March 26, 2020

The past two days seem to be much harder on Akeela. She sleeps almost 90% of the day and we have to really motivate her to go on her potty walks. We wait until she gets up on her own before we attempt any outings. Since she normally comes to the office with me, our regular routine is 5-6 walks per day. Today she only went outside 3 times and they were all begrudgingly on her part.

The stairs aren’t getting any easier as she tries to figure out the proper step maneuvering. She currently slide/steps down with her two back legs first before moving her front leg out (so all 3 legs are on one stair), which makes for a very unstable wolfie. Today she even acted like walking on flat ground was more challenging than previous days. I am concerned that her front leg is becoming too strained with the excess weight it’s now having to carry. I am hoping that rehabilitative therapy will help her through this – which we start on April 2nd.

She is still unsure about her standing food tray and doesn’t have much of an appetite, so I’m currently hand feeding her (again, yes, very spoiled dog) every night. Tomorrow morning will be her last round of antibiotics, so hopefully that will have her feeling a little bit better.

Her stitches are healing nicely, but she started scratching at them today. Even through the shirt it caused her to bleed a little and left red marks on her bare skin. We had only left her unattended for less than 10 minutes when that happened – and it was the first time leaving her completely alone since the surgery. We were in the next room rearranging the bedroom to make it a little more tripawd accessible. Apparently she still needs to be supervised 24/7! I purchased some A & D ointment to put over her stitches to help keep them a little bit softer throughout the healing process.

Here’s to hoping tomorrow is a little easier on my poor baby wolfie!

March 26, 2020

The surgeon that I saw for Akeela’s surgery sent her limb off to a specialist to be tested (a little gruesome, if you ask me). They do this so that we know exactly what type of disease Akeela has, so that we know what kind of treatment to move forward with. This process typically takes 2-3 weeks, however, we were given the results after only one week! It was confirmed that Akeela has Osteosarcoma, which is a common bone cancer in dogs.

The surgery did not remove all the cancer, but will prevent pathologic fracture and pain from the affected humerus. Her vet recommended that we move forward with chemotherapy, which will help slow the growth of the cancer that is still within her body. I found a clinic that specializes in both rehabilitative care and orthopedic treatment (chemo). She has an intro consultation the day after she gets her stitches out!

From what I have read and heard so far, chemotherapy is much less aggressive for dogs than it is in humans. This is because the primary goal for dogs is to ensure quality of life for their last years on earth. Most dogs do not show side effects from treatment. If they do, it is very minimal and typically go away after a few days.

More to follow after her initial consultation! 🙂

March 26, 2020

Until Akeela gets her stitches out (14 days after surgery), she is only allowed out on short potty walks. We use a towel to help her down the stairs at our apartment, and she typically needs our help less first thing in the morning. By the end of the night we are all but carrying her up the stairs.

What we realized is that it is important to let her go at her own pace – or even slow her down sometimes if she gets cruising too fast. On the second day after surgery I let her walk around a bit more on her afternoon outing, but it left her completely exhausted and we could barely get her up for her evening potty walk. Although she felt like she could get up and moving, it was still a lot of strain on her remaining 3 legs. The most important thing for her to do for the first two weeks after surgery was SLEEP.

As soon as her stitches come out, I plan to meet with a rehabilitative specialist to help her recover. Although most vets find that rehab isn’t necessary since dogs recover quickly, I want to provide Akeela with as much support as I can. If there are ways to make the transition easier for her, then I am all about learning how!

Simple tasks that she used to do without thinking have now become incredibly difficult, if not impossible for her to do. Things that I never thought of before she had her surgery – such as going up and down stairs, lifting her leg to pee (yeah … she is an alpha), shaking, or circling a dozen times on her bed to curl up into a tiny cozy ball. I am hoping that rehab therapy will make relearning these day to day tasks a little easier for her.

One of the main differences that I noticed right away is that she is no longer comfortable turning to the right (she had her right front leg removed). She will only externally rotate her left leg, which makes it so she can only turn left. She is no longer an ambi-turner (Zoolander reference)! With a little treat-persuasion I can get her to internally rotate to the right, but the movement is not her first instinct.

The specialist who operated on Akeela recommended that we start a Glucosamine supplement to help her joints. I was currently already giving her a Petnc Natural Care supplement, but she also recommended Dasuquin. I’ll likely add that to the shopping list after she goes through her current supply.

Being in Colorado, I have heard a LOT about CBD lately and how it can have some major health benefits. I figured it couldn’t hurt to try, so I started incorporating this into wolfie’s daily diet as well. The instructions are to give 1 mg for every 10 lbs of weight. Akeela is approximately 70 lbs (or was before surgery), so she gets 7 mg per day.

She is taking 750 mg of antibiotics 2 times per day for 10 days. Antibiotics tend to cause indigestion, so we confirmed with the vet that it’s alright to give her a probiotic at the same time. I usually give her the Natural Dog Company brand of probiotics, but I also stocked up on Trader Joes Greek yogurt. The combination seems to help settle her stomach.

March 25, 2020

After Akeela drinks water, she always tries to lick up the extra water drops that splash out. Sometimes it’s on the floor, sometimes its on her legs, and sometimes she will even try to lick it off people if they are standing in splash-range. On the second day after surgery, she experienced a bit of ‘phantom limb’ after she drank from her water bucket. She licked the drops off her left arm and then moved her head over and licked the air where here right arm should be. I don’t know if this was habit or intentional, but it was heartbreaking!

That night I actually had a dream that my arm was amputated along with Akeela’s. I was devastated! I was embarrassed and kept looking around at all the people who had both arms and felt extremely jealous. This led me to the question of if Akeela was capable of consciously thinking about her missing arm. Perhaps my dream was my subconscious way of processing what was happening to her. According to online articles and vets, dogs do not have the conscious ability to process their missing limb like a human would.

After observing Akeela for a few days, I don’t think she necessarily realize that her arm is gone, so much as she can tell something is missing or wrong. Things she used to do have now become challenging. This is sad to watch as well, because when going down stairs, for example, she will look around and whine when she can’t get down them. It’s frustrating for her and incredibly heartbreaking for me. I am hoping that with time and rehab therapy, these day to day activities will become easier for her.

March 24, 20202

I was so distracted by researching and crying and giving Akeela as many cuddles as I could, that I did not stop to think about how I needed to prepare for the adaptation to her new tripawd life.

Naturally, I jumped back on the internet to see what other people had to say! The morning before I picked her up from surgery, I found some incredibly useful tips and made some last-minute trips around town for supplies.

1. Tripawds have a very difficult time walking on hardwood floor. If you have hardwood in your home (like I did), then you will need to put runners and carpets throughout your house. Home Depot had a random assortment of mismatched rugs for $10. They also had runners that you could cut per foot (approximately $3-4 per foot). We bought both, since my apartment is oddly shaped. Home Depot also sells self-adhering fabric ends to put on the cut pieces of the runner so they don’t fray. Make sure the rugs are nonslip! If they aren’t, then pick up some of the nonslip sticky runners that go underneath to hold them in place.
2. It is difficult for tripawds (especially front legged tripawds) to bend down to eat food or drink water. It puts a lot of strain on their front leg. To help them out, you should get a standing dog feeder. I ordered one on Amazon for $17. While I waited for it to arrive, I put her food dish on a blue Walmart bin that I use as her food storage.
3. Pill pockets are a genius invention! All 4 of Akeela’s pills were capsules. Instead of getting messy with peanut butter, all you have to do is slip the pill into the treat and seal it shut. Akeela loves the Greenies brand! Most of her medication needed to be taken with food (or treats), so this was a perfect solution. Just make sure to keep them away from your cat……. (not a fun vet bill).
4. Akeela is a very spoiled pup dog and has beds strewn about the entire apartment. They are big, fluffy and have ergonomic sides and built-in pillows. Unfortunately, they are not very user friendly for tripawds who are just getting the hang of 3 legs. The sides were difficult to maneuver and the 5 inches of memory foam was tough to hop around on. In the beginning, I put up her dog beds and laid down a yoga mat and blanket. They were a little slick, so I used the textured sticky runner mentioned above to hold it in place.

   Around day 4 of post surgery, I picked up her bed from the office and brought it home. It was much more comfortable for her – she passed out on it as soon as I brought it through the door. It is firm, not eggshell textured (difficult to maneuver with one front paw), extra wide to allow ample hopping/turning space, and only 2 inches tall. I would recommend finding a bed like this for your tripawd.

5. If you have stairs in your home, or leading to your home, then you will need to help your dog up and down. The vet recommended that we wrap a towel around her chest (careful not to pull on the stitches) while she is getting used to them. They said to have her do most of the work, but to keep the towel there as support. The first time up or down you will definitely need to provide a majority of the support, as they aren’t used to 3 legs yet and will likely still be sedated. We are currently on day 4 post-surgery and are still using a towel. Each day she uses our help a little bit less.

I found out the hard way with last minute scrambling, so I hope this information will help you be better prepared than I was!