Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi Elizabeth,
I was there with Holly - she got nausea after each round of carboplatin. It took us until the 3rd round to get anti-nausea meds to take home from the vets. The meds helped, but did not completely alleviate the trouble. I found, as Bob (Spirit Cherry's dad) did, that she would turn her nose up at food she was happy to eat the night before. I kept a variety of things on hand - figuring if I could get her to eat then it was worth it. Things I found that worked.... canned tripe (smells horrid but almost always was something she would eat), canned salmon, ground beef, and chicken. Sometimes I just gave her rice, chicken and broth. I made salmon ice cubes - mixed canned salmon with water and froze it in a baggie - which sometimes was all she would eat. (that's also pretty smelly) Somedays it would work to mix one of the things I mentioned in with her food, other days she just got the "good" stuff straight. I was a little worried that I was spoiling her, but you know when our dogs don't feel good we would do anything to help them. And I didn't need to worry - we made it through chemo and she doesn't expect gourmet fare each night! 
(although I have to admit she sometimes still gets it). I worried so much that I was doing the right thing - we almost stopped the chemo a few times, but something in me decided to keep at it. I think it is so important to think about quality of life - and only you can evaluate how bad Sammy's reactions are. We'll send you lots of pawsitive, healing, and anti-nausea thoughts!!! Good luck!
Hugs,
Holly, Zuzu and Susan
Holly joined the world of tripawds on 12/29/2009. She has a big little sister, Zuzu, who idolizes Holly and tries to make all of her toys into tripawds in Holly's honor. And she's enjoying life one hop at a time!
http://anyemery.....ipawds.com
And if all else fails, try not to mix booze and meds! (as entertaining as we think you might be under such influence, it's probably not a good idea)
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.
Who told?! LOL!
I had typed in this great reply but forgot to log in. I don't know if I can repeat it, so I will just say thank you for making me laugh and for all your help. I will be posting in detail in the morning if I get time. Sammy ate a little for me tonight, and is being a charming little brother to Titan and Shy by whining and licking thier ears. He is being ignored well, but is making me smile because he has the energy to do it. He was pretty energetic when he ran outside to go potty too!
Life is good with my pack, my crew tonight.
Hugs to all of you, may you have a good night.
Elizabeth and Sammy
Diagnosed with osteosarcoma in the right front leg 8/23/10,
leg fractured 8/27/10,
leg amputated 8/30/10
http://sammyand.....pawds.com/
I couldn't begin to say how special Sammy is to us. Living and laughing with and loving this wonderful boy is priceless.
I'm just catching up and just wanted to say that you've gotten some great comments here and I just wanted to add that when we put our pets through something like this, it's so hard to see them have these side effects on top of what they've already gone through. It's magnified 10-fold. After each carboplatin treatment that Mackenzie had, she would lose her appetite for 4 - 5 days, had low energy and not be herself (her side effects were worse than the average.) We did everything possible - from injecting anti-nausea meds before her chemo treatment to doing 3 different types of anti-nausea meds for 4 - 5 days following her treatments. It all sort of helped but not completely. But without fail, she always bounced back after the 4th or 5th day. So just know that the first treatment is probably the hardest because you don't know what to expect and it does get a little bit easier as you do each treatment because you know now what to expect. Like Holly's Mom, we questioned doing the chemo several times but something inside of me told me to keep going too. I'm glad to hear that Sammy is doing better now....it can be so emotional and trying when they aren't feeling good.
Sending lots of pawsitive healing thoughts your way....
Kami (Mackenzie & Kobe's Mom)
My sweet golden Mackenzie. She became my angel on Dec 29, 2010 at the age of 8 1/2 although she was always my angel from the time we brought her home. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in Sept 2009 and officially became a tripawd (front leg) on Nov 5, 2009. She will be forever in my heart and now she's running free with all of our other tripawd heroes. I love you Mackenzie!
Hi Elizabeth,
Reading Susan's post reminded me of something else Bob talks about- it might be helpful to keep a journal or log of Sammy's reactions during treatments. I did for Mag and it helped me see when the 'down' days would be, and when I could expect a more normal Mag. I recorded what she ate, her energy level, if BMs were normal, her temperature, meds given, etc.
One other thing on trying to get him to eat- don't stress around him if he doesn't want to eat. I did that a couple of times with Maggie- and it just made her more resistant to eating. She even went outside a couple of times to avoid me. The log I kept of how much food I got in her everyday helped me realize that she was getting enough- some days not as much as I would like- but overall enough, and that helped me be less stressed.
Karen and the pugapalooza
The journal works long term also. When you start medicating every other day or less frequently, you don't have to remember what day it was you gave that pill. You can go look. I started keeping one for Trouble when she began having the mobility issues and to track the new diet. It makes things so much easier.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
The journal is one idea that I did get going when Sammy was having phantom pain , and I have kept it going to track his meds. I am writing it all down as it happens. They give us five minutes on the computer at work so I have to let the next person on, but keep them coming, all ideas welcome!
Elizabeth and Sammy
Diagnosed with osteosarcoma in the right front leg 8/23/10,
leg fractured 8/27/10,
leg amputated 8/30/10
http://sammyand.....pawds.com/
I couldn't begin to say how special Sammy is to us. Living and laughing with and loving this wonderful boy is priceless.
It can only steal his days if you let it 🙂 He has no idea what's wrong, so he isn't worried about anything...he may not feel very good, but he doesn't know why. Next time you can try giving the pill as a precautionary measure to see if that helps - if it doesn't, no one is going to be mad or upset if you decide to stop treatments. If Jack was having an off day it helped me to put a little humor into it. For example, if he vomited or had diarrhea my response was "gah! what's your problem?!? Its not like you have cancer or something!" Then we'd giggle together and he'd still love me. Or: "run faster, lazy! A little fluid in your abdomen and you think you can take it easy?!?!" He kind of got mad at that one.......anyhoo, the point of the matter, is that sometimes it helps to make a bad situation into a "fun" one. I remember a story my mom told me once (she works in a neuro ICU) about a family visiting their comatose relative: they drew smiley faces on her eyelids. I'll always remember that story because it shows how a funny little thing can make things so much less depressing. Good luck! I'm close by also if you need anything, need to talk, or need an appointment buddy 
<3 Laura and Invisible JackAttack
Elizabeth and Sammy,
Since we experienced difficulty with the chemotherapy, we are so extremely sorry to be late to reply. We just returned from a trip that included Crater Lake, Burney Fall, and Lassen Volcano National Park and were without internet for nearly a week. We were also at Crater Lake when a car, with a dog inside, rolled down the crater ledge more than 1000 ft into the lake. That is another story.
Miss Cherry's first chemotherapy treatment occured just hours after the amputation after her body returned to "room" temperature. Her first night went rather well, but by the next evening her appetite dropped to absolutely nothing. For the two month duration of her treatment, I had to stuff about 85% of her calorie content. Her problem did not seem to be nausea but rather the horible taste that the chemicals left. As I kissed her good-night, even I could taste the chemicals. We tried the anti-nausea, appetite stimulants, and many other drugs to help. I would never say that they did not help to some degree, but any sense of appetite did not return until the chemotherapy was over.
I often suggest keeping a journal and this is one of the reasons. As you move forward, you will be able to look back to your detailed notes and make honest apprasials. I also can look back now and help tell what helped. Based upon what I have read above and Cherry's experiences, I would suggest soda crackers and real chicken broth. Both help to sooth the stomach, provide some needed nutrition, and fluids. Cherry actually took the crackers willingly so I believe that there is come inate instinct, but I had to use a test tube wash bottle to get the chicken broth down. I also have many more suggestions that helped during Cherry's TriPawd Journey, so just PM if you need more. (This can include a link to my journal that I have posted online where Cherry's vet and oncologist could monitor her progress.)
Above all, do not loose a positive attitude and remain as upbeat as possible. They will take cues from your attitude and that is important. As bad as Cherry's initial diagnosis (included additional growths on her internal organs), she recovered from the chemotherapy and had a wonderful 405 days. She lived a full life for a Standard Poodle - 12 years. I will add one last caution - reducing the strength or the amount of chemotheapy treatments, can have the effect of eliminating a significant portion of the effectiveness. While chemotheapy is not an exact science (it is a poison after all), my research suggests that a 25% reduction in the amount of the chemicals can reduce the effectiveness by as much as 75%. Cherry's oncologist wanted to reduce her treatment based upon the appetite problem and how bad my fingers looked after the first week. However, after much discussion that it was all about giving Cherry the best chance for the best recovery, we move forward with the full protocol. Now that you have made the start, learned from this first experience, please consider at least one more full treatment and use everyting we can pull from this communty to help.
Prayers that things are getting better.
Spirit Cherry's Dad - Bob
Piggybacking on what Spirit Cherry's dad is saying:
There is a spectrum to the amount they give, generally based on the weight on the dog. We did end up decreasing the amount of Carboplatin to the lower end of the spectrum due to Charlie's CBC results. Between the low platelet counts in the beginning, we now struggle with his WBC count being in the mid to high "Low Range". It was an effort to continue the chemo because he was right on the cusp of not being able to continue (or waiting to do another round).
I'm in class right now, otherwise I'd write more. As you can tell, I'm taking copious notes. 
You can pm me if you'd like non-healthy ideas for getting Sammy to eat. One thing I found during this time: Charlie doesn't like anything with fish in it! No salmon, tuna, herring, or whatever they put in that stupid food. 
"I don't know where I am."
Hello there Elizabeth and Sammy, we're late coming to the party here. Sorry Sammy is having a rough time, we didn't do chemo with Gus so I can't help you there, but I can relate to the no sleep schedule, no fun. All I can do is say I'm on the bus with everyone else to help you through the mud in the road on this crappy journey. Hopefully once you guys are through the chemo life can get normal, what a feeling, what a thought!!!! Look at it this way, if your up at night watching the 150 channels of nothing by the time Sammy is done with chemo you will have the best abs in the tripawd family, know what the best diet is to keep your figure like it was when you were 20, you'll know how to make enough money in just 4 weeks you can retire, you'll have the best sounds system to listen to while working out with the only machine that can make you firm again, you'll have the best looking jewelry when you go out on your walks with Sammy, and you will never have to buy another knife to use in making Sammys' meals, you won't even need to take the bones out of the food, just cut right through 'em and chop 'em up, oh what a life, oh what a figure, oh what a bank account, it just doesn't stop!!!! Paws up, spirit Gus and Dan
My buddy Gus had a left front amputation on April 7, 2010 and lived a great life until July 26,2010
djbockman,
LOL, you make me laugh, that is a positive indeed
Viking Queen, I will probably be pm'ing you soon. I have a very busy day but probably this weekend. Thanks for the offer.
I am absolutely going to continue chemo, it was just a rough start. A couple of days of uncomfortable is acceptable to me for the long-term possible benefits. He is doing good now, even talking and being his old silly self. He still isn't eating well, but I will be hunting up tempting morsels to change his mind.
Cometdog, I tried the booze last night, will try the pills later and let you know.... LOL!
My vet says there are a couple of different things we can do. So thanks for all of the advice, we will approach the next appointment with the anti-nausea shot first and go from there.
He never did get sick, he just was so obviously turned off by food, I could tell he wanted to "hurl" at the smell of it. He is too fastidious for that, so thank goodness I wasn't having to clean anything up...
Elizabeth and Sammy
Diagnosed with osteosarcoma in the right front leg 8/23/10,
leg fractured 8/27/10,
leg amputated 8/30/10
http://sammyand.....pawds.com/
I couldn't begin to say how special Sammy is to us. Living and laughing with and loving this wonderful boy is priceless.
For those that don't know - Dan is funny, funny, funny - it's just very dry! (have talked with him over the phone and he gives Comet a run on fun!)
Why can't VQ post un-healthy meal planning publically? Did the healthy eating police show up?
We serve up peanut butter cookies and donuts over here!
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.
And don't forget the ice cream! I scream, you scream.... 
Hey - maybe we should try ice cream drinks for the pawrents?
Holly joined the world of tripawds on 12/29/2009. She has a big little sister, Zuzu, who idolizes Holly and tries to make all of her toys into tripawds in Holly's honor. And she's enjoying life one hop at a time!
http://anyemery.....ipawds.com
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