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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Hey all. We are Ian and Terryl, from Ontario Canada, and have 2 basset hounds. Flash, the older of the 2 (he's about 3 1/2-4 yrs old, not sure as we found him), has severe arthritis in his L elbow, and his hock also. There are fractures forming also, and the vet recommended amputation as opposed to fusing the joints. I agree, as dragging around a stiff limb would be so cumbersome. I know this is a site based on amputees d/t cancer, but hope we are welcome.
We are currently waiting to speak with the vet for a surgery date, but are so happy we have information literally at our fingertips now. Thanks for having such an awesome site, and we wish you all the best of luck!
T&I
Welcome gang!
I'm sorry to hear about Flash. But I'm glad you found us, also! What a good lookin' fella!
Oh don't be so quick to judge! We are a website of dog-lovers first and foremost! And second, dogs that are 3-legged! Oh heck, we don't even care if they are 3-legged, we love them all! And welcome anyone! My Comet is not a cancer dog and we have several that don't either!
Comet was born with deformed, non-functioning leg. Her's is still attached. I've had her 11 1/2 years! She, I think is a corgi/lab mix at 39lbs. (that's not what her DNA results said - but that's a whole other topic! Afghan Hound - SURE! )
I had read that dwarf dogs like a Bassett and Corgi have a higher rate of leg deformities and issues. (I'm gonna look that up again one day, admin!)
We wish you lots of luck during the surgery. Let us know when. The first two weeks are going to be very ruff!
Here's some reading material you might find helpful:
New to Tripawds? Bookmark Jerry's Required Reading List for lots of recovery advice, care tips, and answers to commonly asked canine cancer and dog leg amputation questions and concerns.
Now, mind you we aren't vets but we have a lot of experience that vets sometimes don't offer up.
Good luck!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
tripod said:
... this is a site based on amputees d/t cancer, but hope we are welcome.
Of course you are welcome here. Tripawds is a support community for anyone facing amputation for their dog, no matter the reason. Thanks for joining!
We just missed you in the chat room
... be sure to check out Jerry's Reading List like Cometdog suggested. We look forward to hearing more about Flash – great name for a Basset! 
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hello Ian and Terryl,
Welcome to Tripawds. Of course you are welcome here- amputation for any reason is hard to deal with, for us humans that is. We have several pups here besides Comet who are Tripawds due to accidents or birth defects.
Please spend time looking around here. We have a ton of collective experience to share when you have questions. Let us know when you have a surgery date. As Comet said- most of us had lots of ups and downs during the first couple of weeks after the amputation. But once the meds clear and the sutures and staples are out things get better fast.
I would guess Flash is sort of used to being a tripawd- he must really favor that front leg. If that is true it will help him regain his balance and retrain muscles that much faster.
I would also suggest you look at getting a harness for Flash at some point. Many here use the Ruffwear harness, but there are other options. My pug Maggie didn't need help getting around- she was pretty small, and a rear amp. And she hated wearing the harness so I didn't use it much. But you will probably find it valuable to help Flash get around. If you decide to get one you probably need to wait to use it until the stitches or staples come out- ask your vet about that.
Good luck with the surgery. I am looking forward to hearing more about Flash.
Karen and the pugapalooza
I just wanted to say hello. I love basset faces! They are so adorable.
Good luck with the surgery. Let us know how he's doing!
Leslie
The name of the site is Tripawds, there are no prerequisites on how they got that way in order to belong. So a big welcome!
Good luck with everything! We look forward to your posts.
Spirit Ruthie's Mom
Wow, thank you so much for the warm welcome! We'll be talking to the vet tomorrow or Saturday to hopefully find out when we can have the surgery, and within a month hopefully Flash will be in a lot less pain.
It's going to be hard keeping Comet, our 1 1/2 year old to leave him be, but I guess we'll find out all about that soon enough. Did you all crate your guys/girls during recovery? I'm thinking that's what we're going to have to do for the first couple weeks.
I'll definitely be in touch!
Thanks again
Terryl, Ian, Flash and Comet 
Welcome! Flash is a cutie and I want to squish his face to pieces!!! Good question about the crating! I thought I'd just wait and see how much activity Jack was capable of which was a BIG MISTAKE! Apparently when he got the leg removed, he decided he was invincible and was even more active than before. And, silly me, I let him do it (because he could, right!!???). Anyways, this led to burst capillaries and because of his compression bandage, he had severe abdominal bruising. He woke up in the middle of the night screaming and we had to take him back to the hospital where he lived in a cage on mandatory bed rest for the next two days. I didn't crate him at home, but I got him a big new bed to lay in and some blankets so he had his own little area that he didn't much want to leave (also, we lived in a 3rd floor apartment and after I learned no more stairs, I got sick of carrying this 45 pound dog up and down all day and limited his time outside to two or three times and even at that he was only allowed to potty then it was back upstairs). You are thinking of some very good questions, and I hope Flash's surgery goes on without a hitch!
<3 Laura and Jackaroo
Another Comet! Woohoo! (girl or boy?)
You know what rhymes with Comet?
- - - - - - - > "Vomit" and nothing else! 
(I've had many years to think about it!)
I can't answer any amputation questions but I have made Comet live in a crib on wheels for 8 weeks after a knee surgery. (It beat carrying her for 8 weeks like I did on the first knee surgery!)
Thanks for the PM - looking forward to getting to know Flash and Comet#2! Your next dog has to be named Astro! (I already took, "Rocket" a.k.a. monkeybutt)
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Hello,
I did not have to crate or isolate my pug Maggie- she was a slug during her recovery, she was 7.5 at the time. I also have her little sister Tani, who was about 6 at the time. Tani was pretty good about leaving Mag alone during recovery, the only problem I had was that Tani might inadvertently run into Mag and knock her down. It was never on purpose, Tani just gets very excited to play and especially when its meal time and she tends to run around without watching where she is going.
I think you need to consider how Flash and Comet do normally. If they were rambuncious before then as soon as the pain is gone from Flash he might feel like Jack did and be too active. If Flash is normally pretty quiet (before the leg was so painful) then he might be OK as long as you can supervise. It would be smart to be prepared to crate him if you have any concerns, then see how he does when you get him home.
Karen and the pugapalooza
Hi Ian and Terryl,
Welcome to our Tripawds family... I love Flash's face! It looks so kissable and squeezable! 
I didn't crate my Jake after his surgery... but I had him wear an e-collar and put him in our study, whenever I'd have to leave the house for a little while. I was able to take 1.5 weeks off work to stay home with him. But he did sleep most of that time... with all the pain meds and all... He also wore a T-shirt, to help prevent him from licking at his incision... though he'd still try whenever I'd leave him for a few minutes. Boy he was quick with the licks! 
I used a sling on Jake for the first 2 weeks... to help him get up and manouver on his remaining 3 legs... After his staples came out (2 weeks) he wore his ruffware harness. That was a tremendous help... not just for him... for for me and my hubby. There's a handle on top and you can quickly grab it whenever they need an extra hand getting up.
Let us know as soon as you have a surgery date scheduled... so we can all send good, pawsitive thoughts to Flash!! Post some pictures of your Flash and Comet when you get a chance...
Angel Jake and Wolfie's Mom
Jake, 10yr old golden retriever (fractured his front right leg on 9/1, bone biopsy revealed osteosarcoma on 9/10, amputation on 9/17) and his family Marguerite, Jacques and Wolfie, 5yr old german shepherd and the newest addition to the family, Nala, a 7mth old Bengal mix kittie. Jake lost his battle on 11/9/2009, almost 8 weeks after his surgery. We will never forget our sweet golden angel… http://jakesjou.....ipawds.com ….. CANCER SUCKS!
Hey all
Thanks for the replies. Laura, sorry to hear about Jack's painful recovery, that's what I'm afraid of, because they're both so rambunctios when they're together.
Our Comet is male.. love the 'Astro' suggestion! The Ian can change his name to George, I can change mine to Judy.. lol
Mom, love the t-shirt idea. I did that with Huck, my golden that I used to own (crossed the bridge this year) when he had shoulder surgery and was neutered.. he was a t-shirt and short wearing dog. Looked really cute, though a bit strange.
We met with the vet this morning, and he wants to xray Flash's 'good' leg on Tuesday, to see if there are any bone problems there. If it's good, we've got a surgery date of August 18. The vet is going to board him there (the vet lives in the upper level) for a couple days since I can't afford to take time off work. Then he'll be home with us for the weekend.. For the rest of the recovery he'll probably be spending his days at work with 'dad'. It's going to be a tough go, but heck, if I went through surgery with my non-furry kids when they were 2 and under, we can handle this 🙂
keep smilin!
The Basset Bunch 
Oh, sorry.. meant to add that if you want to see pics of Flash and Comet, check our facebook page Terryl Trevenna-Ian Parsons
🙂
Another non-cancer tripod here - welcome to the board!
As for crating - we adopted Dante 2 weeks after his amputation, so we didn't have to deal with most of the recovery but my two pups (Dante and his sister Mina) are CRAZY and I know the vet kept Dante for at least a week because they play so rough and are insane little goobers. Actually, the vet tech took him home the first night following his surgery, and chose to leave him at the vets after that because he tore her house up. I'm not sure he ever at any point realized he'd been through surgery, LOL.
So, if your guys are even half as crazy as mine, you might want to consider crating or separating in some way or another for as long as the vet suggests, just to be on the safe side. Better to have a long week than an emergency vet trip due to rough-housing!
Flash is adorable! On top of my two crazy monkey pups, I also have a Beagle named Coda - I am a sucker for those hound faces and ears!! Too cute!
Thanks, Friend.. I definitely agree, we've decided to keep them separated as long as it takes for Flash to get healed up.. emergency vet visits suck!
I bet your beagle is sweet, the hound faces are certainly adorable. I think if I had a farm or a place in the country, I'd have a nice big slobbery bloodhound too! lol
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