Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Well, Ft. Collins is a bit far. I'm in Lafayette. But it was worth a shot! And yes indeed, I am a huge proponent of knocked out happy if the alternative is cognitively aware but hurting. Awake and aware can come later.
Being away a couple of hours isn't bad at all. She'll probably just sleep because you aren't there. When you're there, she wants to be on alert and making sure you aren't having fun without her. If your neighbor can come over a couple of times today for a few minutes, that might help Sasha accept her during the week. And bartering is so helpful! You can get rid of kids that way!
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/
Sounds pretty typical to me, and I totally agree with Dakota's Mom's insight. I also think having her zonked out is better than overdoing things.
Chances are, when you're away she will just sleep all day.
I agree, have someone check in on her while you're at work. We have friends in Ft. Collins, so if you're in a bind PM me and I'll ask them to check in. They're big dog people so I'm pretty sure they would do it.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
So... looks like we are in need of something strong for Sasha. Like sedatives. We left her for an hour this afternoon while we ran to the grocery store. I also wanted to "test run" our set up for her before I left her for several hours. Well, when we got home she was obviously stressed and had somehow managed to pull out about half of her staples. I'm a wreck and don't know how I'm going to be able to leave her while she still has her stitches in! She had the biggest E-collar on we could find, small x-pen so she couldn't wander and fall down, everything we could think of. We were going to cover it but putting anything on her made her more annoyed with her incision. Ugh... Any ideas anyone? Short of just emailing my professors and asking for a few more excused days (which is my next step), we were at a loss. We're going back to the vet tomorrow AM and will probably see if they can give us anything stronger for the pain or wrap her incision.
I knew things were going too smoothly to possibly last forever...
I'd probably opt to have it wrapped well and tied around 3 limbs and a tail, just to be safe. I'd see if I had a nice friend who wanted to come read a book or watch a movie at my place while I went to class. Maybe talk to Jerry's friends. And if nothing else worked, I'd ask for the rest of the week off. But can you afford that, scholastically-speaking?
One more thought: Maybe the vet will keep her there as a daycare kind of arrangement just while you're in class. I've seen dogs like that before, confined behind the front desk on a nice bed when they're too sick for hospitalization but not well enough to be left alone.
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/
I can kind of afford it scholastically but it's not ideal... I might shoot Jerry a PM to see about a possible dog day-sitter. My only concern is our other dogs but I'm sure something could be worked out. The vet idea would be awesome except our vet is in Greeley so we wouldn't be able to drop her off everyday 
However, if we lived in Greeley I'm sure that would be possible. I think for now we'll definitely ask them to wrap her up nice and secure so at the very least there's one more layer of protection...
Thank you again for all the suggestions and support... I can't imagine having to go through this without people who've been there.
I know this is such a terrible position to be in. Fortunately I am able to take Zeus to work with me so it wasn't an issue with this amp.
But, Angel Merlin had three knee surgeries and we ran into the same problem as you. Each time we mentioned it to our vet and were able to find someone to sit with him (for the 1st one the receptionist knew of a retired lady, for the 2nd an employee knew of a military wife who had already quit her job b/c they were being transferred and for the 3rd one of our vet techs had an unemployed mom). You would be surprised how many people are open to making a few extra bucks if you just ask around. And, it really wasn't expensive - I mean, I would come home at lunch to walk him. They just needed to be there to keep him from freaking. They could read, watch TV, play on the computer, whatever. In your case it would be even easier since you only need a few hours.
The vet is a good idea, too. I bet you could find one closer than your regular vet who would just charge you a day-boarding fee to keep him for a few hours. Good luck!
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/
Hope you figure out a solution that works for you and Sasha. That was a good idea to try a test run. We were lucky since I work from home, and when i did need to leave her, my sister was able to come and stay with her. I hope you can find a friend to come sit with her or a vet's office to board her at for a while.
Good luck! It's so stressful to be away from our pups when they are recovering.
Jackie
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
Oh crazy Shepherds! Sasha, even Wyatt Ray didn't do that, silly girl.
I'm so sorry guys. I hope the vet has some ideas for you. In the meantime I'll check with my friends to see if they're available (one of them is a former vet tech so I'm crossing my fingers she can do this). Good luck, keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you guys!! The good luck is greatly appreciated... She's certainly keeping us on our toes... I guess what makes her resiliant and fun also makes her a less than easy patient. We're headed to the vet this morning to get Sasha restitched and chat about different/higher dosage pain meds. Luckily my professors have been very understanding and have helped me stay caught up with my classes but I'm sure that won't last forever. I'll keep you posted with hopefully all good news! 
Just talked to my friend, I'm PMing you now.
Meanwhile, we just thought of our friend Connie, at Canine Health Resort, which specializes in this kind of thing. She is on Drake, it's a wonderful place! Maybe she can help too. Give her a call as well.
Dang I wish we could be there to help. We are on the other side of the state right now, and will be until we leave for winter. Wyatt Ray is so bummed he can't be there to cheer her up in person!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Oh yeah! Sasha's person, call her! Call Connie!
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/
One more thing...Dobiegirl just mentioned in another discussion that Xanax has helped Remy stay calm right now, maybe this can work for Sasha too. You might want to ask about it.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
That's a good idea! Connie doesn't possibly own a tripawd herself does she? I happened to meet a tripawds spokesperson at the Horsetooth dog park a while back and she told me she owned a boarding/rehab facility in Ft.Collins... hmm... We will give her a call regardless, thank you!
The vet went well... as my dogs usually seem to do she was miserable until we pulled into the parking lot then she was ready to rock and roll 
Crazy pooch. No more staples though since she's healing up really well and is stitched on multiple levels anyways. We're just going to step up the tramadol though and possible take her on a few more outings to keep her mind off the pain. That seemed to work today so we'll give it a try. It could be that she's just too used to being a part of all the action and being cooped up for 5 days gives her too much time to think about how her leg hurts all of a sudden.
Yes, that's Connie! Her Tripawd is a little white gal named Spree. Click on the link I put in, it'll take you to her story.
Glad the visit went well and she's doing a-ok! I hope the extra dope does the trick for your wild girl! Keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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