Beach Day Adventures

Kayla had so much fun with her besties Ribbit and Josie at Chrissy Field in San Francisco today. Check out their old blog at http://scaredofcones.blogspot.com/.

From left to right: Ribbit, Josie, and Kayla (and their pawrents)

Her new Ruffwear harness worked great!

She ran around in the sand and was able to keep up with all the other dogs. Look at her go!

K9 Cancer Walk in Los Gatos

We had such a great time meeting all the supporters and survivors at the K9 Cancer Walk benefiting the Morris Animal Foundation in Los Gatos this morning! Celebrating a month of being cancer free and supporting our incredible team at Sage Centers. 

Thanks Dr. Banz, Dr. McDonald, and Nurse Karla.

Proud to be a tri-pug!

We met the famous Minnie and Max!

We met a grumble of pugs

Perfect day to be out at the park

Carry me please!

Pre and Post Amputation Care Tips

Now that Kayla is all healed up, I thought I'd share our learnings and tips for other dog-parents anticipating their dog's amputation surgery or going through post-amputation recovery. Hope this helps!

Be prepared before the surgery

1. Once you've gathered all the information and made the decision that amputation is the best course of action, be confident that it's the right choice. It was really hard for us to accept that Kayla will be losing a leg and we got 2nd and even 3rd opinions, but in my heart I always knew it was the right choice. 
2. Stay strong and be positive for your dog. Dogs are very attuned to their owners' feelings so send them positive energy before going into surgery. I remember Kayla was totally fine at the vet until I couldn't hold in my emotions and tears. Once she sensed that something was wrong, she became really scared and started shivering. 
3. Make sure you feel very comfortable with your vet and the surgeon doing the actual surgery. Our surgeon was different than our oncologist, so we asked to meet the surgeon before the surgery. He spent time answering all our questions and bonding with Kayla the morning of the surgery.
4. Discuss the surgery schedule and ask to be updated throughout the day. We dropped Kayla off at 9am. Our surgeon called me to let me know that they're going into the operation at noon. The surgery only lasted about an hour and a half and the surgeon called me right afterwards to let me know that the surgery went well and there were no complications. Then they called one last time that day around 5pm before the team transitioned to the overnight emergency staff. At that time, Kayla was already waking up from the anesthesia. It was a very emotional day, but being updated regularly definitely made me feel more comfortable.

Post-surgery care and recovery

1. Prepare your house before your dog comes home post-amputation. Pick an area that you will want to confine your dog to for the first week. Make sure it's somewhere he feels comfortable and safe in. We chose our living room since it's where we spend most of our time together at home and there's a big area rug so she doesn't slip when she tries to get up to walk around. We put her bed, her favorite blanket, toys, and water bowl in that area so she doesn't need to travel far for her favorite things.
2. Add traction to slippery surfaces in your house. You don't have to cover all of the area, just where your dog can have a clear path to get to his favorite spots (i.e. feeding area, front/back door to be let out to go potty). We used yoga matts that we already had in the house and we bought a couple long area rugs that were on sale at Home Depot. Make sure you use anti-slip rug pads (I almost slipped and fell when I was running over the rug!).
3. Make sure your dog doesn't try to jump on or off furniture. Although they recover and adjust very quickly, it's still a very significant wound that needs to heal. Think of what it's like to take care of a toddler... it's kind of like that! You have to watch your dog at all times or confine him to a pen/crate with an E-collar. He won't know what his limits are yet and won't understand why you won't let him do what he use to but you have to be very strict for the first week.
4. It might be hard to imagine what it will be like for your dog to relieve himself with 3 legs. I was really worried at first but you'd be surprised at how quickly they figure it out. Kayla was able to urinate and defecate with no problem from the get-go. Some dogs have a tougher time. There are slings that you can use to help them in the beginning.
5. Since we're on the topic of defecating, note that constipation from the pain meds is very normal. It can take 48 hours before your dog's bowel movement becomes regular again. Don't worry -- he'll go when he needs to!
6. Keep your dog's activity to a minimum for the first 7 - 10 days. He may seem ready to run around and play, but too much activity will cause fluid build-up between the tissue and muscle around the amputation area (aka seroma). Read more about our experience in the previous post "Bye Bye Fentanyl Patch, Hello Seroma." It's not fun to deal with... 
7. Cold compression vs warm compression? I learned that cold compression helps with pain, which is why the vet recommended it for the first 2 days (~5 times a day). Warm compression helps with blood flow and healing which is good for day 3 - 10.
8. He may have a decrease in appetite the first few days. It's okay to spoil your dog with boiled chicken and other bland human food to help him eat. We stuffed Kayla's meds in boiled chicken chunks and it worked like a charm. 

See pictures of Kayla's wound throughout the recovering process below. We wanted to share these so other dog owners know what to expect.

[WARNING: If you are squeamish about wounds, do not scroll down]

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3-5

Day 6-8

Day 9-11

Day 10-12

Day13

A year later

Suture-Free Kayla!

Thanks for the new toy Josie!

We returned to see Nurse Karla and Dr. McDonald to get Kayla's sutures removed this morning. The doctor said her wound is looking really good and healing up normally. She should be completely back to normal within the next 3 to 5 days. YES! We can give her a bath soon!

We want to give a shout out to our Sage team who has been SO amazing throughout this entire process. We would not have been able to get through this without you.

Check out Kayla in her new sporty Ruffwear Web Master harness! It came highly recommended by Tripawds blog. I must say, it feels really well made. It's sturdy yet light-weight. Kayla has a tendency to lunge forward when she sees another dog and this will help me control her without pulling her off balance.

Fully supported.

Modeling her new harness!

1st Day Back In The Office

Kayla is so happy to be back in the office! She greeted everyone with lots of tail wags and body presses. She is loving all the attention and milking it for extra pets and head scratches!

She is adjusting back to her normal routine with no problem. After begging for snacks in the morning, she settled in her favorite bean bag. It took a little longer to get comfy...

Do You Want Cheese With That Whine?

"No, just head scratches pleeeeease"

I think someone is getting too spoiled at home!

10th Day

We went to Sage for a follow up exam today. Kayla's incision is mostly healed, but there is still a crusted part that is still oozing some fluid. They decided not to remove her sutures today. We have to continue to restrict her activity over the weekend, as this will help allow this area to heal faster.

Good news is there is no follow up treatment needed, but we will recheck her exam and x-rays every 3 months. I learned that having had the malignant tumor on her left hind leg does not increase the likelihood of her getting it again since it has not metastasized (PHEW!). We're going back next week for another incision check to see if the sutures are ready to remove. 

She's adapting so well on 3 legs now!

The "Terrible Twos"

Kayla is feeling much better now that most of her seroma has drained, but that also means she's a lot more active. I feel like I'm constantly worried about what she's going to do next -- try to jump on the couch, run around too much, fall off the bed. I seriously feel like I'm an over-protective parent watching over a toddler!

It is good to see Kayla back to some of her old ways though :)

Bye Bye Fentanyl Patch, Hello Seroma.

We removed the fentanyl pain relief patch yesterday afternoon and soon afterwards Kayla started paying more attention to her wound, probably because she's no longer high on fentanyl which is a narcotic, (member of the same group of drugs to which opium and morphine belong). We caught her scooting on the carpet and a reddish, clear fluid immediately started seeping from her sutures. We went through so many sheets of paper towel and it wouldn't stop draining.

Rawr I'm a dilophosaurus from Jurassic Park!

We knew it was most likely caused from post-surgery seroma (an accumulation of fluid under the skin, most likely caused from over activity after surgery), which our doctors and nurse warned us about. It's pretty common, but we became really worried since it wouldn't stop so we took her to the hospital. The doctor looked at the fluid sample and confirmed that it doesn't look infected (great news), but we must keep her from moving around too much. 

We've been using women's maxi pads to soak up the seroma fluids. Sounds weird, but it works really well! The pads are sterile, super absorbent and has an anti-leak technology that locks in fluid and helps keep the wound dry. They also gave us some sedatives (acepromazine) to keep her from being too active but it made her really out of it and messed with her bowel movement. Still debating whether or not we should continue it.

No more moving around and the cone is going back on puggy...

Great News To Start The Weekend

After the amputation, the leg with the sarcoma was sent to the pathologist for additional tests to reconfirm the diagnosis and, more importantly, make sure the cancer has not metastasized (spread) through the lymph system. By having access to the amputated leg, the pathologist was able to dissect and examine the lymph nodes, which were difficult to test with a needle aspiration biopsy.

We received a call from the doctor this morning and they confirmed that they did not find any cancerous cells in the lymph nodes!! This is such amazing news! We feel so relieved and blessed :)

This is my happy face!

TGIF!

Check out how fast Kayla is walking now! We're keeping her exercise to a minimum so we don't strain the right hind leg too much, but she's doing great.

I feel better! Want to play?

Kayla, Jared, and I are participating in this year's K9 Cancer Walk in Los Gatos on Sunday April 13th. If you're interested, we'd love for you to join us!

A Convo Between Two Pugs

A special shout out to Dr. Zane (Poppy's human dad) who was critical in helping us make our decision to go through with surgery. A BIG Thank You to you and Poppy for the support and encouragement!

3rd Day As a Tri-Pug

It's not easy being a tri-pug, but she's doing a great job adjusting. We're on a strict schedule of cold compressions and meds. The hardest part is making her rest and keeping her from doing what she normally loves to do -- jumping freely on and off the bed, sleeping on the arm-rest of the couch, running around outside.

Like my new flower costume?

Cold compression feels gooood.

Food pleeeeease!

Ooo chicken, rice and kibbles?

YUM!

Homeward Bound!

9:00 am

Dr. Catie McDonald (Kayla's oncologist) called this morning to let me know that Kayla is doing great. She is already standing on her own (still a little wobbly) and eating (hand-fed boiled chicken of course). She's ready to come home this afternoon. We can't wait to coddle the heck out of her her!

Dr. McDonald shared a really cute story with me... She placed Kayla on the ground for some exercise and to fix her bandages. She turned around for a few seconds and when she looked back down... Kayla was gone! She is already hobbling around the room! That's our little puggy...

4:00 pm

(Thanks Uncle Kyle for the welcome home gift!)

Kayla is home! She was so happy to see us when we picked her up from the hospital. 

To be honest... seeing her in person was harder than I thought it would be. She was whimpering a little and seemed nervous that we would leave her again -- it broke my heart to see her like that :( We just have to continue to remind ourselves that we're doing the right thing for her.

We prepped our house so that it's tripawd-friendly. We laid down yoga matts and carpet runners so she wouldn't slip. We prepped the living room floor with all her favorite things so she doesn't try to look for them. We even made a potty area on the balcony using plastic trays and sod so she doesn't have to travel far to potty. The doctor said we have to watch her very carefully over the next couple of weeks. She is not allowed on any furniture without our supervision.

When we got home, she walked from the front door all the way to her bed in the living room by herself! She is so brave!

Walking by herself already.

It's been a looong day - good night!

Day Of Surgery

(Waiting for the doctor...)

8:00 am

We dropped Kayla off at Sage Centers in Campbell this morning. We met with Dr. Bill Banz, the surgeon who is doing the operation, and he explained the process and what to expect post-surgery. The Sage team has been so amazing during this entire process, from our very first consultation, to the diagnosis and now the surgery to remove the cancer. They've done an excellent job of keeping us informed at every step of the way. We feel very confident that Kayla is in good hands. We are staying positive and strong for Kayla.

After today, Kayla will be cancer-free and continue to live a long, happy pug-life. That is what we keep reminding ourselves throughout the day.

Kayla is such a brave puggy!



2:00 pm

Kayla is out of surgery. The surgeon just called to let me know that the surgery went really well. Kayla did great! She is just starting to wake up.

They will be taking her outside on the grass to potty with a sling and feeding her some boiled chicken when she's ready. I seriously can't speak highly enough of our team at Sage!