Recovery Anxiety

Maggie and Coacoa

About six or seven months ago we found out that our 4 year old dog Maggie has a cancerous tumor on her back right foot. We went ahead and had this nerve sheath tumor removed but were told that it had a 70% chance of coming back. Well it didn’t take long to return and now is even bigger than before. At first it did not seem to cause her any pain, but now I can see that she is using it very cautiously. The vet told me I would have to amputate the leg eventually; better sooner than later. The last time she had surgery she had some hairline fractures from the pressure of this tumor. This must be painful. I am now one month into a diet that will help her to lose 2 pounds before we decide to do surgery. She is a miniature schnauzer and they don’t want any extra weight on her if she has to support herself on three legs. Soon I will have to call the vet and have her weight checked. I am not looking forward to the finality of a date or scheduled surgery. Oh and she is only 4 years old.

1.    admin 01.05.10 @ 1:05 pm      

   Thanks for joining, and welcome! We are sorry to hear about Maggie but glad you found us… we now have a number of Maggies here.

   Weight is definitely something to be concerned about with amputee dogs. But the sooner the better indeed. Once you have removed the primary tumor, the chance of cancer spreading can become greater.

   Please visit the discussion forums where you will find much more advice and support. Specifically, you might want to review this topic abut having no regrets. Jerry’s blog posts addressing top canine cancer concerns may also be helpful.

2.    rubyaz 01.05.10 @ 1:14 pm      

   Tasha is an 8 year old 92 pound Rottie, she had her left front leg amputated a little over 3 months ago due to cancer. We did question the decision to amputate but we no we made the right choice. Today she is pain free, runs, jumps and plays, she is so full of life. She amazes me everday at the joy for life she has. Regrets, NO!!! none.

   Jo Ann & Tasha

3.    krun15 01.05.10 @ 2:08 pm      

   Hello and welcome,
   As we always say it is too bad you HAD to find this site, but it is good that you did.

   I have one of the Maggies, a 16.5 pound pug who is also a rear amp, she lost her left leg.
   Mag has mast cell cancer, and after surgery her prognosis was sort of bad, but she is still here- 3.5 YEARS later.
   I know this is a tough thing to do, and I think a little harder with the wait time, we were in surgery two days after the tumor was diagnosed.
   If you have time an are interested please read Maggie’s story in her blog:
   http://maggiesjourney.tripawds.com/maggies-story/

   You did not mention the type of cancer in your first post.
   As hard as this is sometimes I do not have any regrets about the surgery.
   Please take advantage of all the knowledge and support you will find on this site.

   And when you feel up to it maybe we can start the Maggie club! Tracy’s cowdog Maggie is also a rear amp.

   Good luck and keep us posted on Maggie’s progress.

   Karen and the pug girls

4.    Tazzie 01.05.10 @ 2:15 pm      

   Most of our bone cancer dogs are MUCH bigger than your Maggie and they do well on 3 legs. Little dogs like yours – well, I can hardly notice they are limping when I see one on three legs. If she is young, she should adjust even better.

   On the forums, you will find a thread of discussion in which people talked about whether or not they have regrets following surgery (woops, admin beat me to this, see above). A few dogs fail to recover well, and typically they are older (12+ years), or have other issues such as giant breeds (>150 lbs) that are a bit susceptible to heart trouble.

   You can also start your own thread about Maggie – or maybe you have – I think I saw our ‘old’ Maggie response to a ‘new’ Maggie this morning.

   Don’t worry. For a dog, life on three legs can be just as good as life on four legs.

5.    jakesmom 01.05.10 @ 3:54 pm      

   Welcome to the Tripawds family!

   Sorry that Maggie has cancer… but you have definitely come to the right place! Most smaller dogs seem to do pretty well after the amputation surgery… If you can get her to loose a little weight, then that’s a good thing.

   Keep us posted!!

   Angel Jake’s Mom

6.    Emilysmom 01.05.10 @ 5:58 pm      

   Let me add my agreement to the above posts. My Emily had her back right leg amputated after she was diagnosed with an OSA. She did really well on three legs (she weighed about 65 pounds) and could do everything after her amputation recovery that she could do before the surgery. Until the cancer spread to her spine she had a very good quality of life, I have no regrets.
   Debra

7.    Cherry 01.05.10 @ 10:50 pm      

   While it is very rare for me to venture over to the blogs, I am glad that I found my way here to comment. First, let me say how sorry we are to hear of your diagnosis. Rather than adding an thing else to the discussion, I would like to refer you to a discussion that occured on the forums regarding any regrets about the deciding to amputate. It is hard for each and every one, but please read through the dicussion at:
   http://tripawds.com/forums/treatment-and-recovery/regret-the-amputation/

8.    maggie 01.06.10 @ 12:53 pm      

   Hello to you, from the “other” Maggie(not sure how many there are??)
   I did post on the Forum but I’ll put a brief one here for you… Did I have regrets? Yes, at first I did….pretty darn tough seeing my dog that I did agility for 9 years with me, now 3 legged and can’t do the things she used to(easily) or when she falls…it makes me sad…BUT there were only two choices….amputation OR put her to sleep…She had soft tissue sarcoma on her left rear knee..she couldn’t use her leg, muscle atrophied due to not using it(and maybe due to cancer too?) The pain she was in, was horrible. One night before surgery was absolutely horrible. I would NEVER EVER want anyone to go thru what I did that night…gabapentin to the rescue…
   Long story short…no, I have no regrets for amputating her leg…I only wish I could of done it sooner to get her out of pain…

   Tracy, Maggie’s Mom

9.    Peyton's Path 01.06.10 @ 5:16 pm      

   Good luck! It is a very hard decision to amputate a leg, but you will learn very quickly that Maggie will be fine! She will adapt very quickly and most of the time you won’t realize she is missing a leg. My brother Peyton had his right front leg amputated and there were many times people wouldn’t notice him missing his leg. It was amazing how well he could still get around and play!We also scored lots of treats from the pawrents because Peyton was just so cute as a tripawd he could get us anything we wanted!Just don’t pack on the pounds only having three legs! Good luck and we can’t wait to get updates after the surgery!!

   Dillon
   (Peyton’s brother)

10.    Jeff 01.07.10 @ 2:16 pm      

    We have a schnauzer-poodle mix who was just diagnosed with a nerve sheath tumor on one of his rear knees. Between the budget needed for radiation and the possibility of the cancer returning with surgery alone, we have pretty much decided on amputation.
    It’s killing me because Max was always such an athletic dog. And to add insult to injury, he just went totally blind two months ago, due to SARD (Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration). He’s adpated very well to his blindness, and I hope he adapts to being three-legged.

    My thoughts are with you. If I felt that amputation would not provide him with a good quality of life, as well as a longer lifespan, I would not allow it. But all the literature and advice I’ve received tells me we’re doing the right thing for him.

    Best wishes,
    Jeff

11.    Angela Riddle 01.08.10 @ 7:13 am      

    Sorry to hear that. When will Max be having his surgery? Do you have pics or a blog of your own? How old is Max? I will try to keep you updated on Maggie.