Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Our beloved 5-year old Weimaraner, Mabel, had surgery today to remove her right rear leg. A earlier biopsy showed what the vet thinks, and we hope, is chondrosarcoma. A full biopsy of the bone will tell us for sure. I know that we don't love our baby any more than others here so I'm sure you know exactly how our heart has been broken and we've been consumed with worry.
The vet called this morning to say that surgery had gone as expected - they removed the leg at the hip because of the location of the tumor. They put a drain in and the vet told me that she could likely come home as soon as it's taken out - probably Thursday or Friday. Mabel gets really stressed-out when boarded so we really want to be able to bring her home soon. We're really worried that when she gets here we won't know what to do - especially about her pain meds. The vet doesn't use a patch but tells us that she'll be on Tramadol.
I've read every post here I can find so I know that the first two weeks will be the worst. Did I mention that we're worried? We've got a place in the den setup for her to sleep and my wife or I will sleep on a mattress on the floor with her. She usually sleeps in the bed with us and we know that will be out of the question for a while. I'm just afraid that every time she gets up at night we're going to think she needs to go out and will try to take her, even though I've heard they're quite restless. I don't want to tire her out. By the way, did I mention that we're worried?
Anyway, just wanted to post some of our story. I've read with great interest and tears all of the others posted. Thanks for that.
Mike and Carol (and Mabel)
I slept downstairs on the couch while Titan slept on a crib mattress. Titan was restless but he let me know with a whine(he never did that) when he did need to finally go out. Mabel will do it when she is ready. I tried not to rush to Titan's side everytime he was restless because that will just make them more nervous and think they can't do it. So take deep breathes, get plenty of sleep before Mabel gets home. Titan came home the day after surgery I thought that was too soon. So Mabel staying there for a couple of days is good. Deep Breathes!! The first couple of weeks are the hardest but your pack can do it!!!! I know what you mean about worrying Titan was my kid since I don't have any. But the best thing for Mabel is to encourage her to do things on her own and to be positive.....if she senses you are worried she will be......
Heidi
Mike and Carol
Boy do we understand the word "worry"! Its something that we all know we shouldnt do, but as humans, cant help ourselves. I have worried so much I have made myself sick, only to find that I really shouldnt have. It sounds like Mabel is one of the family and because of that most of her care may come naturally and you will know by intuition what she needs. Anything other than that, your vet will be able to help with. I know that sounds crazy and way too easy, but when you get right down to it, thats what happens.
When Max came home, I slept on the floor with him..one night under the kitchen table and several other nights on the family room floor. When I felt comfortable, I moved to the couch and finally back to my own bed (but not before the two weeks were up!). Many people on this site have described the 2 weeks after the surgery as a journey. I think that is the perfect word for it. It is a journey both emotionally and spiritually and one that will teach you many things. You have your family, your vet and all of the tripawd lovers and owners here to help you get through the ruff times, so take some time to breathe and get ready to take care of your baby. She will need you to be strong, pawsitive and happy.
Max and I wish you the best of luck and look forward to seeing posts on Mabels progress!!!
Sending Labby hugs and prayers!
Paula and Max
Paula and Spirit Max
Hi!
Our dog Lily is on day 14 and she has slept in bed with me or us since she came home. She and I started in the guest room with a triple layer of dog nests on the floor if she wanted to sleep there, or to use as a staircase along with the carpeted staircase I moved in there that we already had for our disabled cat. So I was prepared for her to make a few different choices but she was under the covers with me through the night. She switched positions a few times and that was it.
I haven't seen anyone mention wetting the bed, and Lily hasn't THIS time, but I put training pads under my sheet just in case. Ummm, can you believe just this fall she ripped her leg open so badly on a trail (the fire dept. even came!) and that surgery and recovery seemed harder than this has been and that's when she wet the bed. Yes, that's right, the same leg we just found the cancer in and had removed!
We moved back into the other room and the one change we've made is we've moved the bed against the wall. It takes her longer to switch positions because of her new awkwardness and then she gets hot, and then she gets cold, so with all the moving I need to make sure she won't fall off the bed. We also have the carpeted staircase at the end of the bed so she can get up and down safely. I've seen staircases for sale at Target, etc. but I don't know about those brands as ours were ordered specially many years ago.
I mention all these bed details for those who have been so manipulated that they also have giant beasts in the bed that cannot be removed.
And our new stair treads have been great also.
Can't wait for your updates, and the decision-making was much worse than the recovery for us, like many.
Jody
You'll know what to do. Just listen to your vet, he sounds smart. Jerry was only ever on Tramadol. He handled it great. The fentynl patch can make dogs go loooooopy!
PS: Jerry's best buddy was Winston the Weimreiner!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Mabel came home Friday afternoon and the first 2 nights have been, thankfully, pretty smooth. She has not really shown any signs of pain that we can tell other than occasionally trembling and I'm not sure if that is from pain or not. We've gotten her up 3-4 times to go out and potty - #1 only although she did have a little #2 accident on her pallet yesterday. She has gotten up a couple of times and gone to her bowl to have some warm chicken and veggie soup. Her appetite is good. We've been using peanut butter to give her medicine and that's working well.
She is still on a lot of meds:
50 mg Tramadol every 8 hours for pain.
25 mg Acepromazine every 12 hours. This is a sedative they prescribed to help keep her calm. We've maintained the dosage to try and keep her resting.
200 mg Simplicef every 24 hours. This is an antibiotic.
20 mg Pepcid every 24 hours.
We think we'll probably maintain these meds until Tuesday or Wednesday (1 week after surgery) and then try to reduce the sedative and possibly pain meds a bit at a time.
We're thankful for how she seems to be doing and glad we found this site for support. Hopefully, somebody might see our story and get some comfort or share a similar experience.
Way to go Mabel. That's fantastic news. As well as she is doing, I would suspect you will see her improve just a little bit every day. How wonderful is that!
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.
Yay Mabel! The first few nights were the toughest for us, so you've already conquered through that! Shadow always sleeps upstairs with us in our room, but since the surgery we've all been camping downstairs with him in our living room until he's ready to start taking the stairs again. We laid a mattress down so he can sleep with us too! We are day 16 post-op, and ever since we took him off the pain meds a couple days ago he's finally almost back to his normal self. The 2 weeks were tough, but I kept reminding myself to take 1 day at a time. Keep us posted on Mabel's progress!
Tina and Shadow
Tina and Spirit Shadow
Hey Mabel, congrats on recovering so well! Yeah, you sure are on a lot of meds, and once they're out of your system, life will start to get fun again. The first couple of weeks are ruff, but like hugapitbull says, you'll see little improvements each day, that will amount to a complete recovery before you know it. Keep us posted!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Cherry's dad here,
Worry is just another sign of love and as you can tell everyone here has had the same experience. Cherry and I slept in a seperate bed for the first two months. For us, the chemotherapy was far worse than the amputation, but it is different for everyone. Whenever Cherry became restless in bed, it was a sure sign that she needed to go outside. Because of the reduced activity level, she seemed to develop "gas", which was not an issue previously. So the mere fact of moving outside relieved the pressure and she returned to sleep quickly.
To help me, I began keeping a daily diary (later weekly) so that I could make a real assessment of the progress. We chose to start the chemotherapy literaly hours after surgery and continue on a three week basis for a total of four treatments. We are real newbees to this, but as we finish our third month post-amputation, I can tell you that the sparkle has returned to the eyes, the curiosity is back, and the general zeal for life that had defined Cherry's eleven years is again there. It was not an easy journey, and it will vary for each one. Believe that you will come out of this journey with a renewed quality of life for Mabel. You know her better than anyone and should trust your own feelings after taking into consideration all the input. You can read my diary at
http://home.com.....ryjourney/
Good Luck and we will sending positive thoughts from here.
We love the stories that people share here, about their journey, because it gives everyone so much hope that they too will get through it. Thanks for making us all stronger and wiser Cherry!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Last couple of days we've been struggling with keeping Mabel quiet - she seems to think she can do more than we want her to. Carol was at home with her today and turned her back only to turn back around and find Mabel halfway up the stairs!
Don't know if it's related on not but tonight we noticed an enlarged place on her stomach close to the incision. It's about the size of a grape. It isn't hard - more like fluid although it's concentrated in that one area. We can push on it and it doesn't seem to be causing her pain although she does seem to be a bit more restless than the past few days.
We plan to call the vet tomorrow but don't know if anybody has seen anything like this or might know what it is?
Thanks!
Although Max never had one, Ive seen posts about seromas. They are fluid filled and form around the incision. I think they are kind of a pain, but nothing to really worry about too much. Hopefully thats all it is. Good luck at the vet tomorrow!! We will be sending pawsitive thoughts your way!!
Lots of hugs!
Max and Paula
Paula and Spirit Max
Here's a blog post we did about seromas. Try not to worry, that's probably all it is (but it's always a good idea to call the vet to ask).
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hello Mabel and family:
I know it has been a long while since you posted to the Tripawds forums, but I just had to come and say hello. I also have a Weimaraner, Zoe, who also just had right rear leg amputation (just this Friday), also suspected chondrosarcoma. We will find out soon if it is or not. Knowing that Mabel's story has no real bearing on how Zoe's story will continue, I'm wondering if Mabel did indeed have chondrosarcoma? How are you and Mabel doing? Our stories had so much in common I just had to come and say hello.
Kristina (and Zoe, 9 years old)
http://zoesmom......ipawds.com
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