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.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
Hey - it really sounds like things are OK over there with Ty. Sure, he's not 100%. He never really got the chance to improve after his amp. His amp + MRSA is a hard HARD battle. He may feel like crap for a while before he returns. Set some baselines and keep note of when it drops. Not eating much a day here and there sounds OK to me. Not eating anything for days in a row and not drinking either is different. He's moving around on his own? He's resting? He is eating. He doesn't smell like rotten flesh anymore. He's tolerating his drugs OK. These are good!
For those that haven't seen him for a while and then see him in this state, I can understand how it'd seem like you're being "cruel" or extending his life for your sake. But they don't see the FIGHT! We all here know that FIGHT. We know it well! trust your gut. You and Ty are locked into this together and you'll fight it together. Some days may be a few steps behind but other days will be bounds ahead. There was a time where you didn't see sparkle. You've seen some! There were days when you wished he'd pick up a shoe. He did that recently! There were days you had to move him. He moved on his own!!!
As for pain, that's tough. I'd say from our experience with osteosarcoma, once the amp recovery is over, there's no pain. In Ty's case, he may still have pain from ALL his surgeries. In other dog's cases, their arthritis, etc gives them pain....but that's still not the cancer. Does this neoplas. syndrome carry some element of pain?
As you know from his other pain meds, Ty doesn't handle all meds well. Until he heals more, he may simply be zonked and not feeling too well. That's the unfortunate reality. Sometimes we have to give our pups something to ease a major symptom or disease that doesn't sit well with them in the short term. Keep that in mind! Ty's LIFE SAVING drugs may be keeping him from being HIM.
Day by day. Moment by moment. Set some critical benchmarks. Come here and report and vent! We're here! We UNDERSTAND! We're cheering YOU on. We're cheering Ty on! We know you guys can do this. You can!!!
~ Katy & Jackson
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
Good morning
I agree with all that Amy has to say...one day at a time....Ty does seem to be getting better...and he is still "invested" into his recovery....including his midnight snacks.
We are all here for you.....many hug
Surrounding you and Ty with prayers and pawsitive thought
Linda and Tucker
Geez, I meant to mention this before we "unstuck" you yesterday! Geez, I hate to even bring this up now, but I do think it will help ease your mind.. So I'll mention it and then let's move on, okay? Okay!!
As far as whenover the time comes for any of "us" to crossover...obviously, if we could all pass peacefully in our sleep...great! One thing we CAN do is..at anytime in the lives of or dogs and cats, is have a "tentative" plan for a vet to come to our home when the time comes...especialyif a dog or cat hates going to the vet.
Sooo, this is something we can all sorta' "plan" (as best one can) way ahead and not jave to think about it anymore. I would CERTAINLY think any number of vets younhave worked with would consider doing that! Soyou can get that out of your mind now and focus on enjoying being with your Ty and celelbrating the fact that he IS home and IS showing signs of improvement!!!
Check in when you can! I think it goes without saying.....WE ARE ALL HERE FOR YOU!!!!!
((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))
Saly 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!
Thank you all!!! Sometimes I need to be refocused. My husband was very adamant this morning in that he is NOT going to go PTS because Ty as my husband says is not in pain. He was like so what is he does not follow you around, he isn't is pain so I am not doing anything. I needed to hear that from him. I caught him reading my posts last night so maybe that gave him some insight as to how I was feeling. Anyhow, the eating problem yesterday...I tried mixing regular canned (organic, grain free
) food into the batch I made. That plus oatmeal instead of rice. As soon as I made scrambled eggs....
you guessed it. I made a new batch, fed the others to my other dogs, they, especially Lucy, will eat anything. I was a mess last night. I gave him his antibiotic shot and it must have burned or something. He howled. Just till it was done.
I felt sooo bad. Today he has had a nice soft brushing( he is blowing his coat), massage and lots of food. yes, we were up eating at 3 AM. 2 more shots and then hopefully culture will let us know what is going on. I will only do temp once a day unless vet directs me otherwise. I am trying as much as I can not to do to him what I would not want done to me. That is why I got rid of the pill plunger. Such a relief to just be down to Pepcid, Carafate Pred. and the occasional pain pill. Getting towards our new normal!
TY GUY, Best Black Lab ever! Diagnosed and had amp in January, 2014. Kicked MRSA's butt. Earned his angel wings on April 16, 2014. Run Free my boy and don't forget a shoe. Ty is a proud member of the " April Angels". Ty sent us Daryl, a Tripawd rescue in Sept. of 2016. Daryl is 5 +or -. We are also Pawrents to Chandler, a Border Collie mix who is 15 and 1/2, Lucy, a Corgi who is 7, 2 minis, 2 horses, and a feisty cat named Zoe. Zoe had a non skeletal Osteosarcoma removed in July 2015. No Chemo, she was at least 16. She is going strong although she is now completely blind. She is now close to 20 and her hobbies are eating and sleeping in front of her personal heater.
YAY for eating eggs!!!! That is a very good sign.
And I don't have much to add except I would be the exact same way. You're a great mom, Lori! And Ty knows it!!! We ALL do.
Lots of love and hugs!
Alison & Shelby
Shelby Lynne; Jack Russell/Shiba Inu mix. Proud member of the April Angels of 2014.
October 15, 2000 to April 8, 2014
Our story: Broke rear leg in June 2013 - non-conclusive results for cancer so leg was plated and pinned. Enlarged spleen in September 2013 and had it removed and was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma and started chemotherapy. Became a Tripawd January 8th, 2014 and definitive Hemangiosarcoma diagnosis. Three major surgeries in 7 months and Shelby took them all like a champ only to lose her battle to cancer in her brain. We had 8 amazing extra months together and no regrets. #shelbystrong #loveofmylife
This report is Sooo much more upbeat! Ty's thread is the first one I check whenever I come onto the forums....then Hannah. Right now both of these are looking good. We will keep you steadied here. So glad your hubby told you what he did. Garry had to do the same with me the last time Murphy's hip dislocated. Look what a difference that made.
Kathi and Murphy
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
BEAMING OVER HERE!!! B E A M I N G
And not onl huge hugs to you...but huge hugs to hubby!! YES!! You heard EXACTLY what you needed to from him! And I thinkyou alreadyknow this......everyone here agrees with HUBBY!!
Just sooo happy Ty is hanging in and so are you!! BRAVO!!
And trust me, we ALL need help in redirecting our focus sometimes!! I kow I sure do!! I'm just glad you know where to come when you need the "fix"!
Ty has two of the best nurses in the world...yo and Miss Lucy!!!
Love and hugs!!
Sall 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!
Yay, even better news on Ty. I know it's not all roses yet, but getting there. You must be beat, so don't forget to take care of you. Maybe a nice hot bath?
Keep hanging in there,
Karma, Adelaide and the crew, and our forever angel Brendol
Adelaide is a young tripawd Husky, from an injury. Her amp was on 10/1/12. She has 4 sisters, Aissa (a senior border collie/chow), Maggie May (a puppy Great Pyrenees), Mathilde and Morrigan and 1 baby brother, Bagheera. We are all watched over by our angel Brendol, who was dx with OSA 1/30/13, amp on 2/6/13, and left us on 8/20/13.
You can read their stories at http://adelaide.tripawds.com and http://brendol.tripawds.com
I wish you could see Bud then and see him now....
Bud was 7yrs and now he is 10yrs , it took quite awhile to get him well and fully healed but really he can do now what he did before!
Ty will get there!
We heard those "it's just a dog" comments but my response was.... no this is our family member, if grandma got her leg amputated and MRSA would you invest in her recovery or "just put her down" Some of them probably would have but it did shock them enough to shut them up!
Do what you are comfortable with and avoid negative people with negative comments.
Good to hear Ty is still on his antibiotic, it takes time to kill that MRSA floating around in his blood. Every day, he will get a bit better and a bit stronger.
Quite honestly, my husband and I took turns being frustrated. When this happens there is alot to be angry about just don't let it defeat you!
Healing prayers
Did Bud lose weight with his infection? Ty is. Vet thinks it may be muscle mass loss due to the Prednisome. I think it it because he is sick. I have been trying to get plenty of extra calories into him. He is down to 70lbs. They said he is losing a bit each time he comes in. I remember when I had mrsa! I felt like mud and did not really feel up to eating much. The fact that he is gobbling up any food( well not the food I gave him yesterday) but eggs, burger etc. plus he is always ready for treats. This makes me think he must be feeling a bit better. He gets up in middle of the night, but it is usually just to go outside, well and then come in and have a big snack.
TY GUY, Best Black Lab ever! Diagnosed and had amp in January, 2014. Kicked MRSA's butt. Earned his angel wings on April 16, 2014. Run Free my boy and don't forget a shoe. Ty is a proud member of the " April Angels". Ty sent us Daryl, a Tripawd rescue in Sept. of 2016. Daryl is 5 +or -. We are also Pawrents to Chandler, a Border Collie mix who is 15 and 1/2, Lucy, a Corgi who is 7, 2 minis, 2 horses, and a feisty cat named Zoe. Zoe had a non skeletal Osteosarcoma removed in July 2015. No Chemo, she was at least 16. She is going strong although she is now completely blind. She is now close to 20 and her hobbies are eating and sleeping in front of her personal heater.
It was a challenge just to get Bud to drink. He wouldn't move, not to eat not for anything but a trip outside when he absolutely had to have one. He was just soooooo sick. One of the antibiotics I was suppose to give him with food..yeah right...way easier said then done. Between the infections and heavy doses of antibiotics he was mess. It was 3 weeks before we saw any Budness or appetite return.
My vet didn't worry about the weight loss too much because he wants him to be lean to protect his remaining hip and knee. I can tell you that he went from 103pounds before amp to 71 pounds today. He is a very tall and large golden. His height suprises people.
Just make sure he stays hydrated so that he stays out of the hospital....the appetite will come back
1 Guest(s)
