Hi, I’m Stacy and I’m new to Tripawds. My 17 month old English Mastiff was hit by my brother-in-law on Christmas day 2011. I took her to the vet and he amputated above the ankle joint. I brought her home that day, she was home a couple of days and I noticed that her bone had broke through. I took her back to the vet and he took more off, up to the stifle, she seems to be getting along fine with that. Her other back foot was hurt as well and its bandaged so she is having a bit of difficulty walking since its painful for her. She is on perivcox for 5 days to help with the dull pain she is feeling and it does seem to be helping. I think this is harder for me to accept than it is Sofie because I feel so helpless and not know what to do for her. We go back to the vet tomorrow because she fell and hit her “stump” and broke the stitches, hopefully its just on the outside since the stitches have been in for 7 days.
bless your heart. we’re sorry to hear about sophia’s accident….geesh, the in-laws can become ‘outlaws’ in just a fraction of a second!! hopefully the vet can get her stump ‘fixed. we were a front amp, and lost leg and scapula with our amp…
pictures, we need pictures of beautiful sophia –
sorry you accidentally joined our ‘family’, but glad we could be here for you – if there’s anything you need, the forums are a great place for info, support and general venting….
charon & spirit gayle
Welcome to the club nobody wants to join! Most dogs do indeed cope much better with amputation than their people. Keep us posted and drop by the forums for more advice and support from members.
Welcome Stacy, we are so sorry about Sofie and the accident. We’ve had a bunch of car accident tripawds join lately…what’s in the air? That is so strange. But I only say that because you are in good company and definitely not alone in coping with this.
You’re right: Sofie will get along better than you can picture right now, so hang in there. All of the pawrents here felt scared and helpless at first, but in a few days you’ll see that things will be OK.
When you go back to the vet tomorrow, please make sure she has enough pain medication. I’m not a vet, but in our experience, Previcox is a good medication but it’s typically given in conjunction with something stronger like tramadol or fentanyl, at least for the first week or two after surgery. She’s been through a major trauma after all.
We’re here to help anytime OK? Keep us posted.
Welcome to the club! Keep us posted on Sofie’s recovery. I hope she has smooth sailing and the bumped stump is just a blip. I think I’m with Jerry on the pain med business. If you cut off my leg a week ago, I believe I’d want to have the finest pharmaceuticals available to me for at least another week!
Shari
Did the vet take the leg off at mid-femur? There should only be a small stump left. If too much bone is left behind she may break it open again. I agree that I would ask for more pain meds such as tramadol or gabapentin (for phantom pain).
I would love to see a photo!
Pam
They took it off at the kneecap. The way I have been discribing it to people is that if you picture a chicken leg where the thigh and leg meet, that is where they took Sofies’ leg off at.
I am so sorry to hear about Sofie’s accident. The first couple of weeks after surgery are the toughest. But you will find a lot of support at Tripawds.
Hoping she has a quick recovery. Please give her a belly rub from me!
Nancy & Butchey
I joined to give my sister Stacy & my niece Sophia Rose a little support and to learn with them how people are coping. Sopie’s Aunt (me) is heartbroken that this happened to Sophie, she is such a fun loving, good natured dog. Today she is a little depressed…… well we have all been a little depressed now & then. I sure hope she is better soon.