Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I was giving McGwire a bath this morning and found a somewhat large lump on Mac's rump. It is hard, bony like and immobile and on the same side as his amp. It feels like it's part of the bone. He has always had a bony butt, however, this doesn't match the other side. He doesn't show any tenderness towards it and I haven't noticed him walking especially strangely. Of course this happens on a Saturday morning! Clearly we are going to the vet ASAP Monday, but what kind of experience do you all have with any of this?
Tazzie2, your C lumps are hard, but are they mobile? When I think of subQ, I think mobility. What do they look like? This looks like the rest of him, no vascularity (is that a word?!)
Kind of freaking out here, hoping that my 'feeling that something was wrong' is actually wrong and that it's just my hypochondriatic tendencies. Thanks!
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I don't think anything makes us pawrents live past the panic feeling of finding something that isn't quite right. It seems to be the natural response to anything out of the ordinary. Please try to be calm until you can get to the vet and get a diagnosis on what you have found. I know it is very difficult - I let a little cough scare the bejabbers out of me 🙂
Sending calming thoughts your way.
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.
Macsmom,
I really hope it's nothing serious and that you are just anxious for nothing... I so understand about freaking out over every single little thing... Good luck at the vet on Monday and let us know what they say.
Jake's Mom
Jake, 10yr old golden retriever (fractured his front right leg on 9/1, bone biopsy revealed osteosarcoma on 9/10, amputation on 9/17) and his family Marguerite, Jacques and Wolfie, 5yr old german shepherd and the newest addition to the family, Nala, a 7mth old Bengal mix kittie. Jake lost his battle on 11/9/2009, almost 8 weeks after his surgery. We will never forget our sweet golden angel… http://jakesjou.....ipawds.com ….. CANCER SUCKS!
Yoda's oncologist suspected that a not-yet perceptible tumor was growing in Yoda's back leg on his amputation side based on a slightly irregular gait. It never became painful or perceptible, but worrying about it did give me an excuse to drop everything else for more quality and spoiling time. Doing whatever will best take your mind off the bump is the best I can recommend. More thoughts and prayers coming your way!
Yoda&Mom united: 9/5/06 …….… Yoda&Leg separated: 6/5/09……… Yoda&Leg reunited: 10/14/09 ……… ……………….………….………….……. Yoda&Mom NEVER separated! …………………….….……....….…… Though Spirit Yoda currently free-lances as a rabbit hunting instructor for tripawds nationwide
hugapitbull said:
I don't think anything makes us pawrents live past the panic feeling of finding something that isn't quite right. It seems to be the natural response to anything out of the ordinary. Please try to be calm until you can get to the vet and get a diagnosis on what you have found. I know it is very difficult – I let a little cough scare the bejabbers out of me
Amy, McGwire, and Mickey,
You can always count on Shanna and Trouble to put it so clearly and right on the point. I panicked last night when Cherry had a half-hour coughing spell but she is now laying here beside, sending her best to all, and waiting anxiously for her Sunday morning truck ride.
Of course, Tazzie2 is the King of lumps, but there are many of us who have experienced lumps of many and diverse shapes and consistencies. Cherry has had a few removed just as she ended her chemotherapy series, and there are others that we are watching very closely. She has always loved laying on my lap and my stroking her. This helps my blood pressure, but also has allowed me to keep a close watch over her body for all of her nearly twelve years. With all that you and the members of this community have gone through, I would never say that anyone here has a "hypochondriatic tendency". Try to remain calm with the knowledge that you will be addressing it on Monday.
Paws Crossed, Sending Pawsitive Thoughts, and Special Prayers
Bob & Cherry
Cherry said:
You can always count on Shanna and Trouble to put it so clearly and right on the point. I panicked last night when Cherry had a half-hour coughing spell but she is now laying here beside, sending her best to all, and waiting anxiously for her Sunday morning truck ride.
I've been told by more than one person I am brutally honest. You guys keep me in line, I don't want to come across that way here!
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.
I think that was a compliment. You are so right. We panic. That is a fact, not an insult.
Please let us know what McGwire's vet says but I won't be surprised if it is nothing. Emily's amputation side feels different than the other side, too.
Prayer for you an d McGwire.
Debra & Emily
Debra & Emily, a five year old doberman mix, who was diagnosed with an osteosaecoma. She had a right rear leg amputation on May 19, 2009. On November 10, 2009 she earned her wings and regained her fourth leg.
Shanna, I'd totally take that comment as a compliment. You give good advice!
Thanks everyone else too. I can move the mass (initially I thought it was actually on the bone), but it's deep and hard, not like a lipoma. I just hope the vet can aspirate it tomorrow so we can know what's going on. I'll let you all know something as soon as I can. Please send prayers my way.
Lotsa prayers coming atcha. Keep us posted OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Amy and Mac
I just tried to post, but it seems to have gone into thin air. It seems that lumpiness is all the rage these days. Maybe we are all checking more often. Tazzie's first lump felt like it was on the bone, but the xray showed it to be subQ. Some of Tazzie's seem closer to the surface than others. I guess I found the first one 8 weeks ago.
As Cherry said, there are so many different types of lumps that you'll have to sit tight until your vet can examine it.
Tazzie 2 (The KING of lumps. I notice there is still some confusion out there regarding my gender.)
Shanna and Trouble and all here,
YES it was a compliment!!! May sanity would have been a casualty of this journey if it were not for a group that was there for me eleven months ago. Shanna and Trouble were one of those stalwarts and have always given excellent and compassionate advice. Perhaps I need to choose my words more carefully, but in this case when some one else has expressed my feelings and position in such an excellent fashion, I can only say that. Sorry to have put any doubts into what I was attempting to say.
Back to the real point of this topic, we will be looking for an update regarding McGwire's vet visit, but till then accept our prayers.
Bob & Cherry
Thank you all. No offense taken, just pointing out that part of my personality is 'reality', and sometimes reality is a bit much for us to take. On a day to day basis with work, family, and friends most appreciate and expect my reality approach. This is the one place I would not want it to be too overbearing, as we all have enough on our plate. I very much get where Bob was coming from and know it was meant as a compliment.
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.
Vet appointment is Tuesday morning now. No appointments today. Darn. Based on what I was reading last night, I'm even more concerned. I don't know if it's a new cancer like mast cell or a met, but I would be shocked if it's just a lipoma because it's so hard and grew up so fast. The good news is that it doesn't seem to bother him.
Regardless, McGwire doesn't know that he is sick, so I'm not going to tell him! We went last night to his favorite ice cream store and he got a doggy shake and lots of attention. It was good for both of our souls!
Keep sending the good vibes this way!
Hi Mac and Amy
Sorry you have to wait until tomorrow. For some reason, I kept finding Tazzie's lumps the night before our vet appointments, probably because that is when I happened to brush him or check.
When the oncologist heard our news, I think she and the vets assumed Tazzie would have lumps everywhere (e.g, lungs) but that was not the case. Even now, they are concentrated to one location. The lumps do not bother him and (perhaps thanks to the 'shrooms) he is happier than ever. I'm sure Tazzie's lumps are much much bigger than McGwire's. The biggest one is now around the size of a large orange, although there are also smaller walnut nodules next to it, sigh. I guess if we have to have a met, this is preferable to other options.
Still, we are wishing that yours turn out to be the 'nice' kind of lumps, not the nasty.
Susan & T2
I just realized that we never updated everyone on what was going on with Mac. I've kind of been MIA recently...
We took Mac to the vet and he was quite concerned because of the location relative to the muscle, and the hardness of it. They aspirated and it only showed inflammation but that didn't seem to make him feel better. We scheduled a time to remove it and left. However, on the way home I started questioning it. I called my hubby and he agreed that it probably wasn't a good idea so I called the vet back to talk more. He said that after I left he wondered if it really was in McGwire's best interest to cut it off. If it is indeed cancer, than it's likely that cancer will be other places and we are just making the limited time we have left with him more uncomfortable plus it likely will regrow in the area. If it is a lipoma, then there's no reason to remove it. Plus it's so close to the muscle that removing it may cause issues. We decided to treat him with antibiotics for a skin infection and prednisone for allergies and to see him again in 2 weeks to re-evaluate. In the last week, it hasn't grown substantially, but hasn't shrunk either. (It's bigger than a ping pong ball, smaller than an orange.) He is more spoiled (aka loved) than ever!!! Just wanted to update.
Check out my other post (probably coming tonight) about the massage therapy and accupuncture he has gotten in the last week. Did I mention he's spoiled?! 
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