Tell me your tripod stories!!

sashadog · 11-29-2011, 12:56 AM

So long story short, we are probably going to amputate our girl Sasha's hind leg due to cancer. I would LOVE to hear all your stories, the good and the bad concerning your experiences with this surgery. Essentially, I'd love to hear first hand what I'm in for... good and bad!! I've heard some really wonderful stories from some members on here in some of my other posts regarding the cancer, and I can't wait to hear more

Thank you in advance for your experiences

msvette2u · 11-29-2011, 01:06 AM

Border collie Fancy.

Facebook

(hope you can see it, if not let me know)

The above are "before" we had to amputate her fused leg (previously broken and never healed right)

Here's OUR "after"

And her adopter's "after"

Fancy the Worthless Border Collie - YouTube

Fancy the Worthless Border Collie - Part 2 - YouTube

Hope you enjoy!!

Gmthrust · 11-29-2011, 07:41 AM

Years ago, we lost our Shawn (rescued female GSD mix) to bone cancer---she wore her heart on her sleeve for us, and was barely eight at the time---had previously shown no signs (or rather, to be more precise, none due to our inexperience). We discovered it too late when she jumped for the ball, this was inside our home...(on thick padded living room carpet), and her ENTIRE left hind leg shattered as if made of glass. The cancer was metastasized; we fed her nothing but steaks in her last days.

Just wanted to share our story of Shawn, and this helpful website, Tripawds.com ....no such thing existed back then. We donate to them.

Stosh · 11-29-2011, 09:11 AM

Our neighbor had 3 Boston Terrors and one had his front leg amputated when he was just a few years old. He did an excellent job of keeping up with the others. We live out in the country and every once in a while they would run over to our place to play with our gsd and beagle. One time I told them all to go home and he gave me this look like "Lady, give me a break- I'm running as fast as I can". He lived a long happy life. Good luck to Sasha!

sashadog · 11-29-2011, 12:08 PM

Thank you guys so much for your inspirational, and sometimes heartbreaking, stories. This is going to be a very tough decision but I believe it will be best for Sasha. You guys have really helped me out a ton with her through all the trials and tribulations, I'm so grateful...

sashadog · 11-29-2011, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gmthrust

Years ago, we lost our Shawn (rescued female GSD mix) to bone cancer---she wore her heart on her sleeve for us, and was barely eight at the time---had previously shown no signs (or rather, to be more precise, none due to our inexperience). We discovered it too late when she jumped for the ball, this was inside our home...(on thick padded living room carpet), and her ENTIRE left hind leg shattered as if made of glass. The cancer was metastasized; we fed her nothing but steaks in her last days.

Just wanted to share our story of Shawn, and this helpful website, Tripawds.com ....no such thing existed back then. We donate to them.

This site is amazing and I think will be an incredible resource for us! Thank you thank you!!

GSDAlphaMom · 11-29-2011, 05:59 PM

This was bitter sweet picking out pictures to share with you. It has taken me through the entire emotional spectrum of how much I loved him, how much I hurt for him through his ordeal, and how much I miss him. I think I posted to your original email. I've had dogs for many years and been lucky enough to have more than one 'heart' dog (that's not to say I didn't love all my dogs). Garth was one of my heart dogs. I will share a couple of pics before he lost his leg and some after. Fair warning, one is shortly after he came home and pretty graphic.

I laughed and cried going through these pictures. He endured so much. He had 4 surgeries before they finally amputated. In the surgeon's defense he truly thought he could save the leg but everything that could go wrong did. His elbow was crushed in a freak accident one thanksgiving morning. They put in several plates, wires, and screws. He ended up being allergice to something and it went down hill from there. After 10 grand he stopped charging me. He felt bad. He was the top surgeon in the metroplex and really thought he could save the leg.

As I said in your original post, they do GREAT on 3 legs. He never missed it. The hardest part is slick floors. When he came home I sectioned off an area by the back door with mats (tile was too slick), so he could just hop outside. You will need a, darn I can't recall what it is called but it goes under their belly and has handles so you can help support them when they walk. They will use one there. You won't need it long but I used it the first couple of days until he was solid on walking. Grass/carpet is easy for them but tile and wood floors is harder, at least for a front amputation. I've heard back leg amputation is actually easier for them.

Make sure you restrict activity at least 45 minutes before feeding and at least an hour after. I do this with all my dogs any way but it wasn't enough as I lost Garth to bloat 2.5 yrs after his amputation and I believe it's because of his bouncing...he had no choice since he had 3 legs. I got him to the ER but they didn't feel he would survive. He had been on steroids since 1 yr due to auto immune so they poor guy endured alot through his 6 1/2 years. I had just gotten out of the hospital myself when he bloated 3 days later. It was a rough time.

Here he is with all 4. I miss him. He was such an awesome dog.

This is the day he came home. I can still see in his face how bad he feels.

But it didn't take long for the twinkle to come back in his eye. After several months and 5 surgeries, it was finally behind him. This wasn't too long after because the staples are still in.

And a happy dog again.

He remained top dog in the pack.

A couple of years later. This is one of the last pictures I took of him.

And now I'm sitting here crying all over again but I am glad I got to share his story with you. Your girl will do great, she will amaze you!

RIP Garth

sashadog · 11-29-2011, 07:51 PM

Oh boy... AlphaMom... now you have me in tears!

Thank you so much for sharing such a touching story. I am feeling more and more confident that this is the right thing to do for our girl. I know that it will be a journey but we are comforted to know that other GSD's have been through the same thing and came out strong on the other side.

She has a long life ahead of her and even in talking to the vet today, he said that removing her leg would give her an 80% chance of full recovery from the cancer which is about the best you can ever hope for with this terrible disease. She would be out of pain and we'd have a strong probability of the cancer never returning.

And yes, I believe you did post on my original thread about finding her breeder a few months ago and I adore hearing your story again

You can see the sweetness in his eyes.

valb · 11-30-2011, 01:16 AM

My husband and I agonized over the decision to do it, in fact we
almost went back to the vets and got her before they started. It
was a rough go for a while, but Tamsen did great. We did the sling
thing , mainly because she had to negotiate a couple of steps to
get from the deck to her potty spot. She had her right front
amputated, she had what was termed a low grade chondro-sarcoma.
She did back to back 4 mile walks 2 days before her surgery.
Approx. 3 days after surgery, she negotiated the steps to the back
yard by herself, with an extremely nervous momma/poppa looking on.
And a few days after that, she negotiated the stairs inside, to
come and see what I was doing. I had thought the upstairs would
never be hers again, boy was I wrong! She had surgery at 10 1/2,
and lived to 14 years 3 months. She did many things in those years,
yes, never QUITE the walks like before, but we still did little walks
and she could still jump in and out of the car by herself. My truck
I had to lift her though. She amazed me by still playing in her
wading pool, she would "rear" back on the 2 back legs and dig with
that one front paw. As she aged, maybe her last year or so, she
was content with walks out to the front lawn to lay in the sun, and
have the neighbor kids come make over her and feed her treats.

Here is a link to a pic of her, her next to last Christmas:
Our beautiful old girl

And if you look at her Dogster page (in my sig) you will see 2 pics
of her as a tripawd, one laying in the ivy, one running across the
back yard.

Feel free to pm me any time with any more questions you have, I'd
be happy to help in any way I can.

<<hugs>>

Konotashi · 11-30-2011, 01:42 AM

My sister had a tripod dog, Barren. He was a mystery mutt. He was hit by a car, so the back left leg had to come off. He was only a few months old when it happened.

He got around just fine. A bit clumsy, but he didn't seem to mind at all, except when he had an itch he couldn't reach.

Unfortunately, less than a year later, the neighbors set out rat poison and he ate it and didn't make it.

I've seen a 3 legged border collie in flyball.

11-29-2011, 12:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
sashadog Master Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Fort Collins, CO Posts: 570	Tell me your tripod stories!! So long story short, we are probably going to amputate our girl Sasha's hind leg due to cancer. I would LOVE to hear all your stories, the good and the bad concerning your experiences with this surgery. Essentially, I'd love to hear first hand what I'm in for... good and bad!! I've heard some really wonderful stories from some members on here in some of my other posts regarding the cancer, and I can't wait to hear more Thank you in advance for your experiences

11-30-2011, 01:16 AM	#9 (permalink)
valb Crowned Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Sonoma County, Calif. Posts: 5,242	My husband and I agonized over the decision to do it, in fact we almost went back to the vets and got her before they started. It was a rough go for a while, but Tamsen did great. We did the sling thing , mainly because she had to negotiate a couple of steps to get from the deck to her potty spot. She had her right front amputated, she had what was termed a low grade chondro-sarcoma. She did back to back 4 mile walks 2 days before her surgery. Approx. 3 days after surgery, she negotiated the steps to the back yard by herself, with an extremely nervous momma/poppa looking on. And a few days after that, she negotiated the stairs inside, to come and see what I was doing. I had thought the upstairs would never be hers again, boy was I wrong! She had surgery at 10 1/2, and lived to 14 years 3 months. She did many things in those years, yes, never QUITE the walks like before, but we still did little walks and she could still jump in and out of the car by herself. My truck I had to lift her though. She amazed me by still playing in her wading pool, she would "rear" back on the 2 back legs and dig with that one front paw. As she aged, maybe her last year or so, she was content with walks out to the front lawn to lay in the sun, and have the neighbor kids come make over her and feed her treats. Here is a link to a pic of her, her next to last Christmas: Our beautiful old girl And if you look at her Dogster page (in my sig) you will see 2 pics of her as a tripawd, one laying in the ivy, one running across the back yard. Feel free to pm me any time with any more questions you have, I'd be happy to help in any way I can. <<hugs>> __________________ Valerie Tamsen's Dogster page: http://www.dogster.com/pet_page.php?i=27525

11-30-2011, 01:42 AM	#10 (permalink)
Konotashi Knighted Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Arizona Posts: 3,380	My sister had a tripod dog, Barren. He was a mystery mutt. He was hit by a car, so the back left leg had to come off. He was only a few months old when it happened. He got around just fine. A bit clumsy, but he didn't seem to mind at all, except when he had an itch he couldn't reach. Unfortunately, less than a year later, the neighbors set out rat poison and he ate it and didn't make it. I've seen a 3 legged border collie in flyball. __________________ Ozzy - Chocolate Pom "In a perfect world, every dog would have a home and every home would have a dog." My Photography

11-29-2011, 07:41 AM	#3 (permalink)
Gmthrust Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 142	Years ago, we lost our Shawn (rescued female GSD mix) to bone cancer---she wore her heart on her sleeve for us, and was barely eight at the time---had previously shown no signs (or rather, to be more precise, none due to our inexperience). We discovered it too late when she jumped for the ball, this was inside our home...(on thick padded living room carpet), and her ENTIRE left hind leg shattered as if made of glass. The cancer was metastasized; we fed her nothing but steaks in her last days. Just wanted to share our story of Shawn, and this helpful website, Tripawds.com ....no such thing existed back then. We donate to them.

11-29-2011, 09:11 AM	#4 (permalink)
Stosh Crowned Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: tyler texas Posts: 8,434	Our neighbor had 3 Boston Terrors and one had his front leg amputated when he was just a few years old. He did an excellent job of keeping up with the others. We live out in the country and every once in a while they would run over to our place to play with our gsd and beagle. One time I told them all to go home and he gave me this look like "Lady, give me a break- I'm running as fast as I can". He lived a long happy life. Good luck to Sasha!

11-29-2011, 12:08 PM	#5 (permalink)
sashadog Master Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Fort Collins, CO Posts: 570	Thank you guys so much for your inspirational, and sometimes heartbreaking, stories. This is going to be a very tough decision but I believe it will be best for Sasha. You guys have really helped me out a ton with her through all the trials and tribulations, I'm so grateful...

11-29-2011, 05:59 PM	#7 (permalink)
GSDAlphaMom Knighted Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Texas Posts: 2,230	This was bitter sweet picking out pictures to share with you. It has taken me through the entire emotional spectrum of how much I loved him, how much I hurt for him through his ordeal, and how much I miss him. I think I posted to your original email. I've had dogs for many years and been lucky enough to have more than one 'heart' dog (that's not to say I didn't love all my dogs). Garth was one of my heart dogs. I will share a couple of pics before he lost his leg and some after. Fair warning, one is shortly after he came home and pretty graphic. I laughed and cried going through these pictures. He endured so much. He had 4 surgeries before they finally amputated. In the surgeon's defense he truly thought he could save the leg but everything that could go wrong did. His elbow was crushed in a freak accident one thanksgiving morning. They put in several plates, wires, and screws. He ended up being allergice to something and it went down hill from there. After 10 grand he stopped charging me. He felt bad. He was the top surgeon in the metroplex and really thought he could save the leg. As I said in your original post, they do GREAT on 3 legs. He never missed it. The hardest part is slick floors. When he came home I sectioned off an area by the back door with mats (tile was too slick), so he could just hop outside. You will need a, darn I can't recall what it is called but it goes under their belly and has handles so you can help support them when they walk. They will use one there. You won't need it long but I used it the first couple of days until he was solid on walking. Grass/carpet is easy for them but tile and wood floors is harder, at least for a front amputation. I've heard back leg amputation is actually easier for them. Make sure you restrict activity at least 45 minutes before feeding and at least an hour after. I do this with all my dogs any way but it wasn't enough as I lost Garth to bloat 2.5 yrs after his amputation and I believe it's because of his bouncing...he had no choice since he had 3 legs. I got him to the ER but they didn't feel he would survive. He had been on steroids since 1 yr due to auto immune so they poor guy endured alot through his 6 1/2 years. I had just gotten out of the hospital myself when he bloated 3 days later. It was a rough time. Here he is with all 4. I miss him. He was such an awesome dog. This is the day he came home. I can still see in his face how bad he feels. But it didn't take long for the twinkle to come back in his eye. After several months and 5 surgeries, it was finally behind him. This wasn't too long after because the staples are still in. And a happy dog again. He remained top dog in the pack. A couple of years later. This is one of the last pictures I took of him. And now I'm sitting here crying all over again but I am glad I got to share his story with you. Your girl will do great, she will amaze you! RIP Garth

11-29-2011, 07:51 PM	#8 (permalink)
sashadog Master Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Fort Collins, CO Posts: 570	Oh boy... AlphaMom... now you have me in tears! Thank you so much for sharing such a touching story. I am feeling more and more confident that this is the right thing to do for our girl. I know that it will be a journey but we are comforted to know that other GSD's have been through the same thing and came out strong on the other side. She has a long life ahead of her and even in talking to the vet today, he said that removing her leg would give her an 80% chance of full recovery from the cancer which is about the best you can ever hope for with this terrible disease. She would be out of pain and we'd have a strong probability of the cancer never returning. And yes, I believe you did post on my original thread about finding her breeder a few months ago and I adore hearing your story again You can see the sweetness in his eyes.

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