Living a ‘lurcher ’life to the full after a front leg amputation

When you’re faced with the prospect of having to have your dogs leg amputated because of injury or illness, it can be very daunting indeed. We often have people approach us, asking if we have any guidance on how to cope with this, emotionally and practically. What better than to ask someone who has already been through the experience with one of their beloved hounds, just like Sandy’s family. We leave them to pick up the story……

“The prospect of Sandy, our eleven year old adopted lurcher (erring on the side of Irish Terrier) having her front leg amputated after a year-long battle with cancer filled us with incredible sadness, but also terror. ‘Terror ’because we could only find video examples of successful ‘living life ’with back leg amputations on the internet, but very few on front leg amputations. Was this because front leg amputations were less successful compared to back leg amputations from a post-operative point of view?

We found a lot of complex medical information, including complete amputation, partial amputation with prosthetics, orthotics, or limb-sparing surgery. Some of these options came with the risk of further complications, more pain, and all involved expenses which not all of us can afford nowadays. Our very sensible vet understood the situation well; he understood that Sandy is a ‘mature ’lady and that the priority was to make her remaining years as pain free as possible, knowing her ‘parents ’would fill that time with happy moments and love.

Winding back the clock if we were looking for practical non-medical guidance pre amputation, we would have found some of the following information useful as well:

• At first we would both lie awake at night listening to Sandy’s every whimper, holding her tight and preventing her from trying to get up. Emotionally this is hard, so allow yourself quality time to sleep and recoup by taking allocated ‘shifts’ if you can.

• We set up our own temporary bed downstairs right next to the back door for the first week, this meant if Sandy got up early for a pee she literally only had to take a couple of steps (with our help and a lead on) to relieve herself.

• We put mats down in slippery areas including garden paths, we just bought cheap anti slip rugs, cut them into quarters and laid them down – interestingly they don’t blow around in high winds but stay put due to the damp outside. You could just use old carpet cut up, or even bath mats.

• That first run off- lead is terrifying, but Sandy coped (along with a couple of tumbles). We have noticed that after 6 months of running around on three legs her front shoulder and neck has become incredibly muscular to compensate. We only take her out on ‘long’ outings every three days to allow her good front leg time to rest as its carrying double the load now. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see video of Sandy in action.

• As she got better we erected baby gates to stop Sandy trying to run up or down the stairs, you could just use a packing crate.

• She could pee and poo comfortably without messing herself literally after the first couple of days.

• Sandy was used to going upstairs to bed, so we adapted a plastic factory storage crate, lined it and attached it to an electric hoist (bought off Amazon for £80). Once her wound was healed she learnt to sit quietly in it, with us by her side and now happily uses it to get up and down floors. (Please note that this option probably does not meet health and safety standards)

• Keep them on a lead, even in the garden for as long as you can, mainly to allow muscles to build up in the remaining front leg. Paddling in the sea assisted with a canine life jacket with a handle on has helped muscle build-up, if somewhat cold for the human!

• Sandy needed time to physically get used to the fact she had lost a front leg and adapt accordingly. At first we used a towel slung underneath her and supported her each side and after the first week she became confident walking without a front leg on her own.

• We wanted to carry on walking Sandy with her sister Daisy in the usual way taking them to their favourite places like the park, weekly market etc. We got over this by getting Sandy an InnoPet Sporty Dog Trailer/ Stroller (up to 30kg), she has learnt that when she tires of running she can hop into her stroller and rest up a bit. We mention the make only because this stroller was the only all-terrain one we could find.

• When you are out with your miracle dog in public don’t let the stares of strangers upset you. Most people smile, some come over to talk and marvel, but there are those in society who see Sandy’s amputation as cruel and that perhaps we should have had her put-down. Ignore the doubters and be proud.

Making that difficult decision to have Sandy’s front leg amputated has given her more time to carry on living life to the full, pain free (she needs no medication), bringing joy to all around her and herself.  6 months later we definitely know we made the right decision!