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
Oh I am so sorry to hear about this set-back but there are MANY dogs that prove those statistics wrong .. .Happy Hannah, Jake, our hero, Jerry and many more that I can't think of right now!
I am glad Mac is feeling a bit better ... that has to bring some comfort to you.
And I hear you - when it rains it pours ... sometimes it is simply too much but in those times, look into Mac's loving eyes and know that all he knows is LOVE~And he LOVES you!!!
Hugs,
Alison with Spirit Shelby in her heart
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
Re-read Jerry's post over and over and over! It's all there for you to immerse yourself in and then get on with enjoying life to the fullest with Mac!
And Shelby is so right avout dogs gettingnGRRAT extended quality time in spite of statistics trying to dictate their future! Mac is a strong and determined pup and he's. not going anywhere anytime soon!
So sorry so many things are happening all at once for you and for your friend. Good times don't last forever..NOR DO BAD TIMES! I know it feels pretty gloomy right now. In tope of everything else you are emotionally and physically exhausted! This amputation journey is no picnic!
And cannot state enough how important what Jerry said about having Mac with you now is! I kept putting off the decision to amputate my beloved Happy Hannah's leg (osteo) due to fear and uncertainty and "doing it TO" her. In a matter of weeks the pain meds were having n ro be increased and her pain was getting stronger. She was so full of life otherwise and I knew I had to give her a chance at that point! It was not her time ro go!
I shudder ro think what you would be going throughnif all this stuff was happening AND you no longer had Mac by your side!
The best decision ever! We had THE most glorious bonus time of more loving and more spoiling than I ever thought possible!!
Mac's timing for feeling better could not be more perfect! He is ready to get on with life and loving it!! More time for treats, tummy rubs, snuggling, yeah, he's up for the enjoying all the fun and love life has to offer!
(((((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))))
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle too!!
Would LOVE to see pics of him on HIS sofa!!!
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!
benny55 said
Re-read Jerry's post over and over and over! It's all there for you to immerse yourself in and then get on with enjoying life to the fullest with Mac!
Oh, you bet I've read it at least 5 times now!! It made me cry!! It is so true and made me feel so much better. I was ready to call the manager, I had a word document of everything I was going to say...to demand they refund us for the bone biopsy, that they should have sent it out for another analysis................
But what Rene said.......
It would be a disservice to Mac to get upset about this. She is so, so soooo right...he really honestly might not be here with us if they had given us the correct diagnosis...
And I know what you are saying about delaying the amputation. I questioned every hour of every day if I should pick up the phone and cancel the surgery. You all really prevented me from doing that.
How can I be anything but grateful? Forget the fact that we are broke trying to pay for all of this, we were given more time with Mac and he is pain free. We wouldn't have been given this chance if the bonehead pathologist did his job correctly...
Pic coming later when I get home from work and lasso that pup onto the couch with me again!!
You guys are the best...you feel like true friends to me...
We adopted Mac in June 2014 from the GRCGLAR and he is our little baby boy, despite the fact that he is 11.5! Almost a year of bliss turned into complete devastation when he started limping on his front right leg and it was discovered on April 16, 2015 that he has bone cancer - specifically Osteosarcoma. We were luckily directed to Tripawds by our oncologist, Dr. Avenelle Turner, which changed our lives and guided us through the amputation process.
Read more about Mac's incredible story on his blog: http://teammac.tripawds.com/
I'm thinking there is a reason things happened this way for Mac.
When my pug Maggie needed an amp for mast cell cancer I did a bunch of tests to make sure it had not spread- the tests all came back clean. After the amp the oncologist called and told me that there were cancerous mast cells in the leg removed during surgery and the cancer was in her lymph system (very bad for mast cell cancer). Her prognosis was downgraded- with chemo they gave her 6 to 9 months. I was devastated, I felt I had made a huge mistake doing the surgery for 'just' a few months.
I had decided pre-surgery that if the testing showed any type of spread I would not do the amp. I wrote that in Maggie's blog- I would not have done the surgery (blog was written much later).
Well, Maggie lived almost 4 years after her amp, and she did not pass from mast cell cancer. If I had not done the amp she probably would not have made 6 months. She beat the odds in a big way, of course not everyone is so lucky. But what I came to realize is that I gave her a chance. And after her second cancer diagnosis I learned how each day I had with her was precious. We 'only' had three months, but each day was Maggie's best day.
I'm sorry about your friend with cancer- my experience with someone with cancer is that when it spreads to the liver time is very short. I think one reason things worked out the way they did with Mac is so he could help you though this difficult time.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
krun15 said
I'm thinking there is a reason things happened this way for Mac.I'm sorry about your friend with cancer- my experience with someone with cancer is that when it spreads to the liver time is very short. I think one reason things worked out the way they did with Mac is so he could help you though this difficult time.
Thank you so much, Karen. That is so comforting. Mac and our friend have always had a connection. Mac seemed to know when our friend (Ari) was in pain, emotionally and physically, and would follow him around and stay by his side. Ari also lets Mac out for us when we are at work, so they have been buddies for a while. It was hard to tell him that Mac was diagnosed with cancer. But you are right, maybe this is why Mac has the strength to get through this - to help us with this difficult time.
Your story is very inspiring and mirrors how I felt about the situation. Rene helped me realized, perhaps the diagnostic mistake was made for a reason - to give him a chance. Because he might not be here today, all happy and smiling for the first time since his surgery, if that mistake wasn't made...
We adopted Mac in June 2014 from the GRCGLAR and he is our little baby boy, despite the fact that he is 11.5! Almost a year of bliss turned into complete devastation when he started limping on his front right leg and it was discovered on April 16, 2015 that he has bone cancer - specifically Osteosarcoma. We were luckily directed to Tripawds by our oncologist, Dr. Avenelle Turner, which changed our lives and guided us through the amputation process.
Read more about Mac's incredible story on his blog: http://teammac.tripawds.com/
teammac said
Hi friends,So Mac, overall, has been doing pretty dang well after we brought him home on Friday. His bruising has gone down significantly, his stitches seem to even look better, and he is trying to get used to life on 3 legs.
We took off his Fentanyl patch last night around 5p (as instructed by our discharge papers), and within a few hours, Mac seemed lethargic, didn't want to get up to go to the bathroom, and honestly seemed like he was in pain. I called the vet and asked if that was normal and if we could give him his Gabapentin that we had from before the surgery. They said that was fine.
Has anyone else experienced this? Also, by this day, should Mac be making significant strides in his walking? It seems like his front remaining leg is so strained, like instead of a 90 degree angle between his paw and the rest of his leg, its more like a deep curve. Is that normal? He is now actually just resting entirely, instead of wanting to walk around and try to jump on the couch. Is it possible he just overexerted himself when he was on the fentanyl patch and feeling great?
This morning, he didn't want to get up to go potty either and we had to force his food bowl under him to get him to eat. He eventually got up and ate and showed his belly, so we knew he was maybe feeling a bit better.
Just want to make sure this is all normal. I can't wait for the day when Mac gets better on 3 legs...
My Tripawd did not get Fetanyl after amputation. Our other dog, Lily, got it though after having a cancerous mass removed from her hip/leg (it had tentacles). When we took it off, she regressed big time. She started whining and panting. She stopped eating. She became not interested in us or Diasy (our other dog, who Lily seems to think of as her savior). It truly freaked me out. I called the vet in a panic. But, they said it was normal. We did have to start giving her Metacam after removing the patch. The symptoms went away after a couple of hours for our Lily. It was very scary and heartbreaking though.
Friends! I have posted an update on Mac on his blog. He turned a major corner a few days ago, and started REALLY being himself again. Chasing the cat (who had gotten far too comfortable around him and was shocked when he started chasing her again!!), rolling around in the grass, running after us, following me everywhere, eating his food like his life depended on it, and he even has a new trick - his treat dance! He actually gets up on his hind legs!!!!
We just had to delay chemo a week because the doc suspected he MIGHT have a small infection. Honestly, at this point, I doubt it. Another $400 down the drain, but I guess better safe than sorry before he starts the chemo. I've got him on 3 different types of Eastern meds (per Dr. Lena McCullough's website Path with Paws) and he is like a new dog. I was lucky enough to get a couple videos last night of him rolling around in the grass for the first time since before his surgery. I made a little video that you might like to see! Check it out!
We adopted Mac in June 2014 from the GRCGLAR and he is our little baby boy, despite the fact that he is 11.5! Almost a year of bliss turned into complete devastation when he started limping on his front right leg and it was discovered on April 16, 2015 that he has bone cancer - specifically Osteosarcoma. We were luckily directed to Tripawds by our oncologist, Dr. Avenelle Turner, which changed our lives and guided us through the amputation process.
Read more about Mac's incredible story on his blog: http://teammac.tripawds.com/
Pawesome! 
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
1 Guest(s)
