Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi all,
In the beginning, I was very hesitant to do this surgery on Rahley. Before surgery, he was dragging his left leg, acting depressed, and just laying around. It was explained to me that he needed this amputation to give him a better quality of life. At about the 1 month mark, he started changing, demeanor upbeat, wagging tail, trying to get us to throw his toys for him to hop over and return to us. Rahley is a very happy dog, smiles and laughs! I know he must have been in discomfort, and now that is removed. We feed him as clean as we can, lots of veggies, and he is tolerating the daily dose of Meloxicam now. We are pleased he is doing so well. He has checkup with the doctor in 3 weeks, so will know more on his improvement. 20% chance of re recurrence, but that's great odds we think!
Terri
Aww Terri! Thank you for letting us know this terrific news!
Yes, getting rid of that bad leg can make all the difference and bring back quality of life. As humans we have a hard time picturing that when people say that's what'll happen, but it's really true in almost all cases.
I'm really happy for you and Rahley, we all are! YAY!
Terri_1 said
Hi all,In the beginning, I was very hesitant to do this surgery on Rahley. Before surgery, he was dragging his left leg, acting depressed, and just laying around. It was explained to me that he needed this amputation to give him a better quality of life. At about the 1 month mark, he started changing, demeanor upbeat, wagging tail, trying to get us to throw his toys for him to hop over and return to us. Rahley is a very happy dog, smiles and laughs! I know he must have been in discomfort, and now that is removed. We feed him as clean as we can, lots of veggies, and he is tolerating the daily dose of Meloxicam now. We are pleased he is doing so well. He has checkup with the doctor in 3 weeks, so will know more on his improvement. 20% chance of re recurrence, but that's great odds we think!
Terri
Update on Rahley. It has been 7 months and he is doing great. Very happy and hops around easily. A bit more tired at night, but it is hard to hop around all day long. His last xray last week was great, no sign of recurring cells. The biggest problem we have right now, as we are in middle of a ice lock down, is for him to do his business outside. We help him as he slides across the frozen yards. We are blessed to have Rahley doing so well. He is 9 1/2 now. 
Rahley is a TRIPAWD ROCKSTAR!!
Yes, you definitely made the right decision and. Rahley clearly agrees!!
YAAAAAY for clear xrays and great check up. Tripawds to tire more easily, but it's a good, pain free tired.😎
Bummer about the ice. So treach for Tripawds. actirall four leggers and hoomans too. Be careful!
Thanks for checking mi. Give. Rahley some extra treats for us
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!
Rahley is amaaazing! Really happy to know he's doing so well and got those clear scans we all hope for. Seven months is pawesome! 
Ice really sucks for everyone! We are getting our first experience with ice and snow up here since we moved to Alaska. What a shock to see that no shoes can keep you or a dog from sliding. I feel so awful when Nellie ice skates across our driveway. Her Ruffwear Flagline harness is a must around this time of year for us, it's the only way we can get her over to a decent potty spot (as long as we are wearing ice cleats ourselves!). Our neighbor put cleats on her dog boots, which I thought was brilliant.
I hope you get some nice weather soon! Thanks for stopping by.
Rahley at the 8 month mark from surgery. Seemed to be doing great hopping around. For some reason, had 4 days of vomiting once a day. Per vet visit, took him off Meloxicam for 6 days, per vet - put on gabapentin daily. Then, he when he tried to get up or walk, very uncordinated, back end, falling down. Almost like he didnt want to put any weight on remaining front leg. Stopped gabapentin, put back on Meloxicam. This morning very unsteady. Waiting to chat with vet. Thinking the Meloxicam isn't fully on board yet. Perhaps first thing in morning, he is stiff from sleeping. Although we really havent seen this in the last several months. Monitoring him closely. Trying to encourage him to move lightly, not lay down all day. From all the positive signs we had seen from the surgery, surprised to see this. Waiting to talk to vet.
Terri
First 0f all, HAPPY EIGHT MONTH AMPUVERSARY RAHLEY!!!👏👏
Not sure about the vomiting.. Did the vomiting stop after off Melpxicam? Does he seem to be nauseous at all and turning his head away from food, licking his lips, etc?
What has his activity been like prior to the leg weakness? With a tripawd we often see situations like this as a result of overdoing it. It doesn't take much to tweak a muscle or twist a joint. It can be also ve a tweaking the spine , a disc, or even a neck muscles, etc. If you massage up and down his spine, his neck and shou area, does he show any signs of tension.
For now and until you speak with your Vet, I would only get him up for potty. If it's a muscle strain, etc he'll need to rest and let it heal.
Stay connected and update when you can.
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS....If you pinch his toes, does he pull back?
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!
Hi Terri, thanks for letting us know what's going on. I'm sorry for this issue! I have the same questions as Sally, especially regarding activity level. Also, is he on any other medications?
Hope you had a good convo with the vet today. Keep us posted and give him a big smooch from us! We are sending tons of pawsitivity and strength to both of you!
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