Please post questions about pets who are expected to undergo amputation or who have already undergone amputation here, as well as pets born with missing or incomplete limbs.
I am totally sad, bummed, mad at myself. My dog, who had chewed off two of her toes, had her entire leg amputated today. She will come home tomorrow or the next day, depending. Can someone in the same boat PLEASE respond with how it went for their beloved pet? I feel like my beautiful girl has been mutilated. Maybe I should read the book "No Regrets" that I saw in another post, if it will help me come to terms with this devestating turn of events, at least in my eyes. I had such plans for this puppy, we were going to do agility, but now I don't know. I guess she could do therapy dog, but it is totally opposite of my dreams for her. They are dashed and I am sooo sad about it . Any advice to help me "get over it" and go on? LisaH.
We made the decision to have our dog's leg amputated to prevent the cancer from spreading. We were devasted and felt so guilty. What we came to understand is that dogs don't have the same congitive abilities we have! She never lamented over the situation, she never sat around remembering what her leg looked like, she never worried about the future....she just woke up from surgery and figured out how to walk given her new situation.
We decided to stop feeling sorry for her and realized that she needs our positive energy - not our pity! She cannot rationalize or contemplate as we can. She just lives in the moment (boy. could be learn a lot from our dogs!).
I don't know if this has helped, but it did help us. Positive energy is always best!
Your love and care will help her recover and the future can evolve from there.
My thoughts are with you...
deela -- When I read your post, I thought, that's US!!!
Here you have this big, beautiful dog, and then his leg is gone. I had to go to a different room to cry, cause I didn't want him to see me in such a state.
He was 3 years old when this happened. It is one year today since the amputation.
Like you said he lives in the moment. It took him 3 weeks (he's a proud, stoic guy), to be a happy, running, jumping guy again who still loves his swim in the ocean everyday.
Lisa, I am privileged to know WendyW whose dogs are always showcased at our rescue events, in the agility track. Raine has gone blind. When I ran into Wendy at the food section of wallyworld, she told me, and we wept together. Raine is her heartbeat, her very life. At our event in May, Wendy put Raine through her paces and I had tears streaming down my face watching Raine run into the obstacles instead of sailing through them.
It was so very hard for both of them, and hard for anyone watching who knows their oh-so-special relationship. But you know what? Losing her vision hurts Wendy more than Raine. Your baby's loss of leg hurts you more than her.
You can STILL have your dreams, I promise you. My totally blind from birth tested HIGH for agility (unfortunately, I tested low, and then my son died suddenly and our plans for the future crashed with a tremor felt 100 miles away) You can STILL have dreams and plans. There is ALWAYS a way to inspire, to create a legacy of overcoming odds, to DO THE JOB of getting on with life.
YOU can do it, and YOU WILL for your little girl. Can you please post a photo? I would LOVE to see her.
Aussies are my passion. The most beautiful dog on earth, as far as I am concerned.
deela - I wil try my best post a picture. He had carcinosarcoma, which is a slow growing, very invasive cancer. They got it all. He's a very, very lucky boy.
Lisah, it WILL be ok. Honest. For you AND your dog.
Right now, you (the people) are taking this the hardest. Try to be as upbeat and happy as you can when you see your gal for the first time. The tears will be there, oh yes they will, but let them appear in another room and not in front of your dog. You may, on the flip side, be completely amazed at how well she is doing. After a few short weeks the stiches will come out, the fur will start to grow back in, and you'll start to learn what your dog is truly capable of. You may readjust your plans for her a bit, but you may not. Let her show you what she can do and choses not to do, and take your lead from her.
Personally, I continue to be amazed by our little tripod, every day, more than a year after she lost her front leg. The joy and wonder she brings to our life just being her amazing, sweet, loving little tripod self couldn't be replaced by any agility competition in the world.
The first few days and week or so will be the hardest, but probably more for you than for her. She will do what dogs are best at doing: enjoy each and every day they have for exactly what is it, with no expectations for anything else, and life it to the fullest. She'll be fine and so will you.
Thank you ALL for your replies as I readjust to Roxy's amputation. Yes, it is an adjustment. I am not crying anymore and am now in the acceptance stage (for the time being) of grief. I think I stayed angry because feeling sad was worse. At least I could function while angry. When I'm sad, I feel paralyzed and unable to eat, concentrate, etc. almost like a temporary depression. I have lots of my Bible study gals praying for me as well and I feel their prayers. They know that this came at a bad time, as my dad had just suddenly died right before Roxy's initial accident in June. So when I first heard the "amputation" word then, I did not want that to be the only option. Fortunately, at the time of the accident, the vet did not want to do it immediately. Her first "amputation" surgery was scheduled for early July to give her body time to recover from the auto hit. She did not have any broken bones, but had minor lung contusions, and he did not want to stress her more with anesthia. It was during that 2 week period that she began to regain motor and pain function to the upper leg. We decided to not consider amputation, but became hopeful for at least a partial recovery. I put all my energy into her rehab, taking her swimming three to four times per week. I made temporay splints and supports to help her compensate for the weakness in the lower carpal joint and paw area. The months of support, therapy and exercise brought about remarkable recovery, and she was able to walk and run normally, with only a slight tracking issue. Her leg swung inward from the elbow more than before the accident. During the last week, she was beginning (obviously) to regain deep pain to the lower leg. The nerves for motor function are different than for sensory function, so when she began to chew and lick her paw alot, I really wrapped it at night with enough stuff that she looked like she had a boxing glove on. She needed to chew through multiple layers of vet wrap, cotton wrap, and duct tape sprayed with chew stop to get to the. I know she probably felt annoyed by the nerve sensations, probably perceived as itching. She was recently put on prednisone to alleviate the itching, but I think prednisone is for actual causative things, like bug bites, poison ivy, etc. Nerve pain probably needed nerve drugs ( I got a post about that too, but it came too late). Anyway, I felt very responsible for the self mutilation damage, beacause in addition to wraps, I also used an oversized muzzle. She could still open her mouth, but she could only chew with the front teeth, like when dog's scratch a bug bite. Therefore, she got through the wraps easily and proceeded to chew off the two toes. The timing was so horrible, because we all feel she was on the cusp of a remarkable recovery, and if she could have been prevented from and/or if something could have been done to alleviate the nerve sensation for another month or so, she would have had a complete recovery. That is one of the reasons I was so frustrated and furious. I had already grieved in June when the initial "amputation" word was thrown out, so when she defied the odds and recovered, I thought that was an option I'd never need to face, at least for that accident. That is why it was so difficult for me. I had to grieve all over again. I even freaked on the vet (fear not, I had apologized in advance to him, letting him know that I may say things I don't mean!) After seeing her for the first time post surgery, I of course cried because my beatiful puppy looked so pathetic and in some obvious pain. I spent an hour with her, trying not to cry, without success. She slept through most of my visit because she was medicated. When I woke her to return her to the recovery area, the vet naively and cheerfull said, "Well, how does she look to you?" You've got to wonder sometimes, why people say things when they do, because a torrent of emotion flooded out of me. I think he was expecting me to respond with something like, "well considering all she's been through, she looks okay." But instead I wailed "she looks mutilated, like a mangled freak! " I said I was sorry, but what did he expect me to say, she looks so beautiful? I especially like the shaved 1/4 body and the long row of stitches. The black and blue edema pouches really add lustre to the look. And man, look at that great limping motion. It is just what I've always wanted in a dog.
Anyway, I apologized and sent him an ecard about stressed is desserts spelled backwards, and that when I'm under stress, I say mean things. I thanked the staff for taking good care of her. I even sent Roxy an e-card for them to read to her about how we were looking forward to her homecoming, and that we missed her happy wigglebutt. She is home and settled in. She has some mild discomfort but for the most part is doing remarkably well. She already knew how to tripod because the initial accident in June left her that way for two weeks. She just had to relearn it again. It is definitely a people problem, because she does not seem to notice that her leg is gone. She just adjusts--she is a dog. I will probably read the tripod book, too.
Thanks again all for your posts, they are encouraging.
I to have an aussie, Luke that had his leg amputated two years this coming nov. We were on our way to Rally titles and working on our CD. Luke is a therapy dog also and we can still do that. I was devastated when the leg had to be removed. He was only five and we had so many plans for him. He is an awesome aussie. Your girl will amaze you with what she will do, not what she can't do. My plans with what I was going to do with him pale to just having him with me. If she is up to it you can still take classes, maybe not agilty, but try rally or obedience. You can't get a title on a handicapped dog, but who cares. The austrailian shepard is a breed I have come to admire so much. It has taken a while but my plans are to get an pup this coming spring to train. My Luke will be there all the way by coming to classes with us and as a big brother. When people see Luke many don't even know he is an amputee because of that beautiful aussie fur. I know your girl will look beautiful again soon also.
Yes I know all you say is true, but she was only 9 months old when she was hit and so close to being four legged until she chewed off her two toes. Anyway, I'm over the emotional trauma of it and it is not worth questioning whether I did the right thing or not. I wondered if I should have gone the partial amputation/orthotic/prosthetic route, but I was too emotional to make a good decision. Now it is made and unable to change, so I cannot second guess myself. Because of the initial injury and ensuing paralysis (which was getting better each week), she already knew how to get along without using that leg. I have concerns, of course, of future joint issues like arthritis, etc., because of the way she carries herself now, and the impact the only remaining front leg must take on now. But no one told her she is handicapped. She is still the same lover-girl clown, only with the way she is curved or twisted while standing like a tripod gives the "wiggle-butt" wag a whole new dimension She is still the head honcho around here, too. Thanks for your post. Lisah
lisah, as far as i can recall, most folks who went the partial amputation route had difficulties with it.
and prostetics works for some, not for others.
i guess that at this point, it is what it is, and there's no value in second guessing yourself. i'm sure you made the best decision you could have made under the circumstances.
it sounds like you've still got your girl in all her spirit, and that's what really, truly counts.
you will both find your way together...and i'm sure the new reality will be as rewarding and fulfilling as the old one might have been.
this stage of doubt and guilt and second-guessing will pass. i hope it passes quickly for you!
How is Roxy doing. An answer to your concern about joint damage, I too am concerned. Just the way the one front leg takes all the weight and the back legs don't have the range of motion they once had I have put Luke on joint suppliments. I am currently using Cosequin DS. You may not need anything as strong as Cosequin DS just yet, but I would suppliment her with joint treats that have smaller amounts of the same ingredients. I have heard that while they still may be growing you have to be carefull what you give them. Someone else may have better info than I on what will help Roxy. My vet recomended the Cosequin to me.
I feel like my beautiful girl has been mutilated. Maybe I should read the book "No Regrets" that I saw in another post, if it will help me come to terms with this devestating turn of events, at least in my eyes. I had such plans for this puppy, we were going to do agility, but now I don't know. I guess she could do therapy dog, but it is totally opposite of my dreams for her. They are dashed and I am sooo sad about it 
She is still the head honcho around here, too. Thanks for your post. Lisah