Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
in my case, stopped growth spreading further into the body, therfore prolonging the life of Moby |
| Disadvantages: |
emotionally draining for the owner, expensive operation, a lot of after care involved |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
Hi, I wanted to tell you my story about my amazing beautiful Border Collie Moby who is now 4 yrs old and lives with 2 other Border Collies.
I have had Moby since he was 11 weeks old and is the most handsome loving slate Merle with bright blue eyes that makes him look a bit like a wolf!
He was attacked when he was about 3 months old. Moby was walking in a wood with us. Unbeknown to us, a back gate had been left open on a neighbour's
house and a dog who was known to be vicious towards other dogs came out towards Moby. Moby, being terrified tried to escape from the large dog who was biting him and he tried to get away into a garden where another 3 dogs also had a go at him. He was dragged by one of his legs underneath the gate of the house next door by the three dogs. There was much barking, growling and screaming. We were terrified and thought Moby was going to be killed. Moby had various superficial bites and an injured, mauled left leg as a result. He was taken as an emergency to our local vets and after painkillers, treatment and hefty bandaging we took him home thankful he was still alive.
About 2 years later we noticed a lump growing on the upper part of his leg that was injured and after many tests etc it was decided by our vet that the lump needed to be removed. It was benign (not cancerous) but because of the type of lump if left it would grow bigger than Moby so we took our vets advice and had the lump removed. We were told that the pathology lab had said that it would be unlikely to grow back again and after weeks of rest, then lead exercise and lots of visits to the vet (fortunately we were insured ) he made a good recovery.
A year later the lump started to appear again and we went through the same process with Moby, more surgery, and restricted exercise although this time we weren't insured because we could only claim for the same condition once. This time my vet Jeremy discussed that hopefully he had got it all but because of where the lump was growing it was difficult to be 100% sure of removing it all and if it would re-grow his leg may need amputating. As you can imagine this was more than a shock but hoped and prayed that we wouldn't have to go down that road. Moby again made a good recovery after lots of visits to the vet and a bill of over £300 in total.
Our vet explained that although the lump was not cancerous, he had various problems in removing it. This was because the lump was growing in amongst his muscle so when it came to removing it, it was very difficult to get the whole lump as the vet had to be very careful not to remove any muscle tissue. This was extremely difficult as the lump and the muscle were so tightly entwined.
Then in Sept this year I kept looking at his leg and thinking he had a lump again but thought I would keep a close eye on it. After returning from a week's holiday I really noticed a difference to his leg although other members of my family had differing opinions. Moby was never lame and never appeared to be in pain but I had a gut feeling the lump was back. His shoulder appeared a bit swollen too.
After a consultation with my vet Jeremy it was decided amputation was the only answer as the lump was continuing to re-grow and this time it had re-grown so quickly and it wasn't fair to put Moby through another leg operation as surgery would be quite extensive and a lot more difficult than before because of previous operations. Our vet informed us that there was an extremely high chance of the lump growing back and that ultimately, in the end, it would still grow back anyway. The best way to explain about the growth was if you can imagine a jam jar full of little beads and you were to put water in it, the water would trickle down and intertwine around all the beads. The only way to remove all the bits between the beads would be to take all the contents out. Jeremy said the best chance of making the operation easier was to have it done as soon as possible. I was totally devastated. I knew Moby would cope well as he was a fit young dog but I found it so hard to deal with emotionally. I had worked with animals for many years, even helped at RSPCA clinics but this hit me really hard. Jeremy spoke in length with me and my daughter Dayle but it didn't make it any easier.
I felt so guilty at what I was going to put him through. I knew there was no other option and I have known our vet Jeremy for many years and trust his judgement 110%
We made the decision to have the amputation a week later on the 28th November which was two days after Moby's 4th birthday, as my husband and I were going to be around all of the time due to our work schedule.
28th November
The day of the operation. I took Moby, along with my other two dogs for a long walk over the hills. Moby looked so happy and I wondered when he would be able to have such a good walk like that again. We walked for an hour and a half. Good job Moby didn't know what was in store for him. At 9am my husband and I took him to the surgery and I said a very tearful goodbye to him. I knew it was going to be a very long day and journey…for us both. Jeremy was going to phone me when the operation was over and hopefully we could visit him later. We had several wooden ramps in place that my husband had made to make it easier for Moby to get to the garden so he had no steps to negotiate.
Around 2pm I was shopping in Tesco when a call came from the vets on my mobile. It was the veterinary nurse informing me that tumour had spread more than we had thought. I said if the tumour had spread into the body perhaps it would be kinder to put him to sleep. The nurse said she would speak to Jeremy and get back to me. A few minutes later the call came…the tumour had spread into his shoulder which would have to be removed but the good news was that it was contained within the shoulder. They wanted to prepare me for the fact that Moby's surgery was going to be even more extensive. As long as he was going to be coming home again that's all that mattered to me. How I got through the checkout and home again I will never know! I broke the news to the rest of my family.
At 3pm I got a call from Jeremy to say Moby was in recovery now. Moby had been on the operating table for 4 hours! We could visit him at 6pm. I cried with relief that at least the operation had been done but knew we still had a very long and bumpy road ahead.
At 6pm, myself, Dayle and my daughter's boyfriend Jamie visited Moby. Moby looked like he was drunk as he was still heavily sedated. He was heavily bandaged around the head end of his torso. He was attached to a drip. He was very pleased to see us. We fed him a little cooked chicken and rice which he ate hungrily but we didn't want him to have too much in case he was sick. The rest he could have for breakfast. I just felt numb. I knew it had been the right decision but it didn't give me much comfort at that moment. Jeremy was very pleased with the way the operation went and Moby would come home the next afternoon.
29th November
The next day
Myself, my husband and Jamie and Dayle went to collect Moby. Boy, he was so pleased to see us! I didn't want to pick him up as I was so afraid of hurting him. He was even walking. I asked Lisa the nurse to show us how best to pick him up and while she had him in her arms asked her to put him in the back of our car. My daughter who is the smallest of us climbed in with in to reassure Moby. When our car pulled up at home Moby knew and sat up. We carried him into the house and laid him on his vet bed by the fire. He had Metacam painkiller liquid and Synulox antibiotics for use at home and was heavily bandaged and had 2 drains in to let any fluid from the surgery escape from inside his body. We fed him a little chicken and gave him a drink of water. Moby was carried to the garden for a wee but didn't go and he found it strange how to get himself positioned for a wee (which was hardly surprising after major surgery!) We let all our other dogs one by one to see Moby as they would all have to adjust to Moby. They were very good. I slept on the sofa next to Moby that night so I could check on him. At 1am Moby woke and ate a pig's ear! My husband took him on a lead and guided him to the garden for a wee. Moby was managing to walk although it took him a while to have a wee, but nevertheless managed it.
30th November
After lots of TLC and guiding into the garden, Moby managed to have a poo which was quite a feat for him as he had to learn how to balance himself. His walking was improving, it was amazing how well he was beginning to adapt to having three legs.
2nd December
Back to vets and the dressing was changed. While the vet was changing his dressing, I had a look and saw a huge V shape incision with many stitches and the 2 drains in place. Moby was walking quite well and we were informed by the vet that he would now be allowed lead exercise in the garden.
4th December
Today Moby had the bandaging off and the drains removed. Not sure how I felt seeing him without a bandage. It seemed a lot more real somehow. With the bandage on it's like it's got his leg tucked inside. Actually it's not that bad. All very neat and clean. Moby was continuing to make excellent progress. We kept him well rested for as long as possible although he jumped onto one of our beds with ease!!!! (His favourite spot, we live in a bungalow so bedrooms are all on the same floor and easily accessible).
7th December
Back to vets for a check. Moby was doing really well. Staff and vets really amazed how well he is doing.
11th December
Back to vets for another check. A little fluid has built up which we were informed was nothing to worry about. Moby had a few of the stitches out. A few left in the 'tricky area' Moby was now allowed to walk off lead and he was so much happier being allowed out for walks with the others. We were informed to treat him as normal. He could even jump into the car by the point, although we need to assist in his jumping down from anywhere.
14th December
Back to vets and Moby had the rest of his stitches out. All looking very good. By this point he is now walking really well. We were informed that he would need a re-check in a month's time.
25th December
Moby could now jump his usual fences on his walks although he's not encouraged by us but just try stopping him!!!!
He is also digging up molehills and even cock his leg to have a wee although god knows how he manages to balance. He has even attempted to walk across a cattle grid although he is still a little shaky at that.
He is back to the Moby we know and love so much. He may only have 3 legs but it doesn't stop him from doing anything.
My beautiful, beautiful amazing Moby.
I have taken some photos along the way to hopefully give anyone else whose pet dog has to have the same done an idea of what to expect.
It was all so much easier to deal with than I imagined although the first few days were hard for me emotionally.
Summary
I have to be honest and say that if I could see into the future and see how Moby is now, I would have had the amputation a lot sooner. In all honestly I think the operation was more traumatic for the human members of the family than it ever was for Moby.
It was hard for the first few days seeing him struggle with learning to walk again but we were so amazed at just how quickly he adapted to his three legs. Moby had his front left leg removed which we thought would make jumping extremely hard. As I already mentioned, Moby is a lean Border Collie and loves to jump, but having his leg removed hasn't hindered him one bit.
When we left the vets that day after his operation, we were given a care sheet and informed that the healing process could take up to 6 weeks.
I found one of the hardest parts was actually trying to keep Moby rested, especially when he knew all the other dogs were going out for a walk. We coped with this, by one member of the family sitting on the bed fussing Moby, while another member of the family took the other dogs out for a walk.
With having other dogs in the household we had to be very careful to ensure that Moby's leg was not knocked by the other dogs. This was difficult at times (as quite often I have my daughters dogs which means we have a total of 6 including Moby) We were lucky in the fact that all the dogs are well trained and they soon adapted at having to be calm when visitors arrived etc.
Moby has always been the alpha male of our dogs, the pack leader and we were unsure if this would now change due to the amputation. I am pleased t say that this has not changed and he is certainly still 'top dog' in the household.
When I was first informed that Moby would have to have his leg off, I found that there was not much information available on the internet for me to do some research on. The only really useful piece of information I found was Coooeee review on Pepper's amputation.
I have written this review in the hope that it will help to guide any other pet lover through a similar situation.
Thank for reading about my very special friend, Moby.
Display pictures
Moby before the amputation. |
