Cassie’s Courage
Cassie, my 12 year old Belgian Sheepdog (Groenendael), was diagnosed with bone cancer in her front left leg. We amputated the leg on February 22, 2012.
We are now beginning the 2nd week after surgery. Cassie has been absolutely incredible. The surgery was on Wednesday and I picked her up on Thursday. When we got home, although I had to carry her up the front porch steps, once we got inside she jumped right up on the couch! I couldn’t believe it. I had set up a nice comfy mat on the floor right next to her spot on the couch, thinking she would be able to “camp out” there. She was having NONE of that! The couch is hers and she jumps up on it without caution. 🙂
She is slowly but surely gaining strength. She can go ten steps or so before stopping to rest. And this morning, for the first time, she walked down about five steps on my front porch. Until now, I had been carrying her up and down the steps.
Cassie has always been a “Velcro Dog” in that she wouldn’t stay somewhere if she couldn’t see me. She wouldn’t stay outside if I went back in the house; she wouldn’t stay in the family room if I went to the kitchen, etc. Since the amputation, when she goes outside she goes underneat the deck and sits in between two chairs I am storing under there. She just sits. She’s not in any visible distress and it’s not even like she’s sitting on some cool dirt – it’s pine straw! But it’s quiet and dark and still. I guess that’s what she needs.
I’m still having some challenges with getting her to eat. I’ve had success with chunks of grilled chicken, and plain tuna (packed in water). Last night I browned some ground beef and mixed it with rice. . . . she picked out the beef and left the rice! She has absolutely NO interest in her regular food, and hardly any in some of her special treats. At least she’s drinking a lot of water.
I continue to be amazed at how well she is adapting. Sometimes I think she is “depressed” and I’ve done my best to never let her see me upset. I’m doing the “tough love” thing and making her walk places, making her get off the couch to eat and drink, etc. Sometimes she just looks at me in the saddest way – it’s heartbreaking.
But she gets a little bit better every day and we celebrate every pee and poop and step. I cherish every moment I have with her.
March 4th, 2012 at 5:06 am
Welcome Cassie,
Happy you found us – sorry you had to. Sounds like Cassie is doing great. Don’t get too worried if she has an occasional down day. It’s perfectly normal, but always freaks us out a bit.
Ground beef motivated Baby to eat, too. I still put just a little on her regular food and now she’s eating pretty normally. Her amp was about a month ago and she’s doing really well. We’re also building walks up slowly. You’ll find info on the site about core building which actually does more for our tripawds than long walks.
She’s one lucky dog to have such a great pawrent.
Wags and Slobbers
Judy and Baby
March 4th, 2012 at 6:42 am
Welcome Cassie and family! Sorry you had to join us but you found a fabulous group of pups and pawrents!
Each furkid recovers at their own pace so don’t worry too much.
I made Lylee lots of special foods until she regained her appetite (which took a while) plus the pain meds. can totally change their behavior and can then take a while to get out of their systems.
Sending lots of hugs and wags
Joanne & Lylee
March 4th, 2012 at 11:32 am
I am so sorry to hear about Cassie’s diagnosis of bone cancer. For being 12 years old it sounds like she is doing wonderful! It took Boomer like 3 days before he jumped up on his couch and he is only 7. Is Cassie on medication? Sometimes that can cause lack of appetite and a depressed demeanor. The way we got Boomer to eat was we made him some ground beef, cottage cheese, tablespoon of yogurt (some dogs don’t do well with yogurt) and rice all mixed together. He chowed that down with now problems. Then we started mixing his kibble in slowly. It sounds like she has found a wonderful den like place underneath the deck.
Here is to continued improvement.
Boomer and Tina
March 4th, 2012 at 3:37 pm
Hello,
Thank you for posting your post about Cassie. Our youngest dog Daisy is scheduled for amputation on Wednesday of her front left and she will be 12 in June. My anxiety is getting the best of me at the moment but hearing about Cassie’s progress post-surgery is very encouraging.
Thank you.
March 4th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Welcome to you and Cassie. Our Abby was the same. She normally was also a Velcro dog, but for a while after her surgery, she really wanted to be alone. She would go outside and “hide” in the jasmine bushes or behind this huge potted plant. She would stay out there for ages. My vet assured me it was normal, and the theory is that it goes back to in the wild when you couldn’t show the rest of the pack that you were weak.
She’ll come out of it soon, probably once all the pain meds are done and the staples are out.
Looking forward to hearing more of her adventures.
Jackie, Angel Abby’s mom
March 4th, 2012 at 4:03 pm
love that picture of cassie in your banner!!! sounds like both of you are courageous. you’re right to not let cassie see you worried, scared or depressed..she will follow your lead if you go down that road. as we remember, the pain meds made gayle lose interest in her food..but it didn’t last and she got back to enjoying meals and treats, and of course naps!!
we love pictures around here, and videos too. glad you’ve started a blog, we look forward to following cassie’s story as she finds her ‘new normal’ as a tripawd warrior princess.
charon & spirit gayle
March 4th, 2012 at 4:41 pm
Cassie sounds like one tough gal! She’s making great progress, no doubt because of your strong pack leader attitude. We’re sorry about her cancer diagnosis, but as you can see by her outlook, it’s not about dying from cancer, as humans tend to see it, but rather it’s about living WITH cancer and making the most of every day.
If you’re still having trouble getting her to eat, see this Nutrition Blog post for hints and tricks. And of course remember, once a dawg gets a taste of “real” food, it’s hard to go back to the plain ol’ kibble. But hey, they’re worth it, right? 😉
Thanks for joining us here. We’ll help make this journey as easy as possible.
March 4th, 2012 at 8:41 pm
Welcome! Chili Dawg didn’t like to eat the first 2 weeks after his amputation. I had to do a lot of hand feeding and we had to use food that he would normally not get- hot dogs, chicken, ham, etc. Once he was off all the meds, though, his appetite returned and we put him on a grain free diet. Hang in there!
Jenna & Spirit Chili Dawg