Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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How wonderful about Winston!
I will with all my heart that both Winston and Abby will be miracles! It is the season of miracles!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Reluctantly... I am updating this topic I started. I thought that if someone is searching on the HO term, they might see this and wonder what happened/how it all worked out.
To begin with, we never did try the biophosphonate (sp?) shot that I mentioned above as a treatment option. Abby was doing well on tramadol and gabapentin for the pain so we never really needed to try anything more "drastic". Our onc said it might not help anyway (as some dogs don't react to it) and it's expensive, so we never tried it. She really didn't seem to be in much pain (other than the initial weekend when we knew something new was wrong), although her agility went way downhill and she changed her gait a bit toward the end.
Also, the Masitinib didn't help.
In the end, it was not the HO that forced our hand to make her "appointment with heaven." It was the mets themselves. Even though she only had 3 of them, one was near her airways, so once it got bigger, she couldn't breathe well. So, we didn't get the 2 months that the onc said is the usual amount of time, post dx. We only got 6 weeks.
Because of the way things ended with Ab, I can't offer much in the way of insight on how the end would be/what signs to look for if the HO is getting to be unbearable, but.. I do have a friend (not on Tripawds) whose dog also had HO. I believe she got approximately two months post-Dx, maybe a bit more. The end came after several days of her pup not wanting to get up and move around at all. She said the dog seemed very calm, at peace, breathing normally and not in pain, but she just wouldn't get up for anything except to go to the bathroom. She spent several days with the dog in that state until one day her pup gave her The Look that let her know she wasn't going to rebound from that state and it was time. I don't know if that's what the "usual" HO end looks like, but thought I'd share her experience in case someone is looking for help on this topic.
Jackie, Angel Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
As hard as it is, this will be so helpful to someone in the future. Let's hope we never have to use it as a reference though.
Thank you Jackie.
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Thanks Jackie.
I know it was hard to start this thread, and at least as hard to update. Paying it forward is always a good and noble thing.
Karen
jackie - gracious and brave. thanks for this valuable information, it will definitely be a resource for folks in the future. thanks for paying it forward.
charon & spirit gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
Yes, thank you for sharing.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Also reluctantly, I think I am able to add to this thread.
Lucky has been having some slight limping issues on and off for a few weeks, which seem to have been getting a little bit worse and worse. Some days he'll be running around playing all day, and other days he'll not want to get up and move around much. The past couple of days have seen a definite turn for the worse, and although we have no official diagnosis (nor are we likely to drag him into the onc yet again to get one), I'm playing home vet and feel pretty confident that he has been dealt the HO card.
Like I said, he'll have better and worse days, but today was by far the worst and it's hard to imagine he'll be springing back to normal from this one. He's having a lot of trouble getting up at all, and his appetite was completely absent today. We've been giving him some tramadol since yesterday when he'll take it, but it doesn't seem to help his walking, maybe just his mood while he's laying down a bit. If he'll eat tomorrow, I'm going to try to give him some prednisone, since his stomach has never been able to handle NSAIDs like meloxicam (which I've read could potentially be helpful for HO... see http://emedicin.....-treatment or http://www.spri.....744p76217/ )
He'll keep his head up and wag his tail when we talk to him often, so at least it doesn't seem like he's really in pain when he's laying there. He's sleeping now, but I don't know if I'll be getting much sleep sitting here next to him worrying. Thank you so much Jackie for all the help you've been. We've looked to your blog and postings for help throughout this journey, and you always seem to have addressed the issues as they come up with us. Words can't express our gratitude.
I'm so sorry to hear this news about Lucky. You're in a tough position trying to keep him comfortable. I hope he has some better days. Sending positve thoughts your way.
Lucky, I'm so sorry. I hope that's not what it is and that you have many more good days than bad ones ahead of you.
We're glad you found this discussion topic helpful. Please consider starting another topic so your story doesn't get lost here. Also, before giving prednisone, please make sure you consult with your vet if you haven't already. It's pretty strong stuff.
{{{{hugs}}}}
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Oh, Lucky, I'm sorry to hear this news too.
I'm glad you found the blog helpful - just sorry you even needed it.
Are you noticing that his remaining legs look weird at all? If so, I would say it does sound like HO. I hope it's not. I hope you have some more good time with your boy.
Hang in there,
Jackie
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
Thank you Jackie and others for sharing. Our Daisy is 6 weeks shy of her 13th birthday and now 14 months post-amputation for OSA in her front left leg. She had 4 doses of carbo after and we religiously did chest X-rays every 3 months and her February 2nd rads were clear (who knows at this stage if they were truly clear). On April 19th she coughed up some phlegm with blood in it and after X-rays, CT scan and two opinions, it was determined that she had 3 mets in her lungs - 2 in her accessory lung lobe- which we were told was unusual (in addition to the unusual mets). We started Palladia but a week after treatment, we noticed (just like Abby's pawrents) that her wrist was swollen and her back feet looked 'bigger'. HO was confirmed on X-rays 
. She has been stiff for a while but we thought it was due to being a 12 yr old Tripawd that had also undergone 2 TPLOs over the years. We have now stopped Palladia due to GI issues and will do our best to keep her happy and comfortable as long as possible. The interesting thing for me is the similarity to some of the other cases - female, OSA, unusual mets, eye discharge. I will mention to our oncologists because it seems too coincidental.
A & D
Thanks to all who stayed strong and went throufh what I'm sure is emotional pain to revisit this invaluable I formation and pass it onto others.
Jackie. (I always love Angel Abbey a photo with the halo.......she's up there with her "angel clothes" on still touching lives by letting her presence be felt through you. Thanksyou for the courage and grace to post all this information.
Lucky and Daisy---you are also vvery generous by sharing your knowledge with us and we are all sending you support a d love. Tails wagging are STILL a great way to measure they still derive pleasure out of their day.
Take care, Sally and Happy Hannah
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!
Winston's mum - thank you for giving us hope. Daisy is on gabapentin and vet is willing to add tramadol but I will also talk to her about metacam. Our biggest challenge at this stage is getting her to eat. The Palladia she was on caused some GI issues so we're working to get her system back on track.
A&D
A&D I'm really sorry to hear about your diagnosis, but sincerely appreciate your adding to this topic. Until Abby became ill with HO we hadn't heard of it before. So thanks for including your story here as I know it will help others some day.
About the appetite, these Nutrition blog posts may help.
Many hugs coming your way.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Even though our precious Daisy got her wings yesterday, I wanted to let you know that she did get a pamidronate treatment on Monday and I do think it really helped with the pain as she ate a bunch of kibble that afternoon and was able to pee/poop without much support. The oncologist said that biophosphonates like pamidronate have very low risk so worth trying. Sadly I think she was in so much pain from the cancer (heart rate was elevated) that she just wanted to sleep yesterday so we chose to free her of her pain and say goodbye.
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