Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Our doodle, Scooter has his right front leg amputed four weeks ago due to a tumor- Osteo Sarcoma confirmed.
\Two weeks later - post surgery all was going as well as to be expected. Only symptoms post surgery was lethargy and tiredness learning to gain stamina on three legs. At the two week visit, stitches were removed, blood work done and they gave him his first carboplatin treatment.
Only visible symptoms thus far is I have to spoil him rotten getting him to eat - adding boiled salmon or chicken or ice cream or peanut butter and often feeding him by hand. I am so worried about his not eating without my doing this and don't want him losing any more weight then he has already.
The one non-visible symptom was at his two week post visit his white count and platelets were awful. The doctor said it was nothing to be alarmed about and if they don't come back next week they will push his second treatment a week and give him a lower dose of the meds. They gave me two drugs to help him. One is amoxicillin and the other is an anti-depressant used to stimulate appetite.
Scooter is 9 and his personality is back almost - not quite - to before. He is learning to play with toys and has run to meet people he knows. My only fear is that the drug will hurt him more than help him. I hate seeing his appetite so low and would never have added these foods to his food prior - but the thought of letting him just not eat is unbearable knowing what he is going through.
Do I just continue to spoil him and has anyone else had depressed platelet and white counts after the chemo?
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The best thing about having a Tripawd is being able to spoil them silly. And just think of that wonderful protein he's getting...well maybe not in the ice cream but heck it's hot out and ice cream is good. We mixed in chicken, tuna whatever we needed to and like you at times hand fed Max too. We did this all thru recovery and chemo. After chemo was done and he was feeling all back to normal he went back to eating his old way but he still got extra treats too. That's a Tripawd unalienable right if I remember the Tripawd rules correctly. 😀 I think we all do what we can to make sure our furfaces stay strong. Unless beautiful Scooter has a weight problem I wouldn't worry about giving him anything that helps him to eat well for you. A lot of us here have had to push back chemo a week at times because of blood counts. Pretty common.
hugs,
Linda, Riley & Spirits Mighty Max & Ollie
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Alright, we have some victories to celebrate Scooter is eagerly greeting people, he's p@ayi g with his toys and his personality is almost all back! YAAAAAAAAAY FOR SCOOTER!!! 🙂 And it's still early in recovery!!
As far as eating, I agree completely with Linda, get Scooter to eat anyway yiu can during this recovery period! Yep, chicken, salmon, ice cream...whatever it takes! "Fresh Pet", in the refrigerator section of Whole Foods a dd some pet stores is something that I think might work too! Give it a try.
And having low WBC is not unusual at all. An antibiotic usually does the trick, but sometimes it takes an additional delay. There's actually a school of thought that the chemo is working if it makes the WBC low!
One suggestion, ask your vet for Cerenia. It's an anti nausea pill and some dogs benefit by taking it during chemo for the first three to five days or so. Does Scooter seem nauseous? Curious wjat the antii depressant is he gave Scooter
And always rremember, chemo is something you can stop ANYTIME if the side effects start to interfere with Scooter's quality. It does happen. It sounds like, based on what you've said, a couple of doses of Cerenia and feeding him al@ sorts of goodies may help greatly.
Looking forward to more updates...really good ones!!
Lots of 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!
I think everyone has a drop in the WBC after each chemo. Otis' dropped in half at chemo #2 - don't have exact numbers with me although I know I shared them with someone else on another post somewhere. this is normal. If they drop too low, they will postpone the next chemo. Also normal. And, as mentioned above, if the side effects become too much, you can stop at any time.
In terms of food, Otis did have nausea so we switched to boiled chicken and white rice for a couple of days after each chemo session. He also developed indigestion, and the vet put him on Pepcid AC. I also found that small amount of food throughout the day were helpful (and yes, I was getting up in the middle of the night to give him a small bit of food).
Hope it goes better, but remember, in addition to chemo, Scooter is still adjusting to life on 3. With Otis, I could see a difference the weekend before his next chemo, and now (we are done), he is pretty much back to normal, just less stamina for walks.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
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