Hi,

I spoke with Mal's regular vet and I'm bring him in tomorrow for a full exam and blood work (CBC and chem panel). Tomorrow is her surgery day, but since I'm worried sick about Mali and can't get any type of real answer from the onc nurse and the onc hasn't called me back, I asked Joyce, his regular vet, if she could take a look at him regarding his water intake (he drinks loads of water now), the sore on his nose (the little sore disappeared), his white cell count & such as he's tired, plus he seems to have difficulty getting around lately .. don't know if it's weakness or a muscle or nerve issue. To me, this is all not normal for Mal and Joyce knows that I'm very much in tune with my boy (all my critters really) and not knowing something is something I can't tolerate.

Tonight Don asked me if Mali is having trouble seeing as he seems to be moving slower and he's noticed lots of muscle twitching on the shoulder area on the side his leg was amputated from .. I said, I noticed him moving slower, but he can see fine from what I can tell and I think the muscle twitching is related to him balancing himself as it only happens when he is standing. I've also noticed that it seems like he's over extending his wrist on his right front leg. I hope he doesn't hurt his right leg at all as that is all he has now. 🙁

Joyce is also going to show me the front limb assistance cart she has (its not big enough for Mal to try but its from Eddy's wheels) and she can measure Mali for his own cart and they can fit it to him and show him how to get around in it.

We will also discuss when he can start PT .. it will depend on his blood work too.

On a good note, Mali seems to have his regular appetite back now. Plus its warming up here in S. FL so I can let him sit out in the yard without worrying that its too cool for him. I figured out why his incision looks red in places .. I caught him scratching .. maybe his internal stitches are itching him. The anamax ointment helps with the redness when I put it on him (until he licks it off over time - bad doggie!!)

Anyone familiar with DogLeggs? They make leg support garments for dogs. I have a pair of full front leg supports for Mali. I got them to cover his entire front legs so he'd stop licking his skin sore in spots. I see they make a support for dogs with front limb amps .. one full support leg (foot to shoulder - cushions the elbow too) and then wrap for the side where the other leg was. I wonder if that will help Mali with support for his right leg now?? I'll ask his vet this too.

Hi Admin,

Thank you for the links regarding DogLeggs. When I clicked on the links, I received 404 errors for the first two and for the last one - no such topic of Elbow Calluses.

thanks! 🙂

Today Mali went to rehab for an evaluation and they were impressed he was doing so well. The rehab vet thought he would need help getting up, walking, etc. Oh goodness no ... So other an a carpal brace to help support his right wrist from over extending and an elastic band that I will use on all his legs for resistance/balance training, the other stuff is almost like mini training lessons that we do at home. The only thing different is how often we are to do them and a specific distance for a few of them. The PT vet noticed that Mali does not have much endurance/stamina as he does tire easily, but she felt that was very normal considering its only be under a month since his surgery and the chemo will wipe him out as I mentioned he was doing better pre-chemo and afterwards he wasn't doing as good as he did post surgery. She does want he to come in once a week for PT, including use of the water treadmill, and he'll also get lasered/acupuncture and some visits electro stimulation.

Mali's home excercises are having him sit for 10 seconds, then stand for 10 seconds, then sit .. repeat that about 5 times 3 or 4 times a day.

2nd one - walk backwards 5 ft. Do that 5 times 3/4 times a day.

3rd - short leash walks on different surfaces .. 3/4 times a day.

4th - use the elastic band to put tension on his front leg and both rear legs (on at a time) .. move the band to the 12, 3, 6, 9 positions around the leg .. keep tension on the band, but not so much that Mali moves his leg to adjust to the tension. Do each leg 5 times, 3/4 times a day. Oh, Mali has to stand for this one. It helps with his balance and works his core muscles so he will be less likely to fall if he loses his balance.

5th and last exercise - side stepping (both sides). Stand next to Mali and bump him so he moves side ways .. 5 ft. Do the same on each side (R & L side). Do this 5 times each side, 3/4 times a day.

So we pretty much do all that anyhow as Mali knows back up, hold (wait/stand), we side step now, but I was only doing on side .. I'd stand on his left side and we'd move to the right. Mali gets up from laying down/sitting without issues and we do walk .. maybe not always 3 or 4 times a day, but that is not a problem to do. And the tension band can be done before we walk or another exercise. They are all to be done daily.

Mali is a bit tired tonight, but in good spirits. He had a good day at PT where he got lots of praise, treats and loving. At first the were a bit afraid of him and I said he's just big, but he's a huge mush. My vet came down while I was talking with the PT vet and she even said Mali is mush and nothing to be afraid of. I did say Mali does not like too much repetition and when he's had enough, he's done with your silly games. Mali has always been like that .. he learns fast and gets bored easy if you don't constantly keep changing the activities up for him. Plus he loves praise even more than food. They offered him some hot dog pieces but she said he only ate a few and wasn't interest. She seemed really suprised by that, but Mali is a discriminating dog about what he likes. They even offered him chicken and he turned it down. I said sure as he gets that as his dinner .. not a treat to him . .. but bacon he'd like or a piece of sharp cheddar or freezed dried liver pieces .. but not hot dogs or chicken ..

Then when we were finished with rehab, we were going to leave on the lower level of the vet's office into the parking lot. Nope, Mali is not going out the back door. So he hopped up a half flight of stairs to the main level!! Everyone was amazed he did that without assistance and had no problems. Mali loves stairs .. if he could run up and down stairs a few times a day, he'd do it (there is a very long story behind his love of stairs that I'll save for another day). So we went out the front door and on the way out, Mali stopped next to a wire fox terrier and sniffed him .. the terrier was old and had been doing poorly. When Mali stopped, the owner wondered and I said, he's worried about your dog. Then the terrier lifted his head up and they touched noses and the terrier's tail wagged some. I could tell the terrier was having problems or Mali wouldn't of stopped. The owner was there to see if Joyce could do anything else for him as he couldn't walk now and bladder stones, plus some other age related issues. She also thought he was completely listless, but when he showed interest in Mali and actually moved and wagged his tail, she felt he still was interested in things and not ready for bridge. She hugged me and hugged and cried on Mali. I told her that if any one could help her it would be Joyce and that she came to the right doctor. Then we left as it was after 5:00 pm and I had to get Mali home and be at school for class at 6:00 pm.

Mali loves little dogs and he just knows when a person or animal is not feeling well. He's very sensitive and he cares about others. When we walk and if there is a dead squirrel or frog or something in the road, Mali gets upset. Plus when Mitsy and Shawna (cats) had cancer and were getting ill, he'd check on them and lay next to them. He'd also bump them with his nose if they didn't initially respond to them if they were sleeping to make sure they were okay.

So, that is how the day went today and sometime next week Mali will go back for the water treadmill and regular PT on that day, since he'll be there so he might as well get the spa treatment.