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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Hi everyone,
My big baby Jake, a 10yr old golden retriever, was just diagosed with an osteosarcoma after a pathological fracture of his right proximal humerus. Before the fracture, he was healthy, and full of life. Except for his white face, you would never know he was a senior! He's a big couch potatoe, loves to swim and play, and loves to get lots of hugs and kisses. We adopted him when he was 5yrs old and he's been a huge joy to our lives ever since! We also have another dog (his baby 'brother' and best buddy) Wolfie, a 4.5yr german shepherd, who is constantly at his side.
After alot of research and consulting with several vet friends, we decided to have his leg amputated this Thursday, Sept 17. We are very nervous about the surgery and recovery, but feel that it can give him some more good quality (pain-free) time, before the cancer eventually metastasizes.
I am so happy to have found this forum, athough I really wish I didn't have to… I have read several posts and blogs already, and it comforts me to know that there are so many of you out there that I can get support and information from. Also, seeing that several of your doggies have passed the predicted average survival times after amputation. It definitely gives me and my hubby some hope for Jake!
We've already purchased a sling for Jake from Foster and Smith, to help out before and after his amputation surgery, and will probably be purchasing the Ruffwear harness as well. I will be taking a week off from work to help nurse Jake right after his surgery.
Any advice you can give me on post surgery care and what I should expect and look out for would be much appreciated!!
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, Welcome aboard, I too am a relatively new member. My baby is 3 weeks post amputation. It sounds like you have a pretty good grip on things and have everything covered. I was a mess a few days before the surgery. The sling will come in handy and I just started using the ruffwear harness but it is definetely worth getting. I'm sure you have read all the posts but I would make sure you have surfaces covered if you have tile or hardwood floors so that he can get traction . I found that even just using the pad that you use under rugs works really well. If you can situate him close to the door to go outside it would be better, the first few days it was hard for her to get very far. I guess some have trouble with drainage from the incision, so get some old blankets. I didnt have any problems with this, but I did keep old tshirts on her at first to keep her from licking or anything. She never really bothered her incision and I didnt have to use the e collar, luckily. It seems to be the common concensus that the first 10 to 14 days are a little stressful, you go through alot of emotions because they seem so out of it and you wonder OMG did I do the right thing?, so be prepared, this is normal and yes it does get better. I'm sure things will come up as you go, if you are anything like me you will be asking for advice about anything and everything and luckily there are alot of kind people on here to answer and put your mind at ease. Jake is beautiful, look at that sweet face!
Good luck and keep us posted on how he is doing,
Karin and Zoe
Jake and family,
We are very sorry to hear of Jake's diagnosis and of the fracture which led to this discovery. You have definately come to an excellent source of experience, support, and information. Your request was very similar to the subject of a recent post. If you follow this link you will get some great information but Shanna & Trouble provided the best and most straight forward suggestion. When you pick up Jake after the surgury, expect a three legged dog. This sounds so simplistic but there is much more there than might appear. Prepare youself so that you can stay positive around Jake. He will feed off your feelings so if you stay postitive, it will help Jake remain positive. I also often say that you must remember to treat the spirit as well as the body. Find something that Jake loves and can continue to do as a TriPawd. Then exploit that love to provide purpose to Jake. For Cherry, it was our daily trips in the car/truck. One can see her excitement rise as the time draws near and thought we will complete our tenth month of recovery after the amputation, we still take these trips just to see the smiles on her face.
Cherry celebrated her eleventh birthday the day before the amputation and is presently doing great. Her chemotherapy started just hours after the amputation and provided us with our greatest challenges. You will do fine and so will Jake. He will astound you how quickly he will adapt and recover. Trust in your instincts and continue to read the postings.
Paws crossed and sending nothing but pawsitive thoughts your way,
Bob & Cherry
Welcome Jake, you sure have an adorable face!
It breaks our heart to hear about another vibrant, healthy pup diagnosed with bone cancer. Grrrr.... But it sounds like you have some pawrents who are loving, caring and ready to do whatever they can to help you make the most of life. Always remember, just because you got a cancer diagnosis, doesn't mean that you will follow all of the statistics. While all dogs are different in how they respond to amputation, treatments, etc., many of us do outlive the standard prognisis. I lived almost two full years! Woo hoo! Remember; statistics are just numbers; 9 out of 10 are wrong! 
For more information about coping with amputation and cancer we like to tell pawrents to start reading here:
If there are any questions we haven't answered there, please let us know OK? We are here to help.
Where are you getting your surgery done?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I think we all agree with you We are glad to have found this web site but wish we didn't need it! Recovery is different with every dog so it is hard to know what to expect. The ifrst two weeks will be hard. Emily had a easy recovery but she is rear leg amputation and I think that makes a difference. Our surgeon also said that dogs that are people pleasers do better after surgery than couch potatoes. Sorry to tell you that but it is better to forewarned. Hopefully after Thursday you can say that I didn't know what I was talking about! Jake will be in my thoughts and prayers. It is scary but you are doing the right thing.
Also, I saw that you posted about Boinks. That was very sad and Boinks won a place in everyone's hearts quicky. Please know that although it can happen that way, it usually doesn't. You have every right to expect Jake to recover nicely and enjoy his remaining time with you.
Are you doing chemo?
Good luck and keep us posted.
Debra & Emily
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.
Jake and family,
Wanted to say that it sounds like you are definitely doing your homework on this one. I pulled up the information regarding the sling from Foster and Smith. It is nearly identical to the one that was given to us by our surgeon. It came in very handy at first, but they also told me to stop using it when the staples came out. By that time the surgeon felt and could see that Cherry was ready to go it without the help. I just had to make sure that she went slowly and did not try to hurry too much. The RuffWear harness came much later but has also proven to be a great help while we travel in our 5th wheel trailer.
There are some movies in the “Hopping Around” forum which can be accessed via Movies. Also, I have some photos of Cherry starting from the weekend just before surgery and include just home from surgery, just after staple removal (showing incision), photos taken during her second chemotherapy, and other photos during her ten months of recovery. These can be accessed via Photos.
We will be thinking of you on the 17th.
Bob & Cherry
Ahh, the sweet white face of an old goldie… McGwire is an 8 yo Golden, whose left front leg was amputated almost 2 months ago now. He is doing GREAT! He is slower to move in general and tends to be even lazier than he was before, but I'll take that any day over how miserable he was before he had the amputation. 2 days post-op he climbed a full set of steep stairs by himself. 3 days after surgery, he went down back deck stairs by himself. He's been doing great for the most part ever since! We aren't doing chemo because of his immune system issues, but as of 2 weeks ago (6 weeks from initial lung x-rays) he was met free.
We never used a sling, even though I was sure we would need it. I've heard it's harder for rear leg amputees, but as a front legger, Mac didn't need any help getting up and down. We use the Ruff Wear harness now that his stitches are out and that is really helpful, especially when he decides to be stubborn, which seems to be another side effect for him, that and the feeling that he can do things (like sleeping on a couch) that he couldn't do before. Our vet left a drain in the incision area for about a week and that was by far the worst thing about the whole surgery because it drained a lot! We had to close him into our downstairs office which was the only place downstairs that we could close off and cover with quilts and moving blankets to absorb the leaking. It was gross, but he never had any seromas-not sure that it's related. He hated being left in there by himself, and I hated having him in there. The only good thing about that was it really allowed him to heal without having the kids (2 and 4 yo boys) and the other dog from hurting him accidentally. I was also a little surprised by just how much he slowed down. He has never been a very active dog-not even as a puppy, but now he's pretty much a complete couch potato who does little else but sleep on the driveway, couch, or in the middle of the floor. He's still Mac, just a lazier version of himself!
For me, the wait before the amputation was the worst! I just needed it to be over so that we could move on and know more what we were dealing with. Once it was over, I felt like we could breathe. I'd definitely recommend getting a lot of pictures and other things now while he's got 4 legs-it's amazing how quickly you forget how he stood when he has 3 legs! Take him out to ice cream (or whatever your special treat is). Enjoy him! You'll be able to do that again very soon after the surgery, but it might take you a few weeks to get used to it all.
We'll be thinking of you all, especially on Thursday!!!
Hi Everyone,
Tomorrow is Jake's surgery, and I'm really starting to get anxious. We're going to prepare the house tonight and put his bed and comforters in different rooms of the house, so we don't have to keep picking up his bed and moving it each time he tries to get up to follow us.
I ordered a sling (right now we're using a belt) to help him get around, but when I checked the shipping info, it won't get to us until Monday! He's really having difficulty getting around, and I'm really hoping its just due to the pain of his fracture, and that it will be alot easier once that painful leg is removed. But what if it isn't?
Also, we have wood and ceramic flooring in most of the house (but all the bedrooms have carpet). Have any of you tried using any of the dog 'booties' that you see in the pet stores? Maybe we can get some and add some rubber soles so he won't slide?
Any other advice you can give me to help prepare, and to make his first week post-op as easy as possible... would be much appreciated!
Well, that's it for now. I have a feeling that I'm going to be posting quite a bit here, in the next few weeks. I'm so glad to have found you all!!
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 Jake's family,
I am sorry you are having a lot of worries right now. That is totally understandable. I asked the clinic if they had a sling I could borrow (a friend at another clinic was going to loan me one). To my surprise, the clinic actually had one with the clinic's name on it and they gave it to me (good advertising I assume) it was a pricey specialist clinic so they probably have such things available. It is a nice terry cloth sling with handles on each side. I still take it along on walks, just in case something happens and I need it. It is also great for "convincing" Tazzie to move in a direction he does not want to move (e.g., over to the hose so I can rinse the stinky river water off).
Anyway, you can ask the clinic and they'll probably at least have one you can borrow. A towel can otherwise work just fine.
Some people use booties. I put matts down, although Tazzie does pretty well on most hard surfaces. His 4-legged self used to find those booties awkward indoors - we would put them on before going out in -30 weather - so I did not want to use them now. But lots of people are happy with them and will tell you about them.
Tazzie did not climb up on soft fluffy beds after surgery, but preferred things that were firm and closer to the ground, like a dog bed made of 2" foam. I would think it would be hard to get in and out of a big fluffy bed after the operation (again it sounds like some tripawds do).
As for Jake's not moving, that is an important question and you might want to discuss it with your vet. Is he holding up his "bad" leg and hopping? I bet that could really hurt. It sounds like he wants to hop around but just has trouble - is that right? Just make sure the problem is related to the bad leg and that nothing else is going on.
Best wishes for tomorrow,
Susan and Tazzie
We hope that Jake's surgery goes well. Toby, out Golden, is almost 3 weeks post (hind amputation) and is really starting to get the hang of getting around. We definitely used a lot of old blankets, sheets and towels to protect our rug downstairs. I also found that getting the wee wee pads was also very helpful. We would put them under a sheet and sometimes stick one under him to catch all of the drainage (he drained a lot). Then you can just toss the pad.
We also have a lot of hard wood and tile. He is learning to walk on it pretty good now. Getting up from it is the hard part. We toyed around with the idea of getting a cheap area rug to put down on his path to outside, but never did. We just used a sling a bunch at the beginning.
As for slings, we purchased one at PetSmart that has straps that snap cross the back and it also had a removable strap that goes across the chest. This sling had really worked for us and sometime we just kept it on him. It might be different for a front amputation. I also took advice from the website and used a lightweight canvass bag that I had gotten from a beach rental agency. I just cut down the sides of it and it made a decent sling, especially when it took two to get him moving the first few days.
Toby rested a lot the first couple weeks which the vets kept assuring me is a good thing. Our only problems was getting a bacterial infection in the surgical site. But know that we are on a really good antibiotic, we are on the upswing of that problem. Besides that he is starting to act like himself again.
We will be thinking of you.
Will be praying for Jake and for you tomorrow. If Jake is hardly moving now I bet he will do better after surgery than he is now. Jake has the pain from the cancer and from a fracture. Keep us informed.
Debra & Emily
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.
Could you contact Foster smith (I think that's who you ordered from, right?) and see if they could expedite the shipping or cancel that order and place another with quick shipping. We've always had good luck with that pet place, probably because they are in PA and we are in VA but I don't know if they have anything like that.
As for the beginning, just give him and yourself plenty of patience. If he's staying overnight at the vet, go out that night. Go to the movies, play golf, whatever it takes to get out of the all-too-quiet house. Get a few good movies. Plan on ordering food in for the first few days he's home. Buy your favorite bottle of wine if you are so inclined. Before Mac's surgery, I went to a local chocolatier and bought 15 strawberry truffles that could be doled out as needed when I was having a particularly rough time. It sounds silly, but those 2 minutes of enjoying that truffle made a big difference in my overall sanity. (And for what it's worth, I still have about 10 left!) Be open and flexible. You might need to sleep on the floor with him, or you might not. He might be in a lot of pain or he might be wired from the meds. Just be flexible.
McGwire is a front amputee and doesn't have problems going on our wood floors. Initially he did slip a little, but it wasn't bad enough to try the booties. He has some and hates them so I didn't want to bring them out. You could tell that it took a little bit more for him to get up off of the wood floor or to start moving on it, but he quickly got used to it. To help, definitely cut the fur between his pads, preferably before surgery! If you find it helps, direct him to his bed to lie down when you are in a room with tile or wood, pet him and settle him there, then go about your business. Mac doesn't follow me as much as he used to and I think a lot of that is because of the effort it takes to get up and move. He'll stay in the (carpeted) family room and monitor from there. If we are gone too long, then he'll come find us. 
Good luck tomorrow! We'll be thinking about you!
We just brought Jake home about 2 hours ago... Even though I thought I was so prepared after reading everyone's posts for the past week... my heart just sank when I saw him in recovery... with his compression bandage... and missing his leg. His chest looked so small. The vet and his techs put him on a stretcher (he was still too dopey to walk) and helped put him into the SUV. I'm a certified vet tech, though I no longer work in that field, and the vet felt comfortable sending Jake home with us tonite. When I arrived at our house, my husband came out to bring him in. He burst into tears when he saw him... OMG! What have we done?!! That is also what so many others have said, but when we saw it for ourselves...
So, my husband carried him into the house, and laid him on his bed and pillows. Then we let our other dog, Wolfie, out... and he ran to him and started smelling and licking him all over. He missed him so much! About 10 minutes ago, Jake tried to move a bit, and started to cry... He's asleep again... but it's killing us. We don't want to see him in pain... but we know it will take several days for him to feel better after the surgery... It is heartbreaking... but we keep remembering all the videos of the other Tripawd members, showing their dogs walking/hopping around just days after their surgery. We hope and pray that Jake does as well as they did!
We had ordered a sling for Jake from Foster and Smith a few days ago. The delivery confirmation said it was coming Saturday or Monday, but it was at our doorstep tonite. That was good news. I am off work tomorrow, but my husband has to go in. I hope that I am able to take him out to do his peeps and poops on my own.
So now the first horrible part of his journey (surgery) is over... and he survived that. Now it's time for the recovery period. I'll keep you all updated on Jake's progress...
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!
That's really good to hear that he made it through, yeay!
We know it's hard not to feel guilty or that you made the wrong decision. Seeing our pups in bandages and with horrible looking stitches (brace yourself, it's not pretty), makes us feel like we did the wrong thing by deciding to amputate. But please don't beat yourself up; no matter what happens from here on out, you can take comfort in knowing that you gave Jake a fighting chance. Once he is done healing and back to himself again, this traumatic day will be a thing of the past.
What a fortunate boy to have a Mom as a former vet tech! No worries there, you know how to handle things from here. Now, just find the strength within you to stay pawsitive, and focus on the big picture; a happy Jake, running and playing and loving life again.
If you need anything, just ask. Oh, and don't worry if he doesn't go potty right away (everyone does). He'll go when he is ready.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
OK, you know that bottle of wine I mentioned... Open it now! Drink a glass while you read those positive stories about tripawds, while you watch those positive videos of dogs just a few more days farther on than Jake.
McGwire was at the vet's overnight and the vet tech who was there said it was pretty bad. When we got him the next day, about 24 hours post-op, he was like a different dog! He walked out to meet me. The next morning he walked up 17 very steep steps before we even woke up. The following day, 3 days post op he snuck down out the dog door and down our deck stairs.
Even if Jake doesn't recover that quickly, you will quickly see how much happier he is for it. His leg was broken! What could you do? Leave him with a broken leg? Of course not! Put him down unnecessarily? Of course not!
I'm sure tonight will be really hard, but keep the faith so to speak. Take each day/hour/minute as it comes and look positively forward. He'll improve dramatically. I'm glad your sling came in, I'm sure it'll come in handy tomorrow. Give your self patience tomorrow and let it come as it is. Remember what a major surgery it is and know that he'll have some setbacks, you'll get through them together, but don't be surprised if he doesn't eat well, has accidents, won't poo, etc. It'll happen and you'll look back on it and smile, or even better, you'll forget about some of it.
((BIG HUGS)) to you!
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