Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Yes, the waiting IS the worst, especially over a weekend or long weekend. You want to make decisions, but you don't have the information needed to make a decision. That is a HORRIBLE feeling. Incredibly frustrating.
It sounds like you and Mac are finally in good hands. Plus it is exciting if this vet also does not see mets - it sounds as though the two most knowledgable people (the oncologist and this vet) don't see them, so they are unlikely to be visible in the xray.
Keep us posted,
Susan & Tazzie 2
Hi Jackie - I'm just getting caught up on Mac's story...I'm sorry we've been MIA for a week. You are strong in our thoughts and prayers. Keep focusing on that birthday celebration and how much fun it will be - you said you have a shared birthday? How special that is....wow - I would love that. Keep the faith, KNOW in your heart that you are doing everything possible and that Mac knows that too. He sounds like he is in good hands now and and I agree with Tazzie 2 - VERY exciting that there may not actually be the mets that were once talked about.
We have all 7 paws crossed (3 from Zeus and 4 from Buddy) and will keep the prayers going SUPER strong. PLEASE keep us posted and know that everyone is here rooting for you guys.
Love and hugs,
Heather and Zeus
Heather and Spirit Zeus - Our life changing journey…from the earth to the heavens…one day at a time…always together
Jackie,
I'm so sorry you are going through all of this!!! My computer has been wonky recently and I can't get into the forums. I've gotten it straightened out now. I feel terrible that I didn't get back to you until now.
Did you see Dr. Mark or Dr. Jim? They absolutely will do a great job. Mac is in good hands.
I just can't believe that your vet said the pain of amputation is worse than what he's going through right now! That's just wrong!!! I know exactly what you mean about seeing his pain in his eyes. McGwire's eyes were so down and sad, but I hadn't really noticed until he started limping. Now, his eyes are bright again and he's more himself, just without a leg! Don't get me wrong, he's frustrated because he's stuck in our office (the only room I can close off right now so it's got moving pads all over the floor to protect it from the draining) but that's nothing when compared to how sad he was before.
My McGwire is doing great! He came home the day after the surgery and pretty much slept the rest of the day. The next morning my kids woke up and were talking to each other from their door and I was hoping for 3 more minutes of sleep. Next thing I know, I hear this noise, which I assumed was my kids, open my door and there is McGwire. He'd nudged open the door to the office, and climbed himself up 17 very steep stairs. The next day he went out the dog door in our patio and went down the steps to our back yard when my mom turned her back on him. He is slowing down a little the last few days, but I think he's really just getting sick of being in the office. He's used to sitting and observing his kingdom.
I'll be praying for him tomorrow!
Amy, and the other Mac! (Mic too!)
PS I PM'd you.
Hi Jackie...it's Wednesday and we hope that the ultra sound went well this morning and that amputation is underway...we are thinking about you! Please update when you can.
Hugs and prayers ~
Heather and Zeus
Heather and Spirit Zeus - Our life changing journey…from the earth to the heavens…one day at a time…always together
Well Mac is back home at the moment and still has 4 legs. I picked him up today and the vet (Dr. Jim) showed me Mac's ultrasound images and his liver, spleen, and kidneys look pretty good. However, since his albumin is still very low and his urine showed signs of blood cells in them, he thinks that Mac has kidney disease. I'll know more tomorrow, when he calls me and tells me about the other test he did. He said he still might do the amputation but he's very concerned about whether or not he'd heal from it. All this time I've been focused on his liver, especially since the other vet said he suspected a tumor in it, when I should have been doing more research on the kidneys. There also is still the possibility that he's leaking the albumin out of his intestines. Nothing more I can do at the moment. It was funny to me that the staff said he'd been very quiet the whole night and day when normally he barks nonstop. The doctor said he was still and calm and a perfect patient even during the ultrasound. So I'm talking with him and Mac is still in the boarding area and he hears my voice and all of a sudden he lets loose with the barking and whining. It's so annoying when dogs, like children, behave with strangers and the second they're in your care and know you're nearby they start acting up again 
lol.
I guess the ultrasound results are bittersweet, and I have to just keep waiting. Vet reminded me that even if the kidneys are failing, the cancer would kill him long before. The vets are very nice and thoughtful though, and I'm relieved to finally have someone who is willing to get to the bottom of the issue and then treat it.
Hugs back to everyone. I don't even wanna know the kind of wreck I'd be without your support and thoughts and stories and input.
Hi JackiandMac
I was wondering how the day had gone - thanks for the update. As if a routine osteosarcoma and amputation are not enough drama!?! I don't know how you can handle this but you seem to be dealing with it as well as a person can. Thank goodness the vet is trying to figure out the best course of action.
Pretty funny how Mac acts up as soon as he heard your voice. Let us know what you find out tomorrow.
Susan & Tazzie 2
Thank you so much for the update...we will continue our puppy prayers hoping that the results come back OK. Hang in there - we're here for you.
xoox
Heather and Zeus
Heather and Spirit Zeus - Our life changing journey…from the earth to the heavens…one day at a time…always together
Well, on the pawsitive side it does sound like you and Mac are in great hands now, with much more information than you had just days ago. You are being very strong and courageous just like Mac, hang in there. We're hoping for the best. Keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
That update is very encouraging. Of course everyone here knows Trouble is under the care of her second opinion Dr. In our book 2nd opions rule. I'll never ever regret making that change.
More positive thoughts for you and Mac.
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.
Hi Jackie and Mac,
I haven't been on for a few days and logged on and I am always in tears when I visit this site. Not only the sad parts but also the happy parts. It broke my heart too to know that Mac has been crying. And our paw friends are so strong and try and hide it so it always made scared me how much pain Koda was actually in. I am praying that your new caring vet finds the answers soon for you and you can finalise your plan. I remember when Koda got home from his amputation surgery (3 weeks ago now) and I was praying for the 2 weeks to pass so he could get the stitches out (as I was on edge that something would go wrong) and then after a few days I had to stop myself. I realised that I was wishing those 2 weeks to go faster but it was 2 weeks with Koda and that I shouldn't wish anytime away. I know it is so hard knowing that they are in pain and you do want it, the time, to hurry up so you can get them out of pain. So I hope you get the answers soon.
We found out Koda had been diagnosed with a tumor in his leg when we were in the last week of our holiday in the US (we live in Australia) and I cried the first night after my vet had first said that it "doesn't look good" but he wanted to wait until he did Xrays the next day before he diagnosed it. And that was communciated to me in a quick midnight call from my house mate who took Koda to our vet. I couldn't sleep as I had no idea how bad or what it was as she didn't know either. I had everything going though my mind and I was stuck in another country. Then I had to wait 16 hours before I could speak to my vet once the Xrays had been done, he said that it was a tumor, and I cried myself to sleep another night. And missed Koda like crazy by then. My husband said a very critical thing to me then that actually made me a lot stronger and really made sense to me. I couldn't work out how I was going to come home and not fall apart seeing Koda again for the first time. My husband told me that if I cry a lot in front of him and break down then he is going to worry too much about me crying and pick up on me being upset (I swear dogs have a sixth sense and Koda knows and can pick up on when there either of us are sad). He said that if he is too worried about why I am upset and crying then he won't put his energy into himself. So I decided to do all of my crying (well most of it) in the US and when I came home I had a tear but kept the excitement in my voice as I knew all he wanted to hear was that I was soooooo excited to see him instead of being confused and wondering why I was crying when I saw him.
Mac knows that you are fighting to help him and help him to keep his spirits up to prepare for the fight.
I too am glad that I found this site and am thankful for people making comments and we all know that every dog and situation is different but it is always the same pain, and the comments and suggestions do make the pain easier.
Jackie and Mac you are in our thougths and our prayers!!!
Storm and Koda 🙂
Oh, Jackie, just hang in there hon, one day you will wake up and you will feel like your stability has returned. It is tough, but you will get there. Hopefully you will develop a strong bond with the new vet and you will build trust, and with the trust will come peace, and you will begin to see the light.
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.
Well on Friday the vet called and said that the more extensive urinalysis showed an extremely high level of creatinine so he thinks that Mac might have glomerulonephritis...try saying that three times. He said he didn't feel comfortable doing surgery at the moment. He called some specialists at VRCC near Richmond, Virginia and they said that they aren't too sure about the glomerulonephritis diagnosis because sometimes the cancer can make blood results all wonky but they want to see him on Monday so he has an appointment with an internal medicine specialist and a surgeon--yep, they said that they might want to go ahead and take off the leg then and there. So this will be the 3rd time he's scheduled for amputation. From what the vet said the specialists seem to be pretty confident that he'd heal ok, but I can't help but feel like if I go ahead with that I'm gambling with his life. 
We put him on an ace inhibitor called Enacard and Hill's k/d diet. Man, have any of you ever seen that stuff? The canned food looks like greyish-tan plastic and the consistency is rubber, and the main ingredients are water and dried egg white. As if Mac didn't have it bad enough. It's a low protein/high carb diet, the opposite of the cancer diet, but right now if I have to make the decision between his kidneys and the cancer I have to choose his kidneys. The vet said that I could cancel the appointments at the specialists, since it's a 2 hour drive away and he's never been on a car ride that long, and it will be more expensive. Just talking to the doctors will be 120 for each, and the amputation is about 500 more. I could just wait and see if the new medicine and diet helps the kidneys enough to get the amputation at the regular vet's. I'm gonna go ahead with the specialist...the vet recommends that too. He pointed out that he's only a GP and with all the confusion and blood work inconsistencies and stuff that he should have specialists look into him.
So last night we started him on the new medicine and food, and I guess it was a combination of both that caused him to get up at 3 in the morning and have 2 diarrhea accidents on the livingroom carpet. I had just come out of the livingroom into another room not 10 seconds before so it must've hit him hard and fast. He whined after it happened---he's only had 3 accidents as an adult including this one, and all in the past month, and he is ashamed of doing it. His poop has been really soft ever since he was put on the tramadol but this was really bad. I had to take him into the bathroom and try to clean off as much poop as possible out of his fur. Boy does he not like that.
Today he wouldn't eat much food at all and with the kidney diet there are much fewer human things we can give him than before. I'm really concerned however that he won't drink any water and I'm supposed to keep him very hydrated. I'm trying to be as creative as possible, so I got salt-free juice that canned green beans were in and he drank some of that, and some turkey juice, and some cucumbers and celery. I even added a tiny bit of gatorade to the water but he wasn't interested. I don't blame him, I never liked the grape flavor myself.
His leg has gotten really swollen in the past few days which is to be expected from the osteosarcoma but it hadn't been swollen before. Has anybody else had specific kidney issues along with the cancer? Any other creative ways anybody can think of to get him to eat or drink more?
So sorry to hear Mac is having such a hard time. Was he eating well before the unpronounceabkle diagnosis? When jerry stopped eating later in life, his urine became very dark and I remember his vet saying it was a buildup of bile/creatinine because he wasn't digesting food normally.
To get Mac to drink, try adding vegetable, chicken, or beef broth to his water. Gatorade can even help with some dogs. Gamey raw meats like ground buffalo or elk may get him to eat too. Also try cat food mixed in his kibble – the stinkier the better! Best wishes to you and Mac. Thanks for the update.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Jackie,
Oh I'm so sorry to hear about this. You and Mac are in our thoughts. Keep pawsitive and remember, it's all about quality of life. Also, kidney disease isn't the end of the world, there are lots of dogs who can do fine with the proper diet. Please visit the Yahoo K9 Kidneys Group for some great info and support. Also, try starting a new thread here, maybe calling it "Kidney Disease and Osteosarcoma" to see who else has coped with it.
Good luck. Keep us posted oK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Jackie
I am so sorry to hear about Mac's kidneys. Kidney disease is no fun and it complicates your situation greatly. You poor things. As you say, I suppose the need to avoid protein for his kidneys is more important than the desire for protein for the cancer.
I highly recommend the K9 Kidney 'yahoo group, which Jerry just mentioned. That is the only other 'chat group' I have ever been part of, 7 years ago when Tazzie had acute kidney failure. Those people have a lot of good advice on managing chronic kidney disease, the kind that Mac has.
Similar to other people's suggestions for 'force-drinking', a bit of wet dog food mixed into water can help as long as the dog still has a taste for food. I don't think you want him to eat (or drink) cat food long-term. Although I am a vegetarian, I have been cooking 'stew meat' and chicken this week, simmering them in water. Tazzie is greatly interested in the water that results (and also the meat). That is probably a good source of water, although there would also be a lot of fat in it (is the fat a problem?).
Can they do radiation to shrink the leg tumour to manage the pain? Or is there too much damage for that to help? I hope you have someone there to help in these tough decisions. The web group is terrific, but it helps to have someone in person.
Sending you lots of good wishes,
Susan and Tazzie 2
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