Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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We thought this would be an "easy", routine 5th chemo treatment, but no....... Bailey is scheduled to receive her 5th round today and we mentioned she has yelped out of the blue a few times. I was worried it was her back as she has degenerative disk disease. They came back out and are going to X-ray her remaining rear leg , as they think she has torn her ACL. We got a call while we were gone for lunch that she seemed to have severe hip pain, and will sedate her and X-ray the hip. Our first thought is the osteosarcoma has returned. The vet tech said they do not think so.
Good news is her blood work for the chemo looks good!
We are grateful to have such an extraordinary place as Texas A & M Veternary Hospital/School only 2 1/2 hours away. They are the best, but I am still a anxious mom.
Just sitting here stressing and waiting in the waiting room.
Well that is super good news that she's strong enough for the chemo. YAY! Bailey is rockin the treatment!
Hopefully she didn't rupture her cruciate. If she did, sometimes these injuries can be repaired non-surgically. See:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Oh geeze, how stressful!
Sending positive thoughts for the best possible outcome!
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Ditto the positive thoughts from your Tripawd Family!
Update when you can. And just know whatever "it" is, Bailey will get through it like the Champion she is! 🙂
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!
Chemo went well and still no signs of the osteosarcoma coming back.
Oncologist looked at X-ray and determined the ACL tear is old, but due to more pressure on having one leg it is less stable. And, she has severe osteo arthritis in knee and hip. She is going back to 3 400mg Gabopentin a day (up from 2). And they added Amartadine HCL 100mg . They wanted to use a NSAID med but can't because of her liver enzyme count. They sedated her for the hip X-ray, and she is still drowsy, so I'm holding off new meds until tomorrow.
Then about 2 hours towards home, they called and said the radiologist looked at her X-ray and saw gas bubbles in her bladder (she had emergency surgery 2days after amputation. Remover 40% that was diseased). They wanted us to come back tomorrow for a full abdominal scan. We are opting with there second choice of a culture with our local vet.
We are shocked. She has been doing so well. Chemo has gone great. Maintaining weight. We won't put her through another surgery. She is 9 year old Rottweiler (don't know where her avatar/picture went). and now has multiple health issues. Who would have thought the cancer would be the least concern.
This has been a long stressful day for my big girl and me?
p.s. Got many compliments on my Bailey tripawd necklace
Don't even know what to say. You DO have some good news and then THAT call. Ugh!
Adequan injections may be a good solution for the arthritis. Maybe that way she can eventually reduce some of the pain meds.Wondering if a "stabilizer" wrap may help with her leg with the old tear? Seems like some here have had good luck with those, but I can't recall for sure. Maybe some others can give input on that.
As far as the bladder, hoping with all the hope in the Universe it's nothing serious, or at least treatable if not curable.
The fact that she is indeed doing so well and showing no symptoms of anything has to be a good sign. And I mean that sincerely!
We are all in Bailey's Fan Club and sending out lots of positive energy!
Lots and lots of hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS...I'll be right baxk with a link to the thread avout why yiur avatar picture disappeared. Rotten.piece of crap hackers, but it can be fixed!
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!
http://tripawds..... Here's the link to explain about your missing avatar and how ro get it 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!
What a long day for all of you, filled with so many good/bad bits of news. I'd be exhausted for sure.
I hope that the bladder situation is a non-issue, you guys certainly don't need more things like to think about.
Did the TAMU folks recommend a brace for her unstable leg?
Also, you may want to ask your vet about Galliprant. It's a new arthritis/joint pain-reliever that acts similarly to NSAIDs but is far gentler and more effective for m any dogs.
That's sweet you wore the Bailey necklace we made for you. Thanks for sharing the news about the compliments.
Sending out many hugs to your pack. Let us know what the culture results say and how she's doing.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Jan! It was so nice to meet you yesterday! Thanks for all the thoughts for Leroy during his surgery and for answering all my questions about Tripawd life. Will be praying for y’all and Bailey!
❤️ Leroy and Ginny
Thanks, Ginny. Keep me updated on Leroy's progress.
I took Bailey to her local vet this morning for the urine culture. She talked with TAMU and suggested an additional X-ray. She wanted to see if the bubbles in the bladder had moved or not. Bottom line bubbles moved, so they are almost certainly not in the bladder wall--no additional cancer. Either an infection within the bladder , or from intestines behind (and non issue). Not that an infection is good news, but this time it is to me.
Now, we can work on getting the pain from her bum knee and arthritic hip under control.
Feeling a lot less stress than yesterday.
So glad there’s no additional no additional cancer! Hopefully some antibiotics can get the infection all cleared up. Did your local vet have any thoughts on a brace for her knee? I think we are gonna get Leroy one to protect his remaining back leg. Thanks again for all your wisdom yesterday and smooches for Bailey!
SOOOO HAPPY TO GET THIS UPDATE!!! SUCH A RELIEF!! 🙂 Bailey is doing so well and I felt like that had to be a really good sign! Certainly was hoping so anyway! 🙂
Relatively speaking, the bum knee and arthritis...piece of cake! 🙂
Lots of extra 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!
No more cancer is great news! Now to kick that possible infection and get back on track... Sending love to Bailey as she continues this journey!
~Brittnie and Loki
🐾 Loki, Dog of Mischief 🐶
I loved life as a tripawd for over three years following right forelimb amputation due to an aggressive and recurrent hemangiopericytoma. I reclaimed my place among the gods and valkyries in Valhalla on November 11th, 2020. My parents miss me tremendously, but I know they'll keep me in their hearts forever... and don't worry, I've approved my mom's use of my Tripawds account.
Hope Baily is feeling better,
our girl yelped a few times like that and i started to watch her closely and noticed a few times that she appeared to try to raise her missing front leg { she had a habit of putting her paw right over Macleod's face, a dominance thing} and she would yelp at first. but it healed pretty quickly. then i just saw her disappointment, Big Mac would walk in and she would sit down in front of him i would see her shoulder flinch and she would look down and her shoulder and sigh "humph", then just sit down again. kinda broke my heart. Then a few hours later they'd be outside playing in the yard and she would jump on top of him and tackle him to the ground, she was fearless.
we didnt have to deal with arthritis with our last two battles but were giving Meloxicam 5cc 1x daily, for joint pain and to help lubricate the joint, we also used CBD in capsule and in a CBD dog treat which helped a lot with "stiffness" or getting up again after too much playing. one had surgery and the second did not but both were basically hopping on three legs and we could see the strain on the remaining legs very quickly. an infant dose of over counter vitamin D drops (400iu bottle .5ml 2x daily ), "Baby D drops" i think. Immune support supplements and cell care, both herbal, for over all health and more fight.
some tail wags headed your way...
Terry, Allison, * Cy, * Mya, * Macleod.
Thanks for suggestions. We added the extra Gabapentin last week, but I chose to wait until she was over her chemo lethargy before adding the other pain med. so far, this seems to be taking care of pain--no whining.
We were told to support with sling, and we are. Outside we make sure we have it on. Today, I was opening the back door to let my husband in, she pushed past me and jumped over two steps unassisted. It was a pretty sight but scared me a bit. I know she can do more alone than we let her. We are just trying to keep her leg strong as long as possible.
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