Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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My parents are 82 and 77 years old, and their dog Kelly was diagnosed by an emergency vet as having osteosarcoma a few days ago. Kelly is an 8 year old goldendoodle, with the sarcoma in her right front leg. She is about 70 pounds and is otherwise in fairly good health.
They saw the family vet yesterday whose recommendation was very discouraging, saying that with Kelly's size and the location on the front leg, amputation would be difficult and may cause other problems with her other legs and back. He said that given the aggressive form of the cancer, it might be better to put her down rather than try treatments, including amputation. My parents have financial resources for the treatments, but my mom is worried about their ability to help Kelly (ie lifting her is not easy), and fear that chemotherapy will make Kelly sick. Kelly's quality of life is so important for them.
They trust their vet and are heartbroken. I am not a vet, but my read of the literature is that the outlook could be much more positive. I know this is their decision, not mine, but I am concerned that they don't have all the information they need.
Suggestions on how I might approach getting a second opinion?
I believe they are far from a veterinary oncologist (they live in southwest Colorado). Are there video consultation services with veterinary oncologists?
I did see a youtube video about how tripawds was started and I will share that with them. Are there other resources for older adults I could share with them?
Thanks!
Michelle
Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
I'm sorry your parent's are dealing with this, your are a great kid for trying to help!
So, a 70 pound dog isn't all that big based on what we see around here. Size and/or age alone should not be used to make a decision on amputation. If Kelly is otherwise in good health then amputation should be an option. Did the vet have specific concerns or did he just think 'too big'?
I know how important trust in your vet is but I think at least one more opinion is in order.
My Tri's have been small and rear amps, but the first Tripawd I met in person though this site way back in 2009 was named Cemil. He was a 150 pound Anatolian Shepard who lost his front leg to osteosarcoma. Cemil's mom Mary wasn't older, but was smaller than her dog and she was not able to lift him. Cemil lived many years and did not pass from OSA. He was definitely an outlier based on the stats but it does happen.
I think the best resource you can share with your parents is this site. We have the Size and Age Matters forum where you will find lots of stories of dogs bigger than Kelly living their best life on three.
The recovery period after amputation and be challenging, but is usually harder on us then our pups. Most dogs are able to get around on their own, or with minimal help in a day or two. The first two weeks post op they should be mostly resting anyway. What is your parents house like? Stairs? slippery floors?
One thing that can be challenging post op and post recovery- Tripawds tend to hop pretty quickly, it's easier for them to balance when they go fast, especially a front amp. My current Tripawd is a little Pug Mix who lost her back leg to a car accident 9.5 years ago. Elly just turned 10 and her most comfortable gate tends to be faster than I comfortably walk but we make it work.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Ditto everything Karen said.
DEFINATELY, if possible, get a second opinion from an Orthopedic Surgeon. I would let your parents know that they are very, very familiar with amputation and assessing whether a dog is a good candidate or not. That's what they do! Based on the way you've described Kelly, other than that bum leg, she sounds fit and still has exist for life. Even if a dog has arthritis, weighs a lot more than sweet Kelly and is far older, those are not the main factors in determining if a dog is a good candidate or not.
my mom is worried about their ability to help Kelly (ie lifting her is not easy), and fear that chemotherapy will make Kelly sick. Kelly's quality of life is so important for them.
My first tripawd (Happy Hannah aBull Mastiff) weighted over125 lbs. It was just myself and, at the time, I was in my sixties. Depending on the circumstances of a needed amputation and now that I'm in my seventies with bad knees, still just myself, I still would not hesitate to pursue amputation in a 70 lb dog.
If an Orthopedic Surgeon does the amputation, Keyy would stay in a fully staffed overnight clinic for at least one night....someti6 more. Tjey wouldn't release Keyy until she was somewhat mobile, even of needing harness assistance. That's the other thing, we have harnesses, etc to help with mobility of needed . As you've already seen from doing research here yourself, most dogs are mobile within just a couple of days and many don't need harness help at all after the first week.
As far as chemo. keep things chunked down for now as your parents would still have time to make a decision on that a couple of weeks after amputation. It really is a crap shoot as to whether chemo extends time. Some donno checmo and they beat themodds, some do chemo and don't beat the odds. As far as sickness, some have no side effects at all, some may experience a day nor so of nausea and are given Cerenia to help. If a dog does have more notice side effects you can always discontinue
Hope this helps. Stay connected and update when you can.
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
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!
krun15 said
Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.I'm sorry your parent's are dealing with this, your are a great kid for trying to help!
So, a 70 pound dog isn't all that big based on what we see around here. Size and/or age alone should not be used to make a decision on amputation. If Kelly is otherwise in good health then amputation should be an option. Did the vet have specific concerns or did he just think 'too big'?
I know how important trust in your vet is but I think at least one more opinion is in order.
My Tri's have been small and rear amps, but the first Tripawd I met in person though this site way back in 2009 was named Cemil. He was a 150 pound Anatolian Shepard who lost his front leg to osteosarcoma. Cemil's mom Mary wasn't older, but was smaller than her dog and she was not able to lift him. Cemil lived many years and did not pass from OSA. He was definitely an outlier based on the stats but it does happen.
I think the best resource you can share with your parents is this site. We have the Size and Age Matters forum where you will find lots of stories of dogs bigger than Kelly living their best life on three.
The recovery period after amputation and be challenging, but is usually harder on us then our pups. Most dogs are able to get around on their own, or with minimal help in a day or two. The first two weeks post op they should be mostly resting anyway. What is your parents house like? Stairs? slippery floors?
One thing that can be challenging post op and post recovery- Tripawds tend to hop pretty quickly, it's easier for them to balance when they go fast, especially a front amp. My current Tripawd is a little Pug Mix who lost her back leg to a car accident 9.5 years ago. Elly just turned 10 and her most comfortable gate tends to be faster than I comfortably walk but we make it work.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Thanks for the quick reply! This is very helpful information, and will check out the size and age matters forum.
Unfortunately they have stairs and wood floors. Kelly is able to go outside with only one step. So she would only have to get down multiple stairs to get to the car. I see the other post mentions harnesses, so I will look at those.
With the wood floors, we discussed putting down antislip mats, but then those become a tripping hazzard for my parents! So we are looking at little paw pads or gripping booties. With the holidays, shopping has been limited.
Thanks!
benny55 said
Ditto everything Karen said.DEFINATELY, if possible, get a second opinion from an Orthopedic Surgeon. I would let your parents know that they are very, very familiar with amputation and assessing whether a dog is a good candidate or not. That's what they do! Based on the way you've described Kelly, other than that bum leg, she sounds fit and still has exist for life. Even if a dog has arthritis, weighs a lot more than sweet Kelly and is far older, those are not the main factors in determining if a dog is a good candidate or not.
my mom is worried about their ability to help Kelly (ie lifting her is not easy), and fear that chemotherapy will make Kelly sick. Kelly's quality of life is so important for them.
My first tripawd (Happy Hannah aBull Mastiff) weighted over125 lbs. It was just myself and, at the time, I was in my sixties. Depending on the circumstances of a needed amputation and now that I'm in my seventies with bad knees, still just myself, I still would not hesitate to pursue amputation in a 70 lb dog.
If an Orthopedic Surgeon does the amputation, Keyy would stay in a fully staffed overnight clinic for at least one night....someti6 more. Tjey wouldn't release Keyy until she was somewhat mobile, even of needing harness assistance. That's the other thing, we have harnesses, etc to help with mobility of needed . As you've already seen from doing research here yourself, most dogs are mobile within just a couple of days and many don't need harness help at all after the first week.
As far as chemo. keep things chunked down for now as your parents would still have time to make a decision on that a couple of weeks after amputation. It really is a crap shoot as to whether chemo extends time. Some donno checmo and they beat themodds, some do chemo and don't beat the odds. As far as sickness, some have no side effects at all, some may experience a day nor so of nausea and are given Cerenia to help. If a dog does have more notice side effects you can always discontinue
Hope this helps. Stay connected and update when you can.
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Thanks for this! I will see if there is a surgeon here who would provide another opinion and more details on recovery too. Excellent point on chunking the decisions, they can make one without the other and just see how she does. That is helpful to keep in mind!
I appreciate the help and support!
Michelle
Hi Michelle, welcome. You have gotten fantastic input from our two volunteer veteran members! To that I'll add:
Yes, please encourage them to get another opinion. The best vets with the most current training tell us that neither size nor age should rule out a dog from being an amputation candidate as long as they are otherwise healthy. Ruling out a dog on weight alone is old-school thinking, things have changed since those days. So if your folks are in the Durango area here are 3 AAHA-accredited clinics I like for this level of care, in my order of preference:
https://www.alp.....nimal.com/
https://www.riv......com/staff
https://durango.....pital.com/
Because they are AAHA-accredited , any of those clinics will be guaranteed to follow the most current treatment protocols, and I would trust any of them for amputation surgery. They may also be able to do longer-term medical boarding so that your folks don't have to deal with the first week of recovery, which is the most challenging.
Also, it's very likely that those AAHA clinics already have established relationships with the awesome team at Colorado State's Flint Animal Cancer Center, which will do long-distance consults. See:
https://www.csu.....fessional/
As for flooring, I totally get that about tripping hazards. In this case I recommend Dr. Buzby's Toe Grips, which the vet team can put on during the dog's recuperation at the clinic.
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