Now that I have the appointment made for Zivas amputation I’m freaking out.
Did I make the right decision, is this the best for her, holy crap she’s gonna loose her leg!!
It’s just a limp! Will she still love me? Ahhhggg.
I’m sure most of you that have been through this have thought the same thing. Do you feel better after the surgery and do you feel it was the right thing to do??
Tuesday is a long ways away I hope I don’t change my mind, or should I????
Ok I’m not gonna change my mind, just trying to add a little levity to this serious situation. I’m 90% sure this is the best course of action and the other 10% will come post op.
Anyway be prepared I’m bound to post some more meaningless dribble to make me feel better until Tuesday. Thanks for putting up with my stupidity lol.
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A journey with my Rottwieler and cancer
This is NOT stupidity and this is not meaningless dribble. Thank you for posting your “thoughts”. We can all relate far too well!!
I hadn’t found the tripawd community prior to my Happy Hannah’s amputation. I was so scared I actually DID cancel the first scheduled surgery appointment!!
Guess it was about a week later when her leg hurt so badly she stay hold it up rather than just limping. I rescheduled and was soooo glad I did! Recovery was no picnic for a couple of weeks. I second guessed myself a lot that first week or so! I didn’t join Tripawds until day six of recovery. Had I found d this site sooner I would jave been far vetter prepared and far more knowledgeable about what to expect.
Anuway, she got thru recovery, adjusted to three just fine and I was finally able to say I did this FOR her and not TO her!! Zero regrets!
STAY CONNECTED! You ARE making the best decision for Ziva. A chance at a pain free quality life is a decision made out of love for her…..and that the “right” decision ❤
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Btw love the picture banner. She is soooo pretty!
I agree 100% with Sally. And this is definitely not meaningless dribble. I went through the exact same thing with Arktik and ask so many question here. This is why this group is so helpful, not only going through the decision making process but also to help endure the recovery part and answer questions when we have some. Me and Arktik are just a little bit ahead of you. On Tuesday he will be on day 12 post op. Feel free to contact us any time.
Thank you everyone, Ziva is scheduled for Tuesday am and the Vet said she will be going home with me that evening.
We went through TPLO surgery two years ago so I’m kinda ready for this other than her leg will be gone.
I’m gonna stay strong get this done and take the best care of Ziva that I can. It’s gonna hurt financially but I’ll get over that. Her care is THE most important thing right now.
I’m sure I’ll be on here again before the surgery and most defiantly after.
This is not meaningless at all, I promise. Anyone who has been through this process totally understands. It’s terrifying! But knowing what to expect and talking to others is what will ease your worries and get your confidence up during recovery. And I want to add that if you’ve been through TPLO recovery, you can handle this without a problem. Amputation recovery is way easier.
Share whatever concerns you have and we will try to address them OK? And now that you have a few days before surgery, do what you can to get your house ready. Add traction, put up some barricades to keep her in a small part of your house, and remember to breathe. Ziva’s got this and so do you!
By the way: cutest puppy picture EVER! She’s adorable.
Thank you everyone.
House is prepped we’ve had carpet runners down for years. No stairs except three off the back porch. But also have a ramp.
Already have a regular sling for her and looking into the ones listed here for after stitches are out. I’m sure I’ll think of stuff and trust me I will ask. 👍
Noting to add, other than you and Ziva are in our thoughts today. We know what a rough time this is….hang in there.
You are completely normal. I questioned my decision every day waiting for the appt. Was I doing this for her or for me? How was a senior cat (17) going to get around missing a leg, its not like she was a baby? Would her personality change? Would she hate me? What if she didn’t survive surgery? How do I hold her or pick her up? How gruesome is this going to look? (It was not at all, I was sooo impressed). I drove myself insane and cried every night. It was all I could do to keep it together when I dropped her off. As soon as I got back out the door I sobbed. I cried the whole way to work. Waiting for them to call and update me was torture. She came thru the surgery just fine. They kept her two days. They were concerned because she wouldn’t eat but as soon as she got home she ate like a champ. She was kind of groggy from medicines but she still came to me for love. Nothing changed about her personality at all. She wasn’t afraid of the other cats. She still wanted to be held non stop. Its like she went to sleep, woke up without a leg, said what the hell, and then went about life the same as before. She is still her in every sense. I waited a month with a tumor on her foot before we made the decision. The vet had tried other things to manage it but it was growing too fast. I honestly feel bad now that i waited that month. That was a month where she was in pain and spending time at the vet which is torture for her. If I could go back, not only would I do it again, I’d have done it sooner. And if I hadn’t done it, she wouldn’t still be here. Believe in yourself and your instincts. She will deal with this way better than you will. Animals are so much tougher than us. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Sorry for the novel!🤗
I completely understand what you’re feeling! I agonized over it for weeks. My 12 1/2 yr old black lab had to have a front leg amputated due to melanoma on his paw pad. It wasn’t until one of my friends asked “Would you rather have him with three legs or not at all?” For me, it was exactly what I needed to hear.
I was very fortunate with a good recovery with my lab. The day we brought him home from the hospital he was getting up by himself and making it all across the living room!
It gave me almost 3 years more with him. And they were the absolute best 3 years.
I felt the exact same way with my boy, I went through the same thoughts, will he not love me, will he be mad, is this right, should I do it? I went through all of the doubts too, I’m doing the wrong thing, I’m making the wrong decision, he’s never going to love me the same again, should I cancel the appointment, is this worth it? I even beat myself up about it, why couldn’t I prevent this, why didn’t I do better for him, how could I have done better, this is my fault, why did I let this happen? Honestly, even after his surgery I felt that I did wrong by my boy and continued to beat myself up about it for weeks, until I saw him do something I haven’t seen him do for years (due to him being over weight, but since he had to have surgery we got that weight off!), he was RUNNING, he was PLAYING, and most important of all he was HAPPY again. If it wasn’t for him having his surgery last year, I wouldn’t have him here with me today. I won’t lie, there will be something’s you’ll have to figure out and it can get stressful, BUT it’s all for your babe and plus, that’s what Tripawds is here for!! Sure it wasn’t the easiest thing I’ve done, but I would do it a million times over for my boy if I had to. After seeing how healthy, happy and comfortable he is now I KNOW I did the right thing and I KNOW you are too. You can and will get through this, your girl will be happy, she will be playful and most important of all she will have the quality of life she deserves! She’ll do great, younger animals adapt quickly you’ll be very surprised! Trust in your vet, they will always do what’s best for your fur baby. Try not to beat yourself up and I PROMISE your baby will still love you❤️, you’re doing this to HELP her not to harm her.
Hugs from myself & Pablo aka Fat Man
Your thoughts and concerns are 100% valid. I remember the week leading up to our pups amputation being the most agonizing days of my life. You are not alone, but I want you to know you are doing the right thing for your pet. You will be AMAZED at how quickly ziva bounces back. Dogs are incredible and she will surprise you in so many ways. We only got 6 months (the minimum for our dog with osteo’s prognosis), but I would still make the choice to amputate 1000000x if given the choice. Your sweet ziva will get her life back and once the initial (and surprisingly so fast) recovery is over, it will be like she never even had 4 legs. I am sorry you have to go through this, but I promise you are doing what is best for her.
She is not going to miss her leg a bit. Only for scratching. And you can assist her in that. Dogs are not like humans, they don’t think about missing a limb. They think about running and swimming, sleeping and treats. Think of this, if you were going in for this surgery she would be there for the recovery as a comfort and support. She would try to get you up and about. And she would never worry about that missing limb or mention it! Take the dogs attitude and it will all be fine. Humans think too hard.
My Rottie lost a front leg when she was a puppy and gets along just fine. She’s 3 and a half now and runs like a bat out of hell with my other two tripawds! Ziva will do great!