Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi, everyone.
Our beloved, sweet and handsome boy, Moe, was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in his right, rear knee on December 8 and we had it amputated on December 12 - that's three weeks as of tomorrow. His recovery has been very tough. He wouldn't eat for the first five days after surgery and was drinking constantly and urinating at least once an hour for the first week. He was always able to get up and walk, and has gotten much better at moving around, but has also developed a nasty abscess under the incision site that is still bleeding and draining. The stitches were supposed to come out last week, but due to the abscess, they won't be out until this weekend at the earliest. Moe is off all of his narcotic pain meds at this point, but still takes Rimadyl twice a day. One thing that is very hard on my wife and I is that Moe is constantly getting up and moving around, unable to settle and sleep for very long. He gets up, stands there panting, we think he has to go to the bathroom, we take him out and often he does nothing. Then he comes back in and stands, does not want to lie down and when he finally does, does not stay down long. He just seems very unsettled and uncomfortable. From reading others' accounts, we expected that he would return to a near-normal state once he was off the tramadol and fentanyl, but he is still very unsettled and uncomfortable. Has anyone else experienced this during recovery?
Thanks and sorry for the long post,
Craig
Hi Craig,
Thanks for joining, your future posts won't require moderation. Never apologize for the length of your post, we all understand how worried you are and get where you're coming from.
OK, I'm not a vet so take this for what it's worth but it does sound like he could use some pain medication. Since he seems so unsettled and is probably really uncomfortable because of the infection, I would talk to your vet about giving him something that could help take the edge off. It's not all that common for dogs to need them so far out from surgery but it does happen. All dogs are a little different in how they recuperate.
In the meantime, be strong and brave, and let him know how proud you are. Remember that the sooner you normalize your routine, the sooner he will believe things are OK again too and that will go a long way toward helping him settle down. Here's a great video which talks about that:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hmmm, you know, I seem to recall seeing a trend, just from reading these forums (by no means scientific), where greyhounds had more trouble than the average dog with their recovery. They all did fine eventually, but it just seemed like they were more likely to have a more stressful time for longer. Hopefully the clouds will part soon! That said, never hurts to investigate further via your vet or even a second opinion what might be! And sometimes just a second chat with your vet reveals things that they could have warned you before were normal reactions to ____ - fill in the blank - and are nothing to worry about (the abscess, withdrawal from the meds, etc.)
Also, maybe search the forums for other greyhounds' stories on the forums here. Maybe you come across something helpful, if I was right about that breed trend.
Gerry has been a tripawd since 12/16/2009.
He was a shelter dog with a mysterious past and an irrepairable knee injury.
Videos and pics of Gerry's pawesomeness can be found at: http://gerry.tripawds.com
Hi everyone - thanks for the replies. The vet took a culture last weekend and put him on Clavamox. After getting the culture back, he is adding a second antibiotic - apparently the site of the abscess has developed quite an infection. The vet thinks the infection and abscess are the source of his anxiety and discomfort.
And yes, greyhounds definitely seem to be a little slower to mend than regular dogs. They have different anatomies and are actually quite delicate.
We'll check in and let you know how he does. Our first chemo consultation is next Friday, we hope to have his wound all healed up by then.
moethegreyhound said
...greyhounds definitely seem to be a little slower to mend than regular dogs. They have different anatomies and are actually quite delicate.
That's for sure! Here's a relevant article from the Tripawds Downloads blog :
Learn About Post-Amputation Bleeding Greyhounds
Thanks for the update!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Poor Moe! Come on sweet boy, we've gotta' get you feeling betterZ, Maybe those antibiodics will kickin quicklynnow!
Did the vet suggest a small dose of pain meds to help keep him more comforatable! His symptoms just seem to mirror pain.
Okay, I kow this sounds crazy but I'm just gonna' through out an off the wall "whatever it's worth" scenario......one member had a situation where their dog was in pain weeks after surgery...and I think an "open wound" at the stitch site and they were treating for aninfection.....turned out a stitch/staple was left in. I could be waaaaaay off base,' but I just remember how alarmed I was that all these problems were because of an internal stitch left in. Athen' again, my memory's not all that great so i could have it all screwed up!
Would LOVE to see more pictures of Moe! Is avatar photois sooooo ha dsome!
Take care and keepmus posted, oka? He WILL feel better and WILL start to co sistenty get his "Moe Joe" back! I know this is so distressing for you. Unfortuately, this journey has a few twists and turns on the road to recovery!
Hugs to your sweet Moe and hsng in there! It will get better!
Sally and Happy Hannah
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!
Yes, greyhounds are a bit different. It does seem true that you need to keep on top of pain with greyhounds or they don't do so well. Ask your vet about pain relief for him. It might be worth asking about gabapentin which is particularly good for nerve-related pain - Sid has been put onto it, years after his amputation, because the vet thinks he is having phantom limb pain, and it's made a big difference to him.
Many greyhounds do not do well on opiates/opioids. Sid can't tolerate Vetergesic (buprenorphine) and gets completely paranoid. Can't settle, wants to go and stand at the end of the garden for hours and doesn't even seem to recognise us. He runs away from us and pants like crazy. However, on Tramadol he is fine. Some other greyhounds can't tolerate Tramadol (ctually, I think that's probably true for other breeds too, but I only have personal experience of greyhounds).
What sort of bedding do you have for him? I only ask because Sid can't do soft squishy beds and needs something flatter, or he feels unstable. He finds it very hard standing and turning on soft surfaces, and he also finds it hard to get into and out of a bolster type bed (with a lip). For night time, he has a couple of folded cotton sleeping bags (nylon slides!) with a sheepskin on top. He looooves the sheepskin! That might be something to keep for when Moe's abscess has healed, though, because while mine is washable, it takes forever to dry and it's not something you want to be doing every other day. Vet-Bed would work almost as well though, and that is very washable, of course, and dries quickly.
Hi Craig, we are going through a similar situation with an abscess that developed after a great 2.5 week recovery with surgery a few days before Moe's. A seroma
started developing and she suddenly woke one night in pain and periodic cries. She'd been off pain meds for about 4 days and we put her back on tramadol for that weekend, added gabApentin too after consulting with our oncologist. We brought her in after 2 days with moderate improvement but her seroma
was growing. The emergency vet thought there was no infection given there was no fever and the small discharge did not smell or seem unusual in color. We gave it 2 more days over New Years whereby her discomfort didn't moderate much even on 2 meds, and the seroma
doubled that last night. After seeing the pictures our surgeon wanted her in immediately for draining. It turns out her seroma
was infected, unusual given it developed in week 3 they said but thought it may have been because her immune system was suppressed as we started her on palladia for a week when all the issues developed. The pain was pretty intense and severe so would definitely agree with the others in talking to your vet about pain relief. Her discomfort was much worse than her first few days after surgery. Beyond the yelps and cries when she moved, she was restless and standing, laying down at times, but not sleeping. Perhaps some was anxiety from the drugs but after being in the hospital for 24 hrs, we saw a major improvement, no discomfort in the area, movement was back to where she was, and she was very relaxed and comfortable. We brought her home today after a 2 night stay there with a drain plug put in and IV antibiotics while there. Asleep happily now and that is also with a reduction of pain meds . Relieving the pressure from the abscess(drained completely at the hospital and she is sent home with a drip bag for residual seroma
) and oral antibiotics seemed to resolve most of the discomfort.
Hope this helps and that Moe will feel better soon.
Hi again, everyone.
Thanks for the support and encouragement. Moe has been on a new antibiotic, Zenequin, for the past four days and seems to be responding well to it - the infected area near the stitches seems to be healing somewhat and we don't have to have a surgipad attached to the site all the time to catch the mess coming out of there. So we think he is on the mend. We're back to the surgical hospital on Saturday to have the stitches out, assuming they clear him for that, and I had to push his first chemo appointment back to Friday, the 17th, since chemo suppresses the immune system and we want to make sure he is rid of this infection before starting.
Sally, we'll be sure to ask the vet when taking the stitches out to make sure she gets everything! Since you asked, some other pictures of Moe and his sister Cookie, both retired racers, can be seen here:
http://flickr.c.....en/To19bE/
Jay, Moe has a couple of different kinds of beds. He definitely prefers a thinner bed for now, that's easier to hop on, and one without a bolster. It looks like Sid lost the same leg as Moe. How long before he was able to tackle stairs?
Akita, our surgeon drained the seroma when we brought him back in for another look and took the culture from it which resulted in them putting him on Zenequin (the most expensive drug EVER).
We are hanging in there, just wishing the big boy would feel better and get back to his old self sooner, both for his sake and ours. We'll check back in after we see the vet again.
Thanks,
Craig
I am in PHOTO HEAVEN!!! These are BEAUTIFUL photos of two stunningly beautiful and handsome dogs!!
Truly, I was just mesmerized by their beauty! Absolutely stunning dogs! They ARE poetry in motion! So full of grace!
Cooie in flight......more elegant than a ballerina could ever be.
The pic of the "paws in the sand"...loved that! And the one of their pawprints...nice.
Each "mug shot" made me want to jump through the scrren and get me some Greyhou d kisses!!
Moe sure does like his alligator Santa brought him. I'm sure it's because he is a very, very good boy!
Oh, and the photo of the two of them putting their heads out the car window.....adorable!! I just LOVE Moe and Cookie!! And clearly, they are very, very loved pups...and I think they know it!!
Thank you sooooooo much for sharing these family album "treasures"! Each one was like opening a Christmas present.....loved the one I was opening and couldn't wait to get to the next one!!
And best of all, Moe is doing better! YAAAAAAAAAY Yeah, I don't blame you one bit for delaying chemo until this is fully healed!! Don't need anymore setbacks! And I'm sure Moe concurs! I'm sure as this infection clears and he can just focus on healing from the major surgery, he'll continue to get better and better!
Thanks again for lettng us see those pictures! When I get ho e to ight I'm going to sit down with a bag of popcorn..which I MUST share with Happy Hannah or I'll have drool all over the enrire house......and look at these again at a slower paceA! Can't wait!
Hugs to all your pack! You are wonderful, loving pawparents!
Sally and Happy Hannah
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!
I've just looked at the photos too - what gorgeous hounds! Hope Moe is doing ok. Our Eva is a back leg amp too.
Hi everyone.
I meant to do an update earlier, but Moe is doing much better now. His infection has healed, his stitches are out, he is sleeping though the night and just the other day he started using the stairs again! So for us, eight to nine weeks was about the healing time he needed to get back to normal, or his version of the new normal. But he gets around great and his spirits are high and we are happy and proud of our handsome dude. He has his third dose of carboplatin chemo in a couple of weeks, out of six scheduled. Thanks so much for the support. Amputation can be a tough road, but it's worth it in the end for our beloved family members that are otherwise healthy and happy.
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