. So sedate. It’s killing me. No spark in her eyes. I’m really struggling with staying positive and strong for her. I feel like she has just given up & I don’t know what to do for her. I just wish I could take her pain away. It’s been a week now since the amputation. She was fine until day 4. I know it’s her back leg that’s really bothering her & I just don’t have any answers. Hoping she gets a good night sleep and feels better in the morning.
I hope Frankie feels better soon!
Melinda
Melinda,
She will get her spark back. She has not given up, she is tired and sore. One week post op can be really tough. After day 4 or 5 the beautiful hospital meds are just like Elvis and have left the building. Plus she has a sore leg. I don't know if they gave her more sedatives at the hospital but if they did that can keep them loopy and some animals just are not happy with those meds in their system. I have seen dogs literally scream at just a touch after given a pre med injection and they are not even painful but they just react with those kinds of meds.
Steroid shots are good for swelling, but they can slow down the healing process so I understand why they want to wait. They are being proactive with antibiotics so if she does have an infection this will start to kick it down.
Is she drinking and eating? If not, she may not have a full bladder. If the doctor can show it to you that would be so helpful. I found it really hard to find at first, especially if it is fairly empty. You can put a finger on either side of her groin and press up and run your hand up towards her ribcage. Her bladder will be like trying to grab a suspended water balloon. It is wiggly, jiggly and can slip out of your hand. They are tiny when empty but obviously easier to detect as they fill with urine. I hope this helps you until you see your doctor. It is not like she is blocked, right? So if you miss it I believe right now she would probably just pee on herself and the floor and possibly you. All cleanable.
Please try to breathe, just cuddle up with your girl, talk to her, and love her. If you curl up with her and you both fall asleep it will probably do you both good.
Sending you big warm hugs and keeping my fingers crossed for you that she will turn this nasty corner soon.
Lots of love,
Jackie 
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
Thanks everyone! Still no pee this morning. She drank a TON of water when we got home about 5 yesterday... so I don't know where it's going if not into her bladder. I felt all over her belly & didn't feel it. Waiting for a call back from her doctor.
She does seem to be a little more awake today. Maybe it was just the sedation meds wearing off & the days in the hospital with all the hustle & bustle. Took her out this morning & got her to take a few steps - ish. She is definitely not happy about standing. But for the few seconds she did, we fussed over her & told her what a good girl she is. Let her lay outside in the grass for quite a while too ... hoping for the all illusive pee pee. Who knew I would be this obsessed with pee? Hahaha. That's really my only concern at this point. I am fine with her laying around with no energy recovering.
I did kind of pull a mean mommy trick this morning... took her out & she was laying all depressed in the grass. I got her sisters a bit riled up... playing with them... and her alpha kicked in... and she started whining & fussing at them & next thing you know, she wanted to sit up. Hahaha! Mean mommy figuring out how to motivate her.
Anyways, fingers crossed for the tinkles & we will see what the vet says when he calls back. Thanks for all the words of encouragement!
Melinda
Okay, all in all, not too shabby an update! And your "mean mommy" approach was brilliant!! Just seeing a tiny bit of sparkle come back, even for a second, is wonderful!!
But yes, SHE MUST PEE!! Im SURE the Vet will have you bring her in and get that pee going!
And yeah, the mobility will get there...literally almost one step at a time.
WAITING TO DO A HOPPY PEE DANCE WITH YOU!!
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!
Joining the pawty line for pee... maybe if we think it enough she will finally just do it 
I think playing with the others was BRILLIANT!!! That bladder is a stinker to find I am telling you. But once the doc shows you how to find it you will be fine. I am sure some people had no problem, but when I was a new (and younger, lol) tech it was a challenge. I really needed to learn though because I ended up not only doing it for a living, but with a kitty that blocked 7 times before he finally had surgery to fix it for good.
You saw a spark!!!
I am so glad 
There is hope, a lot of it... unfortunately it will probably test every ounce of patience that you own getting there.
Ok, Sierra girlie... we need to get to some serious peeing now PLEASE!!!
Sending hugs your way,
Jackie and Huck
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
WE HAVE PEEEE!!!! Yay! FINALLY about 1230 last night she got really whiny so we took her out & she went pee. Waiting on the
now but I'm not nearly as concerned about that.
She really made major improvements yesterday. She's returning to her sweet snuggle self. She's sitting with her head up... well... the half laying / half sitting thing, but her head is up & watching the world around her. She lets us know when she wants water & we bring it to her. She has actually tried to walk a few times yesterday / overnight which is a huge improvement. She still requires major support to walk so definitely can't do it on her own. And she can't get up by herself yet with her back leg all stiff and splinted and bandaged straight, but we can tell when she wants to so we scoop her up & help her stand. It's just so good to see her personality returning. She really had me rattled for quite a few days. It just felt like she had given up.
Oh... so I had the webmaster harness , but not the brush guard. And it really seemed to be uncomfortable & pinching so we were trying to help her with 2 slings. I ordered the brush guard and it arrived yesterday. What a big difference! Just in case anyone else is wondering. I'm guessing it would be more help for front amps than back. I do have one question for those that use them. Hers seems to slide up around her neck now that we're missing that extra front leg. I think also her having the big fat bandage around her chest isn't helping. Any fitting tips? She wore it prior to surgery with no fit issues, but well, now we're missing a leg.
Hugs and kisses to all your tripawds. I'm sooooo amazingly grateful for all your support. Wish you could see her now. She's relaxing in the yard watching the birds. Her sisters have been absolute angels. They're giving her logs of space & are being very gentle laying next to her.
Melinda
YAAAAAAAAAY FOR PEEEEEEEE!!!!!! 😃😃😃
So how long did she actually go without peeing? I was kind of surprised your Vet ,didn't have you come in yesterday, that is, if I counted the hours...or DAYS right.
Soooo thrilled you are able to recognize thise HUGE IMPROVEMENTS!! On this journey, every "little" improvement is truly a HUGE IMPROVEMENT!!😃😃
You are doing such a good job of caring for her AND for seeing she IS making progress ....slooooowly but surely😎
Ptjers can give you advice on the webmaster for front leg. I have that and I have the EZY CONVERT HARNESS for Frankie. They all seem to slip some with a front legher, but I found them to be the best, especially for one person to handle. There's another one that may help aince you are dealing with front leg and back leg and having to lift her. It's called the Help em Up Harness. It really does require one strong person though. And its quite a pain in the butt to put on. I know, not much of an endorsement! It is designed though for more balance liting if there are front AND back leg issues. It just wasn't easy to use.
Thanks for the update! She's getting there!
Extra hugs for you voth!❤
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 think we were close to 30 hours without pee. We talked to the vet & she explained that for them she was peeing & pooping in her kennel while she was laying down & she thought that she just didn't want to make a mess at home. She said if no pee by the morning, we should bring her in. One thing that eased my concern was that her belly didn't feel very full & I still couldn't find her bladder so I figured she wasn't too uncomfortable. She woke us up at about 11 & we took her out & nothing... she did the rag doll routine. Then at 1230, she woke us up again whining. Took her out & she stood & actually walked to the back of the yard (people in tow holding her up) and finally peed. Of course she hasn't since then ... but I'll take what I can get. I'm off work today. The ex & I are rotating so she always has someone home with her. We spent the last 3 hours laying outside in the yard in the shade. It's a beautiful morning. I was hoping being outside would "inspire" some more pee or , but no luck. At least we got a bit of a change in scenery. She seemed to enjoy sitting there & watching the birds. Now she's sound asleep in her bed.
I'll have to look at that help em up harness. I think the other complication (which I don't think I've mentioned) is that I have a severely frozen shoulder (ugh). I'm doing PT three times a week. So I'm basically a one arm-ed wonder myself. Sigh. So it's making trying to lift her & help her very difficult. When it rains, it pours, right? Hahaha. I kept telling people Sierra & I are a pair. It's my left shoulder & it was her right front leg.
When do you expect the results from Frankie's joint tap? They said it would be about a week for Sierra's.
What your Vet said about her not wanting to pee in the house, or laying down, makes sense . And many dogs hate doing their potty time with a human right next to them while holding them up with a harness .
I KNOW Sierra is enjoying her outside time with you and Nature! They enjoy sniffing all the scents as they float acoss the breeze while laying down. She sounds quite comfy and content. ...especially considering everything!
The poop will happen. The meds, the harness, the human right next to her....all those will make her delay her poop. But it WILL happen!! Try a teaspoon or two of NATURAL pumpkin puree.
Frankie's tap was Tuesday and, from what I understood (or very likeky misunderstood too), it depends on how fast the culture takes to grow so the right antibiotics can be used in relation to when the test results will be back. I may "possibly " have heard a week or so.....thst sounds "familiar". I've actually got a call into her on something else, and will see if I can get more jnfo.
You REALLY, REALLY are doing such a good job of caring for Sierra! I have no doubt your pawsitive energy is doing wonders for 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!
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