My Poor Bruce

[Alice]

So I took Bruce for a walk today to go visit his brother.  It was about a 2 mile walk.  When we got there - his gimpy paw was all raw and bloody. 

Took him to the vet, they cleaned it up.  But, it was suggested that I seriously start thinking about amputation.  This is a really hard decision for me to make.  He does fine and it doesn't hurt him - unless we go on long walks that aren't on grass 100% of the time. 

They say he's losing more and more feeling in there.  And that if it disappears completely - he might injure himself and none of us would know.  On the other hand... it might not disappear completely.  So I'm stuck in a dilemma.

[eo000]

I'd wait it out, but then again, i'm a big chicken when it comes to my dog.

[Gamplayerx]

It's a tough decision to make.  What if you really inspected it closely everyday to make sure he has no infections or injuries or whatnot? 

[Beefy]

Yeah, keep it in the back of your head, but I wouldn't rush to do something like that.  As long as you keep an eye on it you should be fine.  When the time comes to take action, you'll know and you won't hesitate.

[Alice]

Thanks guys.

I've just never had to think about something like this before.  I just want to make sure I make the right choice for him.

[nishi]

speaking as someone who had half my dog's tongue amputated, and as the roomate of someone who had to make the decision to have her dog's eyes removed, i can tell you this - dogs don't deal with amputation or loss of a body part the way we do. it's easy to anthropomorphize, but if your vet is telling you amputation is the best choice for him in the long run (which is how i would interpret "seriously consider"), then do it. you will save him a great deal of discomfort over the time that you would have spent "waiting and seeing" - it doesn't sound like this is going to get better with the passage of time. it sounds like the best you can hope for is that it doesn't cause him problems. if you walk him on grass.

he's a young healthy guy. he'll do fine with three legs - dogs especially do remarkably well with a missing leg.

the surgery and the adjustment will be MUCH more difficult for you. when i had to have phoebe's tongue operated on, i cried for days before and days after. other than a couple of days of discomfort - and *only* a couple - and then a little longer period of adjustment (which, i might add, she milked for all it was worth) where we figured out the easiest ways for her to eat and drink - she was totally fine. her bark sounded like she was barking into a coffee can, but other than that - no difference.

and when angie had to have her dog lucie - here's a word - "enucleated" (she had glaucoma, which will cause the rupture of an eyeball in a dog if the eye is not removed), her family told her she should have lucie put down instead. lucie, four years later, is blind, sweet, and a happier, more social dog than she was before.

bruce will be fine. it's a hard, hard decision, but i would approach it like this: ask your vet what *they* would do, if bruce was their dog. and then do that.

[Alice]

Thank you nishi.  *hugs without putting my face near yours*

[Gamplayerx]

Nishi makes good points, but if cost is a consideration and he's not currently in pain if you can monitor him, I think wait and see is reasonable.

[nishi]

Nishi makes good points, but if cost is a consideration and he's not currently in pain if you can monitor him, I think wait and see is reasonable.

certainly if cost is a consideration and wait and see is ok, then do that. however, some vets - and i do mean some - will work out a payment plan for something as big as an amputation.

[nishi]

Thank you nishi.  *hugs without putting my face near yours*

i love you.

and bruce will be ok. i mean - the morning of phoebe's surgery, i was a mess. and to be honest, i was worried, along with everything else (she had a cancerous growth on the bottom of her tongue), about what it would *look* like. would it be gross? she was a dog that was kind of picky about how she looked, oddly. would it bother her? her picture is my addatar - you can see how beautiful she was.

but ... how would she eat? how would she drink? i was completely freaked out, plus i'd never heard of anyone whose dog had had their tongue amputated.

but we got up early, and i took her for a walk - not a long one actually, because she had had her spleen removed about 10 days previously (long story). and i took more pictures of her - i already had roughly a zillion. i kept thinking 'this is the last day that she'll look like phoebe' - i was a total mess. i'm tearing up just thinking about it.

but she was just fine. totally fine. it never seemed to bother her at all. at first, i would hand feed her, make her these concoctions that i thought might be easier to take into her mouth with her teeth rather than her tongue. i built an elevated stand for her water bowl, but i would still use the handheld shower thing to let her drink several times a day (man, she loved that part. i was her personal water fountain. she was all about that. i knew she *could* drink out of her bowl, because i'd seen her do it, but she liked the personal water fountain better).

dogs are far far more adaptable than we are, i think. no. i actually know that, i don't just think that.

if he has to have his surgery, bruce not only will be fine - i'm betting that he's the kind of guy that will make it work for him. i bet he becomes roughly 80 times more charming than he already is.

and in the meantime, you can call me and cry. i'll cry with you. it's really scary. but he'll be fine.

[DownSouth]

Midnight sends kisses.

[Alice]

Midnight sends kisses.

Thanks. 


He was being a baby this morning so I had to carry him downstairs.  But he knows how to milk things for all they're worth.  He's not licking at it, so that's good. 

The roomie and I have decided to see if we can fashion some sort of boot to put on him when we go for longer walks.

[Bennyhana]

Just don't fashion said boot out of rawhide.  I tried that once and the dog ate his whole foot before he knew what was happening.

[kelbel]

Sorry to hear about your pup. I have no guidance to give but I can give a big hug.

[Alice]

I'm trying to get sleepy so I'm watching TV and Bruce fell asleep next to me chewing his bone.  He has woken up 3 times now, and started barking at the back of the couch.  I wasn't getting why until the last time.  The smell of month old shit got into my nose.  He kept farting, waking up, thinking it was the couch and getting pissed at the couch. 

How do you explain to a dog that the couch can't attack him.  It's his own anus?

[Beefy]

He kept farting, waking up, thinking it was the couch and getting pissed at the couch.

I do that all the time.

[Alice]

He kept farting, waking up, thinking it was the couch and getting pissed at the couch.

I do that all the time.

[dazie]

Alice- try Petco or the like for doggie booties.  I was going to suggest that, but by the time I got back online today (just now) you'd been such a smart woman and thought of it yourself!

You might be able to put something more sturdy inside one of the dog booties to give him some support. 

[ReBurn]

Alice- try Petco or the like for doggie booties.  I was going to suggest that, but by the time I got back online today (just now) you'd been such a smart woman and thought of it yourself!

You might be able to put something more sturdy inside one of the dog booties to give him some support. 

Like an underwire?

[Dry then Catch]

maybe you can get him a little wheel.  im not joking, i've seen long dogs like bruce with the wheels and it looks like little chariots

[Youphoric]

maybe you can get him a little wheel.  im not joking, i've seen long dogs like bruce with the wheels and it looks like little chariots

Like Speedy on the Drew Carey Show?

[Alice]

maybe you can get him a little wheel.  im not joking, i've seen long dogs like bruce with the wheels and it looks like little chariots

Except that would probably cause his good leg to atrophe.

[DownSouth]

maybe you can get him a little wheel.  im not joking, i've seen long dogs like bruce with the wheels and it looks like little chariots

Except that would probably cause his good leg to atrophe.

Maybe just for long walks.

[Gamplayerx]

How about a skateboard?  Or a razor.

[DownSouth]

Segway