3-legged dog update!

Just thought I'd post an update for all the animal peeps out there... four weeks ago today, we amputated Sam's left front leg following a diagnosis of osteosarcoma. We are not doing chemo, however he is on daily Piroxicam and tramadol, and a regimine of K9 Immunity Plus (a mushroom supplement). We started PT this week. We did a lot of ROM stuff (well, more passive ROM, I guess), some massage, some footwork drills, and then we got to use the water treadmill. Fun! FWIW, I didn’t get any pictures AT therapy, but if you’ve ever seen a skinny, elderly, mostly bald, three-legged, chupacabra in a swimming pool…well, that pretty much sums up our visit, so no photos needed.

He responded to the surgery very well--came home 24 hours later, figured out going to the bathroom right after surgery (no faceplants!), started using stairs on his own (NAUGHTY DOG) within a few days, etc. The biggest issue we have now is he is sore (but a "good" muscle sore) a lot in his hindquarters as his core and back legs learn to accommodate him. But other than that, he is as happy and as alert and perky as I have seen him in months. He's as goofy looking as all get out (he's also got an autoimmune disorder/skin condition that has rendered him mostly hairless), but he's happy and busy being a dog.

Here is a video from Tuesday afternoon, 26 days post op. Not overly exciting, but you see some running, peeing, playing, poo-sniffing…you know, all the major bases. :D

If anyone is really bored, or wants to know about the decisions making process behind amputation, or wants to see how "tripawds" adapt (really quickly...even the geriatric ones ;-), or just wants to follow our story...I'm also keeping a blog. It's at http://sampsonrocker.tripawds.com/.

And b/c I'm not species-ist, to appeal to the cat people: Here's a picture of the OGs (Original Gangstas...I had Maxxie cat and Sampson before I had DH. :-) The rest of the crew tagged along after him) sharing some nappage the other night.