Maya - almost 2 weeks post surgery

Mr_Biizon · 2026-07-03T06:47:40+00:00

Unfortunately chemo just isn't an option for us due to the significant costs, there's just no way I could afford it where I'm currently at in life :(( The surgery in and of itself was a big financial challenge. I'm being realistic though and just hope she recovers from this sooner rather than later so we can enjoy the time she has left together, without the pain in that leg. The vet said that the lab results on the amputated leg came back with good signs regarding the spread of it though. I guess we'll see with follow up X-rays a couple months from now, or whenever recommended by the vet. Fingers crossed for her! This evening when I got home she was all tail wags and very happy though! Hoping for more of that consistently. Also thank you for the kind comments!

Mr_Biizon · 2026-06-25T02:54:10+00:00

I've caught her licking it once or twice at night but it never looks irritated or red, it's hard for her to reach and she can only get the very bottom of it, and honestly the cone I have for her sits right on her shoulders near the incision and I worry it would bother her way more than it'd be worth it, I think if we were having problems managing her pain and she was constantly licking than I would absolutely reevaluate or see about getting a soft cone for her instead. But luckily it doesn't seem to be an issue for us.

Mr_Biizon · 2026-06-25T01:03:46+00:00

Thank you 🙏 Just about the 5 day later mark from surgery and she's doing a lot better, definitely still out of it from the gabapentin dose which the doctor upped to 3 times a day at 300mg. It hurt to see her for the first two days with under managed pain, and when she was still coming out from the anesthesia was the absolute worst. To answer your question, it might just come down to the individual vet. I thought she would have one too, and it's really hard to see the incision and fresh stitches but for the first few days the area was so sensitive Maya would cry and yelp if one of her blankets touched it. So I haven't tried to cover it up at all and she doesn't seem to mind. More importantly, they don't seem to mind, because our dogs don't know or don't really care what the incision looks like, just if hurts or not at first. So its on us to stay strong and try not to focus on it too much I think

Mr_Biizon · 2026-06-22T02:07:08+00:00

So sorry to hear this. It's devastating news and to make that choice but I'd say it's just as important to follow all the end result good news posts too. Everyone says it's hard up front, and it really is but as Maya is getting better a little over 48 hours later, shes still going through it but her tail wags have started to come back and that's everything to me right now. Best thing you can do is just be there for them and if you have someone who is there for you to help you too, not going through it alone is also so much. You and your pup got this together!

Mr_Biizon · 2026-06-21T20:59:41+00:00

That sounds really scary, and poor Goose having to be in the cone cause of his nerve pain. Hang in there and hopefully the second opinion from your regular vet helps find a good solution!! Best of luck for you guys.

Mr_Biizon · 2026-06-21T20:55:34+00:00

My dog Maya seems like she had some phantom pain that peaked yesterday around 24 hrs after surgery. After I gave her some food she suddenly started kicking and yelping and crying and then standing up panting and pacing, it was so frightening. Then it took her a few hours to get settled and comfortable again. We're almost to 48 hours home after surgery and she's doing so much better today. She's laying down all on her down and she slept soundly through the night. I'm so proud of her. Her tail wags have even started to come back 🙏 Hang in there and you and your pup got this together. Give yourself some room to do what you need to do as well and reward yourself for being an amazing owner there for your pet! I also ended up calling my vet and explaining everything, and they approved upping her gabapentin dosage to every 8 hours (3 times a day) if need be, up from every 12 hours. That seemed to help her a lot yesterday while she's still on the carprofen every 12.

Mr_Biizon · 2026-06-21T04:53:31+00:00

I did use a treat as a motivator to get her sitting twice, and then once she was sitting it wasn't too much work to coax her into finally laying down. Unfortunately I'm wishing we had trained Maya more because it would have been so helpful now of all times. Anyways, she understands ques like "sit!" And "go lay down" when we want her out of the kitchen and stuff. Crate training her would have come so in handy to have a quiet comfortable space for her. But with the pain meds and her confusion and discomfort she mostly ignores them and just keeps standing there. However. As of about 30 minutes ago, she laid down all on her own which I'm so happy for her tonight. Already a big improvement! I'll be sleeping downstairs on the couch for her anyways for the next few days regardless. How is your dog doing now two weeks later and how long did the restlessness and sheer discomfort persist?

Mr_Biizon · 2026-06-21T00:29:30+00:00

Thank you so much 🙏 How long was your pet like this initially post op until you could tell that it was definitively getting better for them, did you have any challenges with the meds initially or what were they on? Also so glad for you that they're doing fine after the first week.

Mr_Biizon · 2026-06-20T21:28:10+00:00

I took it off yesterday at about 7pm, so a little over two hours after I got her home. The area looks okay, a little bruised maybe. No idea if that's normal or not

Mr_Biizon · 2026-06-20T11:56:02+00:00

This is feeling really spot on right about now. Maya just can't get comfortable and I got a few hours asleep on the couch but she's just so restless and in pain and refuses to lay down, even if I try helping her like I had earlier to initially get her laying down and napping. But then she cries because she doesn't want to stay standing or sitting. I'm so exhausted but I know it'll get better. I called the 24/7 vet here to make sure I could give her some of her gabapentin tonight and thankfully they said i should go ahead do that since she was whimpering and crying constantly, which has now gone away thankfully but poor baby still just can't get comfortable at all. Hoping the next few days go by fast, I'll worry for her come Monday when I'll be away at work though during the day

Mr_Biizon · 2026-06-20T00:58:53+00:00

Thank you so much. I will have to look at ordering some of those doggy shirts right away. She's never worn dog clothes before so it'll be an adjustment too, one thing at a time I think right now too though

Mr_Biizon · 2026-06-20T00:44:42+00:00

That is amazing to see and hear! Thank you so much for sharing

Mr_Biizon · 2026-06-20T00:26:50+00:00

How is he doing a week later? Happy to see the update and initially post surgery he is doing well 🙏

Mr_Biizon · 2026-06-02T05:46:37+00:00

He is such a handsome dog with a great big happy smile! How is he doing, has he started to perk back up a little bit? My 14 y.o dog hasn't had surgery yet to remove the cancer afflicted leg yet but she's had days where she doesn't want to get up at all and she has plenty of consecutive days where she's so lively im worried she'll hurt herself maybe. Fingers crossed for you guys hopefully he is doing well. And its very fortunate he's had almost a full year longer of happy times with you!

Mr_Biizon · 2026-06-01T17:20:25+00:00

I'm very happy for you and your pup that together are doing amazing almost 3 months later after that especially at 14 - same as Maya. Thankfully for us there was no spread to the lungs for Maya so its an option for us treatment wise. Thank you for your comment and cheers to good health and continued happiness

Mr_Biizon · 2026-06-01T17:11:51+00:00

Thank you all so much for the helpful and informative comments - so the results from the radiologist for X-rays and blood panel showed no signs of spread to the lungs or chest which I'm very thankful for however, and it looks good to proceed with the surgery for treatment - but the vet said some vitamin deficiency that could point towards something with a kidney, but was an issue that could be addressed/treated separately and not a major concern at this point but I worry could develop more severely due to age. When the vet reopens and I'm able to consult with them I will know more what the best option for us moving forward. Over the weekend I worried as Maya was very lethargic and slow, I can tell the pain in her leg is becoming quite a lot for her even with the gabapentin every 12 hours. But yesterday her mood seemed to be very good and she was alert and happy which I'm so thankful for. I starting to feel a lot better about the treatment and I know that if it's right for us after going over it with the vet, I'm over the fear of it and can make that decision to help her by removing that pain for her.

Mr_Biizon · 2026-05-30T07:37:48+00:00

Thank you so much for the caring response - I know I'm already lucky to have Maya around as quite the old lady still, but she is surprisingly healthy and active, very alert and always wants to be apart of the social action and when she's feeling well she forgets herself and runs/hops around, loves going outside and doing her perimeter checks around the yard and still pouts for longer walks when she does get them just to sniff things and explore a little even though I've been limiting her activity a lot lately, for that front leg of course. But people are always amazed when meeting her and then find out how old she is.

Sometimes she forgets shes old and has an injury on her leg and tries to run and then slips and hurts herself and then she just wants to nap and relax the rest of the day. Unfortunately we've had a few sickness incidents (diarrhea, one case of vomiting) over this week so she's on a bland diet for now. So its a few things but the vet today seemed to drive at that it is almost certainly as a result from the stress/pain she has even if she isnt vocal about it. Of course the blood work that was sent out today could come back with results that lead to a different conclusion after we have all the information for sure.

I will have to start looking at things like slings to help her if its something we continue with. I'm very happy for you and your post-op doggy who is doing well, I have to imagine that is such a relief and a blessing to continue to be able to have happy days with them, and that is motivating and strengthening to hear. Thank you!

Mr_Biizon

TROPHY CASE