Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Boy, this is deja vu. When Raven first went to the ER and we discovered his mass in his liver, it happened to coincide with a trip I was going to take to OR, a 9 hour drive and overnight stay. That was called off. It is to take my mustang to a horse trainer up there and I've been on her waiting list since I adopted him last April. Thankfully, she understood and I said I would probably make it in a week or two, because he'd surely be gone by then. 🙁 Well, 5 weeks later and he still is doing well for the most part. So tomorrow, I can't put her off any longer, I'm paying her a lot to come down and meet me half way so that I can drive a 9 hour Round Trip and be home at night. Raven still isn't up to traveling all day. Even if he acted like it, it sets him back. So, he is staying home with friends checking on him, I will be stressed all day... Boy, they DO teach us to live one day to the next and be flexible, huh?
Sorry to stray from your question. I just admire your willingness to put Max first and change your vacation plan. It still sounds like a lot of fun. 🙂 I live in the Sierra foothills. Only about 15 minutes from sea level at the valley, and I can tell you that 4600' shouldn't effect him as far as oxygen as long as he is not overexerting himself. The air is a bit thinner, but not too bad like more above 6000'. But, I have heard that the body actually does fine with thinner air for the first 48-72 hours, but after the 3rd or 4th day, it starts feeling an oxygen depletion and starts having to adapt. Then in the 2nd week, your body will have adapted and now 4600' will be it's new "normal" for oxygen gleaning. In other words, prior to 3 days and after 2 weeks are the best. And no anaerobic exercise would be advised I should think.
I don't know if there are complications with drugs or other factors, but this is just what I have been told as to what the lungs have to do at higher elevations. I hope you take lots of pics and share them with us!
Dawn and Raven
Rottie Raven, osteosarcoma at 8-1/2 years old, amputation in October '09 and in February '10 due to liver mets he went back to heaven where he came from. raven.tripawds.com
Now I have Miles, rottie mix amputee from a shelter and traveled 1500 miles to find his way here through the Rescue Railroad thanks to tripawds.com. miles.tripawds.com
I am relieved this morning to read the posts and catch up on Max's progress. It is normal to let these setbacks scare the pejebbers out of you. We've had a scare or two, but not as critical as the one you described. As Dawn explains, we must learn to live day by day on dog terms. They will just keep pushing on as long as they are able. We must have the strength to love them, encourage then, and let them do it their way.
You are aweome pawrents, and have helped Max make it this far, which truly is a blessing. Many don't make it as far as we have, we are so blessed to have had so much quality time given to us - 13 months is awesome! I love that you are planning your vacation around Max. We do much the same thing. We traveled a lot and boarded Trouble before her illness, now we stay home or take her with us - a small sacrifice for time we get to spend with her.
Good thoughts for you and healing thoughts for Max.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
maxidad said:
Is the elevation a potential problem?
The short answer - Yes. Dawn is right in her assessment of the differences in elevation. My sister, the real doctor in the family (MD) told me before our last trip to Yellowstone that a history of chemotherapy can have adverse effects on Cherry's ability to handle elevations. Her conclusion was based upon her experience with humans, and her own son who we lost from cancer. We stayed at an RV Park in West Yellowstone - elevation 6350ft, and I actually took Cherry to the Upper Geyser Basin twice during the 24 day stay - elevation 7350ft. At no time could we see any adverse effect from the altitude. This was in June and a totally unknown status of her lungs, but few are aware of how the chemotherapy can effect their response to altitude. Emphasis on the can.
If it were Cherry, we would be going for it. Her love for adventure and the elevation that such a trip would give her spirit whould be worth gold. With your heightened awareness, you should be able to react if anything does happen. When Cherry saw her snow in Yellowstone, she gave a total non-reaction. It was a "nice stuff but where are we going today for adventure!".
Spirit Cherry's Dad
Great to hear that Max is feeling better, phew. You sure have a great fleet of oncologists waiting on you paw and tail, Max.
Great insight and advice, Raven. We are a bit jealous of you but also very happy. Given Tazzie's issues were more pain-related (as probably also applies to most dogs with spinal or bone mets) and involved exponential growth of the blasted lump, we did not have the same prognosis of being able to control pain to have good and bad days.
Why don't you keep Carmel open as an option? If this is related to post-chemo issues, he may be in really good form by then. It is hard to say at this point. Try to 'take it one day at a time' - hmm, I think I have heard that before 
. And can't you bring along a cooler of good meat for the pup? I had some expensive organic roast leftover from chemo that I took on Tazzie's last trip. Just cooked it before we left and kept it in a cooler (given our outdoor temps, I suppose I did not really need the cooler). He enjoyed that for his birthday, and even had a meal of it on his last morning.
As reminder, Yoda had no appetite in the morning but was hungry in the afternoon when he lost his appetite due to cancer (there was a whole thread on that topic). But I think the same thing applies for other dogs. Tazzie was always hungrier later in the day when he lost his appetite due to chemo or low blood counts.
John, you never need to apologise for posting here. Anytime anything about Max is on your mind, come here and share it with us, that's what we are here for.
My Dad already pointed out my own experience with mets and the see-saw of every day. As your own vet say, all dogs are different, and nobody can predict that we will all be affected by the same symptoms. That's why as Raven's Mom said, all anyone can do is take every setback as a temporary setback and go from there. I know you and Diane can do it.
It's a bummer that you won't make it to Northern CA, but we all understand. My own Mom lived with a certain amount of guilt knowing that when I was on my road trip, there were times that I was far away from medical help.
Today, that memory brings so much happiness to our hearts. It was one of the most spectacular days on our road trip. We will never forget it.
Keep us posted. We are all cherring Max on!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Somehow I have missed this thread! I have been terribly busy…blah, blah, blah…excuses excuses. Maxidad, I am so happy you decided to post too! I often tell my husband when he has burning questions about tripawds that he just needs to get on here. Last tripawd meeting we had he did mention feeling a little jealous that everyone knew more than he did about the community and he was going to get on here, however….I digress.
I don't think it's a sign of impending doom, the fevers. But then again, a diagnosis of cancer is a sign of impending doom sometimes…isn't it? Caira Sue has had fevers on and off since Christmas. She is on antbx. She has had every blood test known to man and beast done on her and to her. They can't find a reason for it. They say if it was the cancer or bacterial than the fever would stay up. She gets fever spikes, so their best guess was viral. Still, she's on antbx. I just make sure she gets lots of fluids when the fevers hit (mixing tuna water with 3-4 cups water gets her to drink it all), and cover her when she shivers. When the fever goes away she's all happy and bouncing around. Not 100%, no, but much much better. We only needed to get SQ fluids once for a fever that was over 104.
I dont' want to say this like it's a miracle cure, but Susan's Tazzie (Tazzies Susan?) sent me some power mushrooms to try. It's been 4 days of taking them and now there's no fever. Today was a very good day. She did well on our road trip.
I wrote Di a long PM earlier about why I thought it was important, even when our animals are sick to meet with other tripawd people. If you would like, I can PM it to you as well. It was very important to me. In the end, I really believe that our day out (less than 48 hours after being at the ER with Caira coughing blood) was what helped her spirit soar again. We don't know enough to say any of us are experts in animal behavior, but I do know that when Caira is down, she needs to be out in the air and seeing other dogs. I've watched another tripawd, Cemil, get YOUNGER since he's been going out on tripawd trips.
In answer to your elevation question-it looks like it's been answered. What I have noticed with Caira is that when it's really damp and cold she can not go as far. It's just too much to put on those lungs. The vet did say that cold and wet is harder to breathe through with mets. Makes sense. I keep my father-in-law out of the same weather due to COPD. You just need every bit of your lung capacity and the cold and damp takes what reserve you have, away.
You may find that Max turns around after you've given the antbx time to work. I really hope so. I fell in love with him when I saw the hot dog picture and now I cannot stop sending him thoughts of strength. He's referred to in our house as "the hot dog, dog" due to the picture. My father-in-law lives with us and keeps up on some of these stories too. He loves to look at the pictures with me.
I suppose I've digressed again. I hope you have a great time off with Max. Remember to keep positive around him as he looks to you for clues. I would love to meet you guys, but understand if you cannot take a long trip. We have to do what's best for our buddies.
Keep us posted! And you keep posting as well as Di! You will find a great amount of support from these tripawd people.
Mary and Caira Sue (and when he gets around to it, Adam)
May 2001-Jan 21, 2010.....I'm a dog and I'm AWESOME!..... Always.
Glad to finally hear from Fruitbat – I was getting worried for her! She is such a drama queen, likes to scare us.
I don't mean to belabor an issue, but you might want to try a few power mushrooms (maybe fruitbat can loan you a one week supply). I have no idea if it will help the fever issue, but I think it might help to give Max a nice burst of energy to help him enjoy life to the fullest. That is, if he is no longer on chemo or other such things.
Tazzie's Susan (you got that one right, fruitbat)
p.s. I will say no more about mushrooms to you, mum's the word, mum
Seems like all our thoughts are going in the same direction, and Di and I have been giving this some serious consideration over the last few days. Max has done a complete reversal, and was acting completely insane with energy Saturday and Sunday. We took him to a local school playground yesterday, and by the end of our time there Di was more worn out than he was from chasing our three-legged speed demon all over the schoolyard and trying to keep him from shoving his head under every storage shed in search of bunnies (like he’d even know what to do if he actually caught one). He’s still being a picky eater, but he inhaled massive amounts of turkey yesterday. We talked to the vet today about his eating issues, and we’re going to put him on doggy multi-vitamins to make up for whatever deficiencies might be caused by his limited diet.
But more importantly, we’ve re-thought our travel plans. The hell with it – we’re going to Carmel and Mill Valley for the Tripawd party! We’ll take as many precautions as we can – we’re not going to let him run around insanely all day, even if he thinks he can. We’ll keep him from over-exerting himself. Di called the Cypress Inn in Carmel, and since they’re in the dead season for tourism, they upgraded us to a two-room suite with a small refrigerator (so we can take his preferred pre-cooked meats now). It’s a two-room suite, much better than anything we’ve stayed in there before, and since it’s half off, we’re getting it at an even lower rate than the room we were going to cancel. In short, it seems like things are lining up to convince us that this can work.
And it also comes down to a simple choice on how he’s going to live whatever time he has left. We can’t just sit around the house keeping Max shut in for his own good. Our concerns are still there, of course. Yes, something could go wrong on the way up or while we’re there, yes, it’s a lot of driving, and yes, we’ll be far from home and our vet. Di and I have been rehashing that endlessly for the last few days, trying to convince ourselves that we made the right choice by cancelling a holiday we spent so much time anticipating. But today we realized we were wrong. We can sit and worry about “what-ifs” until we drive ourselves crazy, or we can take a reasonable chance that things will be OK and give ourselves and our dogs a holiday to remember. If Jerry was running around and exploring a mere month before the end, why can’t Max? Life is too short to let ourselves get paralyzed by maybes. And this feels right. I know there’s only one way Max’s journey with cancer can end, and eventually we’ll lose him. But not now. Not yet.
This week, we’re going to win.
Awwww you guys, this was so beautiful to read. Go, Max!!!
I know that you have looked into Max's eyes and are doing what feels right in your hearts. Dog forbid, if any vet assistance is needed, there are a whole bunch of Tripawd pawrents who are there to help. The similarities between how my behavior was at this point in the illness, and Max's behavior, are striking. Some days were low energy, other days I wanted to chase every small animal I saw. How can anyone predict what the next day will be like? Simply put, we can't. Just living each day to the fullest is all we can do to live life with gusto.
We wish we could be there, but we send all of our happy thoughts for a wonderful time. We know it will be magical.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
maxidad said:
And it also comes down to a simple choice on how he’s going to live whatever time he has left. We can’t just sit around the house keeping Max shut in for his own good.
This week, we’re going to win.
Diane, John, and Max,
Words cannot express the joy we feel at this decision. I did not want to interfere because we know that you will have Max's interest first and foremost and that what ever decision you made would have been the best for Max. However, having faced the same conditions, I chose to let Cherry enjoy the things that put the quality back into her life. We were not about to house sit Cherry for the sole purpose of extending a day or two at a cost of her smile. Unlike you, we knew that Cherry's time was at an end - a condition that we will not accept when it comes to Max.
Now for a more practical input, when we left for our month long Yellowstone trip in June, our local vet prepared a kit of medicines that we might need. Such things as, anti-diarrhea, appetite stimulants, Rymadyl, and other items that she new might be required. In all, there were seven different drugs that we had in this kit. These were never needed but I really appreciated having them with us in the trailer.
We are celebrating such a great rebound from Max. We experienced many of the cycles with Cherry, but like you, we never surrended.
Smiles abound,
Spirit Cherry's Dad (Bob)
Sorry to join the discussion late. I was out of town and could read posts on my husbands iphone but could not reply. I don't know why. Anyway, Maximut has been in my prayers and I am so very glad to hear he is doing better. I'm glad your going to go ahead with your trip. Have fun and hug your boy for me.
Oh, by the way, there is no such thing as a premature post. You are feeling it so it is valid.
Debra
Debra & Emily, a five year old doberman mix, who was diagnosed with an osteosaecoma. She had a right rear leg amputation on May 19, 2009. On November 10, 2009 she earned her wings and regained her fourth leg.
Well I am so glad to hear that Maximutt has been feeling better, and that you've decided to go ahead with the trip. Just make sure your vet gives you any meds that you might need in case of emergency... and also make sure not to wear him our during the tripawds playtime... Be sure to bring your camera and take tons of pictures... We took alot of pictures of Jake after his diagnosis and surgery... and are so grateful that we did... Now I have such beautiful memories to remember him by for years to come! Another good idea (at least to make you feel better) would be to check up on a few vets that are in that area... just in case you will need their assistance. Better to be prepared.
Hope that you and Maximutt have a wonderful time!!! You know, life is short for all of us... especially for our furbabies... so enjoy to the fullest!!!
Angel Jake's Mom
Jake, 10yr old golden retriever (fractured his front right leg on 9/1, bone biopsy revealed osteosarcoma on 9/10, amputation on 9/17) and his family Marguerite, Jacques and Wolfie, 5yr old german shepherd and the newest addition to the family, Nala, a 7mth old Bengal mix kittie. Jake lost his battle on 11/9/2009, almost 8 weeks after his surgery. We will never forget our sweet golden angel… http://jakesjou.....ipawds.com ….. CANCER SUCKS!
Hi everyone! Yes, we are very excited at our new "old" decision to go to Carmel and meet all of Max's Tripawd friends on January 9. We think it's the right thing to do, both for Max and for us. Plus, we have to see this Mill Valley Dog Park that seems to be a Tripawd's preferred park to go to! Mary and Bob, we hope both of you can make it; we'd love to meet you. Okay, everyone keep your paws crossed that all the stars will align, everyone will be in good health, no car problems, and great weather for January 9! See you all then!!
Di
Personally, I bet that Max will come into his own now that this chemo thingy is behind him. He will get his mojo back and be SUPERMAX again! It takes quite some time to fully recover from that chemo thing. That is when Tazzie became his best and remained that way for quite some time. I know the cards might not unfold that way. You never know. But that is what Tazzie is telling me.
Enjoy Yourselves. Wish we were there!
Oh man, where have I been? Well, maybe it was a good thing since some of the symptoms I could relate to with Yoda sound like they have passed for Max - yay! The not wanting to eat in the morning is continuing? Yoda had that towards his end, (but that doesn't mean Max is close, especially if he's perking up in other ways) and his oncologist told me at the time that it wasn't uncommon for dog with cancer to lose their appetite at a particular time of day, but to have it at other times. Yoda was usually willing to eat between 4 pm and 11 pm (maybe later, but I went to bed by then). It should be noted that Yoda did catch his rabbit after this appetite change occurred, so keep helping Max to live it up! But you didn't need me to give that advice 
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
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