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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That truly is an uplifting update! So proud of you, Pixie. And so thankful the storm spared you any damage. So many folks affected. Very sad.
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.
Hoooorrraaaaay! Oh my gosh we've been thinking about you and hoping the hurricane spared you guys. I'm so glad you are all safe.
This is such great news about Pixie! What a pawesome girl for handling things so well and not even bothering her stitches. They might get dried out during the next few days, which can cause them to feel itchy, so watch out for that. Hopefully she won't need the cone of shame .
We can't wait to see some pics of her! So happy to hear things are going so well.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
It's always great to hear new Tripawd pawrents report when they see the pain gone from their pup's eyes! Hooray for Pixie.
And that is great news that you made it through the storm ok. It's so awful to see so many people affected so terribly.
Oh, and boy are you lucky she doesn't bother her incision! Abby wouldn't leave it alone!
Jackie, Angel Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
Thanks for the words of support! Pixie continues to adapt well to life on 3 paws. Today, she took her first walk all the way to the back of our property! We have a large yard that she's always taken pride in patrolling. This morning, she started investigating and just kept on going. I am so proud of her!
Somewhat of a surprise when I received the results of her biopsy today. Prior to her amputation, alll 3 vets at the practice I use and the oncologist I consulted agreed that this was most likely Osteosarcoma. They made the diagnosis based on xrays and the location of the tumor (proximal humerus). The biopsy indicates a Stage II sarcoma, suggesting fibrosarcoma or chondrosarcoma. I won't be able to talk to the oncologist until next week, but everything I've read suggests that Chondrosarcoma rarely spreads and that amputation can effectively "cure" it. Fibrosarcoma, I read, can reoccur at the site but often does not spread either. Sounds encouraging but I'll wait to share the results with the oncologist and see what her take on it is.
UCD Jake CD CGC - aka Jake D Dawg, gone over the Rainbow Bridge on 5/10/09 at age 16 1/2. There will never be another Jake. <3
UCD Dawnee's Brooklyn Treasure CD CGC - aka Brookie my right hand girl, developed Hemangiosarcoma and went over the Rainbow Bridge on 1/2/11 at age 14 1/2. Always in my heart <3
Resqdogs Justa Lil Pixie - My sweet Pixie, diagnosed with Osteosarcoma 4/10/12, tripawd since 10/25/12 <3
Ohhh. That is interesting. We always say if you gotta deal with cancer let it be an "easy" one. I sure hope that's what you're looking at. Keep us posted. Oh and great news things are going well otherwise!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
The past few nights, Pixie has begun to whine for long periods of time, yip occasionally and is very, very restless. Her whining does not seem to be pain, but almost like fear. The sudden yips are scarey but I don't think it's because of phantom pain . The odd thing is that she starts in the evening and it gets worse overnight.
I looked the symptoms up here and found a couple of threads with similar stuff, but no ideas as to what was happening. The behavior seems to be increasing and it's beginning to concern me. I'm also not getting much sleep. She woke me almost every hour for the last couple of nights and I'm exhausted!
I have been slowly weaning her off the pain meds she was on for a long time prior to surgery. Is it possible that she is having withdrawal from the meds? I asked the vet and he didn't seem to know. I have an appointment to bring her in to see him.
Has anyone else experienced this?
UCD Jake CD CGC - aka Jake D Dawg, gone over the Rainbow Bridge on 5/10/09 at age 16 1/2. There will never be another Jake. <3
UCD Dawnee's Brooklyn Treasure CD CGC - aka Brookie my right hand girl, developed Hemangiosarcoma and went over the Rainbow Bridge on 1/2/11 at age 14 1/2. Always in my heart <3
Resqdogs Justa Lil Pixie - My sweet Pixie, diagnosed with Osteosarcoma 4/10/12, tripawd since 10/25/12 <3
Well, it really sounds to me like phantom pain , which often presents itself with sudden yips and barks from out of nowhere. It usually disappears after a few weeks of gabapentin use.
Lots of folks describe the pain that way, but unfortunately I can't really offer any more advice there since I didn't deal with it. Is she licking any particular spot? Whining? Pacing? Thirsty? Be sure to write down all of her behaviors so you can let the vet know exactly what she's doing.
I hope you get some sleep. Let us know what the vet says.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I don't know too much about phantom pain - Abby only had 2 episodes of what we thought were P.P. (or maybe there were real actual pain...), and it was like a horrible scream, but only lasted a couple of seconds.
I don't know if dogs have withdrawal symptoms like people can. I hope your vet has some answers and she's doing okay.
Hang in there,
Jackie
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
Update: Pixie is doing great in so many ways. She's been enjoying longer and longer walks on the beach, around the neighborhood and (my apologies to you cat folks out there!) chased a feline interloper from "her" yard the other day! I was almost in tears from happiness, watching her go flat out on 3 legs for the first time! The cat got away fine and Pixie was only interested in the chase. The cat is a regular visitor to our yard and has been for some time, so I think she must enjoy taunting Pixie, LoL.
Pixie does the occasional "face plant" but she picks herself up and keeps on going! She's eating very well and is still not the least bit interested in her incision. No obsessive licking or anything like that.
The only thing is the whining and yipping. Now I should explain that Pixie has always had the tendency to be very attention seeking and, in typical shepherd fashion, she's always been very vocal if she doesn't feel she's getting her fair share of attention. Hard as it's been, I've been ignoring the whining and it does seem to be decreasing, but she still whines at night sometimes. The yipping seems to be increasing, but again I'm probably contributing to it by looking to see if she's ok, thus encouraging the behavior.
My vet doesn't seem to believe in PP and encouraged me to continue to decrease the gabepentin. She's almost off of it and it's interesting to me that the yipping has increased as the meds have decreased. But I do see definite times when she seems to do it for attention.
I can see that she's not in pain and I can see the drug "stupor" lifted, she's bright and alert and interested in life again without the drugs. We're just taking it a day at a time.
UCD Jake CD CGC - aka Jake D Dawg, gone over the Rainbow Bridge on 5/10/09 at age 16 1/2. There will never be another Jake. <3
UCD Dawnee's Brooklyn Treasure CD CGC - aka Brookie my right hand girl, developed Hemangiosarcoma and went over the Rainbow Bridge on 1/2/11 at age 14 1/2. Always in my heart <3
Resqdogs Justa Lil Pixie - My sweet Pixie, diagnosed with Osteosarcoma 4/10/12, tripawd since 10/25/12 <3
Yo Pixie! Are you playin' your Momma like a violin? Hahah, we GSDs are pretty good at that, aren't we?
OK here's the thing; phantom pain is real IMHO. And it doesn't last forever, it sounds to me like it's going away for you but you're getting the occasional random shooting pain. That stinks! But I think maybe by the time you're done getting off the Gaba that the pain will go away. Gaba's strong stuff, and your vet is right to tell you to gradually stop taking it, it's not something you want to stop all at once. But if you feel like you need to be on it longer, tell your Momma to call the vet and ask if it's OK. After all, it's your pack, and not the vet, who's getting their sleep interrupted every night!
P.S. That's OK about chasing the kitty cat. I know EXACTLY how you feel! Isn't it great to get back to the business of regulating our property? 
Wyatt Ray Dawg . . . The Tripawds Leg-A-Cy Continues!
Read all about my adventures at my Tripawds Blog
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