Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi all, I am new to this site and hope I have posted this in the right section.
My sweet border collie first started limping on her left front leg about 2 years ago, she is now 12 years old, my vet diagnosed osteosarcoma of the ulna and referred her to a specialist centre. They removed the affected bone leaving her with just the radius bone in that leg, she also had a course of radiotherapy at a veterinary teaching hospital. She recovered from this really quickly and was happily running around with a fully functioning, pain free leg. Unfortunately, about 5 months ago she started limping again on the same leg and x-rays showed the cancer was back in the remaining radius
. Back to the specialists again, this time she had to have the leg amputated. Again, her recovery was uneventful and she was soon hopping around. However, over the Christmas period she started to hop and avoid putting weight on her left hind leg (the same side as her amputation). I took her back to my vet's 2 days ago and asked for an x-ray to see if the cancer was back in that leg. The x-ray was inconclusive, showing no noticable problems in that leg although there was some arthritic change in the hip of the other hind leg. The other hind leg is now showing a little weakness and she is unable to get up and walk without being helped with slings. She is on Metacam and Tramadol to help with pain. She does have a chest wall tumour which was discovered at the time of her amputation which has so far shown no symptoms. I chose not to have this operated on because I was told she would have to loose 4 ribs to remove the tumour, it is on the opposite side to her amputated leg and she always chooses to lie on this side so I thought it would cause her to many problems. I am going to contact the specialist referral centre after the New Year break to see if they can help her.
My question is, has anyone else had a secondary tumour on their dog's chest wall/ribs and if so what symptoms did they have? I mentioned to my vet that maybe the tumour was affecting the nerves to the leg but he said it would be the front limbs it would affect. I know my beautiful girl has done well for 2 years post diagnosis but she is so wanting to live that I will do anything to help her keep a quality of life.
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I can't say I've seen this here before but that doesn't mean someone hasn't had it. But if your vet said that's probably not related then I guess he should know. I'm sure they will unravel it for you next week, hopefully it is nothing serious and all is well. Let us know, okay? It sounds like you are making good decisions for your girl.
How wonderful you've had two extra years with her! Okay, so I have to ask...is her name Piddles? : )
http://tate.tripawds.com/
August 16, 2006 to November 28, 2011
TATE ~ Forever in our hearts.
Thanks for your response, her real name is Panic, but for some reason my children started to call her Piddles when she was young and it has kind of stuck, probably because of puppy puddles, she answers to both names though 
. Happy New Year!
geesh, we've got 'nothing'... we struggled with two types of cancer, but not a chest wall tumor. wonder if her hind leg issues might be related to spinal issues? we had great success with acupuncture for both of our girls, especially in the spin, lower back etc. being a tripawd really puts stress on them, and being a front amputee seems to create an 's' curve the whole way down. have you tried moist heat or ice if there's swelling?? hopefully someone will 'jump in' with some concrete suggestions. paws crossed this is just a temporary issue for you guys and she'll be feeling better soon.
charon & spirit gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
When they x-rayed the leg did they do the spine? There can be several things that affect the spine that might be causing rear leg weakness and pain. My quad-pug Tani has arthritis in her back and some neurological issues which cause her trouble with both back legs. But since she still is on 4 she gets around OK.
No experience with chest wall tumors.
I hope you can get some answers soon.
Karen and the pugapalooza
Hi,
No, my vet didn't take an x-ray of the spine, at the time of her x-ray she was only showing a reluctance to use her left hind leg, it is only since then that she is showing some weakness in the other leg. I would have thought though that as the x-rays were inconclusive he would have used his initiative and done the spine at the same time. I guess he was trying to save me money, but she is insured so that really is not an issue. My fear is that the chest wall/rib tumour has grown into the spine and it is that which is causing the problems. As I said I am going to contact the referral centre and see if I can take her in for investigations.
Sammy's a front leg amp, but one day he was holding up his back left leg, the next day he couldn't walk. I was sure something awful was going on, x-rays revealed nothing. It turns out that Sammy had tweaked his neck, which is huge in affecting the back legs. I have learned somewhat how to do massages, but our vet does them better. It took hot packs, tramadol, and reduced activity for a couple of weeks to get him back on the mend. The way she discovered it after x-rays is that he had a much harder time getting his head turned one way by her verses another way.
I wonder if your dog Piddles is going through the same kind of thing and it isn't related to the tumor?
We wish you the best in finding out what is going on!
Elizabeth and Sammy
Diagnosed with osteosarcoma in the right front leg 8/23/10,
leg fractured 8/27/10,
leg amputated 8/30/10
http://sammyand.....pawds.com/
I couldn't begin to say how special Sammy is to us. Living and laughing with and loving this wonderful boy is priceless.
Hi Piddles and family (my new dog's name is Paddles - didn't realize how similar that is to Piddles until now!)
You have done really well these two years - congratulations - but of course you don't want to stop any time soon.
My first question was about the possibility of the spine or spine mets being involved. But I have the impression from experiences on this website that spine mets move very quickly. It doesn't sound as though these changes have occurred in only a few days, have they?
I also don't think x-rays are usually very helpful for diagnosing spine mets, although they should help for arthritic or other changes. People seem to use CT scans or MRI or manually old-fashioned methods to diagnose spine mets. If that topic is relevant there are experiences from people whose dogs had spine mets on this website. But those dogs usually lost the ability to walk very very quickly, so it really doesn't sound the same, so please do not let this scare you!
Hope you figure this out.
Susan
Hi Piddles and family, welcome.
You are a pretty pawesome survivor Piddles, congratulations!
A partial amputation like that is unusual, we don't see it a lot here so thanks for sharing your story.
Lots of Tripawds like Sammy show some symptoms that indicate spinal issues at first but later turn out to be nothing more than a sprain of some sort. We have our paws crossed that this is all it is. As for chest tumors...my understanding is that it's really rare for OS to grow back in other bones, especially in that region. What kind of tumor is it?
What I would add to what others have suggested is, 1) yes, a second opinion is a must, preferably by a specialist. You're doing the right thing by going to the referral hospital, please keep us posted on what they say OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Welcome Piddles and family!
Oh gosh, if you can use your insurance toward an MRI or CT scan, I would do it if possible! And then you won't be worried and having to guess. I know my insurance allows for it so hopefully yours does too.
Wishing all the best. Keep us posted on what you find out!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
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