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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Babbo an Italian Spinone and is my buddy who is just shy of his 10th birthday. He was diagnosed with Osteo-sacrcoma last Monday and as you all know it's been a rough week. Did a chest X-ray and they did see a small spot but it was inconclusive. Options offered were to amputate, amputate + chemo or radiation, no treatment (manage symptoms), or to Euthenize now. Well the last choice was not an option for me. Babbo hops on one leg, I'm ceratin he is pain although he's attempting to hide it, has problem getting up and and down but he's still full of love. He is sleeping a lot more probably due to the Tramadol. Going tomorrow morning for an abdominal ultrasound and if no metastasis then amputate. Not sure if doing oral chemo or holistic route afterwards.
Questions I had were--has anybody had a loved one that was diagnosed with Osteo-sarcoma twith metastasis to stomach, spleen or liver? Also what should I expect in the next day or 2 post amputation?
I appreciate any feedback.
Thank you.
Ephrem
Welcome, your future forum posts will not require moderation. Micromets are nearly always present at the time of OSA diagnosis, but this is no reason to not proceed and get rid of the tumor pain which will only get worse. The most common location for metastasis is to the lungs. Full body scans are a good idea to get an idea of how far the cancer has progressed. Just keep in mind that a diagnosis does not come with an expiration date! Now it is time to focus on alleviating pain and making the most of every moment you have together with Babbo.
Every dog is different when it comes to recovery. Jerry hopped out of the hospital the next day, as most dogs bounce right back, often quite literally. Be sure to bookmark the Tripawds Reading List for lost of links to the best blog posts, forum topics and videos describing what to expect.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Welcome to you and Babbo!
We've had a lot of members here who found lung mets pretty soon after surgery. Some of them lived quite a long time afterwards. Jerry, our founder here, lived over 2 years with lung mets, I believe. Abby also lived quite awhile, and Zeus had mets before his amputation and still lived life fully for about 9 more months. And there are more. Of course no one knows how long Babbo has, just as no one knows how long I have. We all take our chances each day, and we hope to get a lot of good, quality time.
We have a saying around here: No dog has an expiration date. Doctors can make guesses, but they don't really like to. They guess because the humans want answers. We are very uncomfortable with the unknown. But our dogs are not. They are at peace with not knowing what's coming next. If we can live a bit more like that, we can enjoy what time we have left with them instead of worrying that we won't have enough. It's hard to do, but it sure helps.
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
Welcome to you and Babbo.
You are definitely in the right place, the people and support you will find here is incredible!
Our chocolate lab, Hunter, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma last May. He had his right rear leg amputated on May 30th, had 6 rounds of IV chemo (carboplatin), and celebrated his 7 month ampuversary on Dec. 30th.
On Dec. 5th they found a small mass on his right lung so he is currently in an oncology trial at U.W. Madison. We are doing everything we can to give him as much quality time with us as possible and right now he is doing great!
It may help you to read his blog: http://www.supe.....ipawds.com
There are amputation and chemo pictures on it, as well as his ups and downs... but way more UPS than downs for this dog!
I truly wish you the best with Babbo. It's amazing how well they do on 3 legs..."dogs have 3 legs and a spare " they say, and I really believe that. It has not slowed down our lab one bit. He even went hunting again last October!
Please keep us posted.
Hunter's Mom
Read about our Hunter at http://superdog.....pawds.com/
7/27/2003 ~ 7/24/2013
Our Super Dog Hunter crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on a beautiful summer day in July, just 3 days shy of his 10th Birthday. He gave us everything since he was 8 weeks old. Hunter was a 14 month warrior of OS. We LOVE and MISS him every day.
Welcome. I am new to this as well- we just had our dog's leg amputated Tuesday and he's still recovering at Auburn. However, I wanted to say I was thinking of you and you will have fantastic people on the board to help you through whatever. Lots of stories here on osteosarcoma-- so should provide some support. Hang in there. And remember whatever you decide to do, no wrong answer. Amputation is a big surgery (and I admit I freaked out a bit yesterday-- I can't believe I had my dog's leg cut off!) but in exchange, I get to have lots more Tilghman hugs going forward. And he's hopping around already! The vets are trying to keep him quiet!
Hi and welcome. Our dog was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at 11 years old. A CT scan at the time of diagnosis showed a small lung met and a suspicious spot on his liver. We decided to go forward with amputation and chemo. At the time of his first chemo (one month after amp), the lung met had grown enough to be visible on regular x-ray. Fortunately, it never multiplied and grew very, very little after that point. Eventually the cancer spread to his abdomen (maybe from the 'suspicious spot' on his liver at the time of diagnosis) but even at the time we found the spread to his belly, x-rays showed that the lungs were still clear except that one tiny spot.
We enjoyed ten months with him after the date of diagnosis and we do not regret one second of it. Strangely, it seems like much longer than ten months, I guess because we didn't take any of it for granted and really made an effort to make every day really count.
A cancer diagnosis is sad and hard to hear. We all understand that. I wish you the best of luck!
Lisa
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
A quick update--The abdominal ultrasound showed no metastasis and really after spending several hours last night reading the various posts there was really one obvious decision. Babbo had the amputation this afternoon and I have not seen him yet but the surgeon called me and said everything went well!!!
This may sound strange but with everyday passing I feel less alone and look forward to having my buddy back without pain and loving him for however long he may be around. The notion of quality over quantity has finally sunk in.
I want to thank everyone for caring and sharing......
Ephrem
I'm glad to hear that the ultrasound today looked good.
My dog didn't have osteosarcoma (he had fibrosarcoma); but we did do amputation and chemo. Unfortunately for us his cancer was extremely aggressive and we only had 6 months and a few days with him after amputation; but that is 5+ months longer than we likely would have had without amputation. And for us they were all quality days. Even with weekly chemo (and I believe Spencer was on a pretty aggressive chemo from what I have read) Spencer was still full of life everyday until his last (he went down hill quickly, started bleeding internally. we don't know why; but he did have lung mets by then).
Just wanted to let you know that even with chemo Spencer have a very good quality of life. So if that is the recommendation you get, definitely consider it.
Jac and Angel Spencer. Spencer was 5.25 years old. He fought a grade 3 fibrosarcoma, started on his shoulder. Left front leg amputated in August 2011. 15 weeks of chemo finished 12/22/11 (mytox and adria). Lung mets found on x-rays 12/28/11. Started carboplatin 1/6/12. Went to Heaven on 2/27/12. I miss him like crazy every day. See his blog here: http://spencer.tripawds.com/
Thank you for letting us know Babbo had the surgery and is doing well. That's really great news! Do you know when he can come home? Do you think your home is ready for him, or do you need to made adjustments?
I was not familiar with Babbo's breed so I looked it up. For some reason I expected something thin and short-coated and small. Not at all what Babbo is! I hope you can post some pictures of him here. What a handsome dog breed, and I love the coat and beard! How much does he weigh?
Make sure to come back with questions. Don't hesitate to call the doctor if you are unsure of anything. It's what you pay for. And remember that pain medication is often hard to get right. In fact, too much medication can look like too little. If Babbo seems depressed or has no energy, it's probably from the medication. It is necessary of course, but it can really change their personality. At least it's temporary. Most dogs are off of pain medication at 10-14 days, it seems, and then their old personality blossoms. Congratulations! You gave your dog a chance for more good time!
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
Congrats on making it through, Babbo! Wahoo! I wish you a speedy, healthy recovery with lots of love (that's a given, I can see)!
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
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