Update on my dog: Further X-rays showed her lungs are clear (usually the first place where the cancer spreads to) and she has no arthritis in her other shoulder, so we decided to have the affected leg amputated. This should give her at least a few months pain-free.

I hope I made the right decision.

Kitty S.

The right decision is the best one you can make weighing all the factors. It sounds like you did the best you could with the cirumstances you were given, and I hope recovery goes well and is permenant.

We had a 6 year old lab, drug dog, that developed a similar problem. We had the right rear leg amputated and the dog worked 2 more years and lived 4. I have to admit, the looks on the faces of those Jake caused to be arrested was worth every penny we spent on him. Of course we affectionatly referred to him as "Tripod"

DFrost

David,
Bless his heart!

Kitty,
I think your decision was made with the very best in mind for your dog. Can't get more right than that. Best of luck, and let us know how the surgery goes.

Kitty, just this past week I saw a story on my
local newscast that I hope will cheer you up.
I can't vouch for the quality of the broadcast over the internet, but check it out anyway.
Entering 'http://www.ctv.ca' will bring up the page, using their search bar, enter 'prosthetics' and
view the most recent video 01/16/05.
Not that this is the avenue you may choose to go, but it is encouraging to see nonetheless.

I know my previous post didn't sound very supportive, but that's not the case. Your
vet knows far more than I ever will, and if surgery is what you've chosen, I wish your dog a speedy recovery and many more happy years ahead.

I hope the surgery goes well. Our neighbor has a German Shorthair with a front leg amputated. I've lived here almost 6 years and Drummer has been running around on 3 legs the whole time. She has several dogs and also does fostering for a shelter. When she had a suspicious looking man climb her fence and trespass in her yard, Drummer was the first one who made it thru the dog door and outside. He even got a bite in before the man made it back to the fence and over it.

I got my dog back yesterday. Though she had little appetite at the vet hospital, once home, she chowed down on dinner and even tried to steal our other dog's food. She has trouble getting around on our hard floors so i've ordered some dog booties for her. We are pleasantly surprised at how much of her old personality is back. She doesn't seem depressed or in pain. (she IS on two pain medications) She seems to be doing quite well all things considered. It is heartening to see.

Kitty S.

Kitty, these are such tough decisions. It sounds like your dog has a decent prognosis, and bless you for being willing to give your dog a three legged life. I have known many three legged dogs....even a completely blind dog that have had many good years. Runner rugs can be found cheap!!!

Bless you and best wishes,

Beth

Kitty. It's great to hear that Riva is taking her surgery in stride!

I had to put down my 8 year old GSD, Chelsey, 8 months ago and it was a very tough decision. She had soft tissue sarcoma in the rear, left leg, or so we thought. We had already made the decision to amputate, when we discovered that it was in her front, right leg as well. Putting her down was the worst thing I've ever had to do. I only wish that we'd discovered it in time to lovingly refer to her as "tripod".

I wish you and Kitty many happy years together!

A few days ago we got a call from the vet who did the surgery on Riva. The biopsey came back and it turns out the cancer that was in her leg was a secondary cancer. The primary cancer is somewhere else and had spread to the leg bone. We hadn't bothered with doing a biopsey before doing the surgery because we thought it wasn't necessary; that we knew it was cancer so just go ahead with the amputation. So now I have a dog with three legs and stage-4 cancer somewhere in her body. She's doing all right right now, but because her body is fighting this cancer as best as it can, she will never feel normal again. The only thing we can do for her is spoil her for the rest of her life and watch for signs of discomfort and illness. We will have her put down before she begins to get really sick.

In the meantime, she wants to go on long walks and we have to practically drag her back home again. And the three cats who have been harrassed by her since we got her, have noticed a sea-change. They no longer show her the respect they used to have. They saw immediately that she's no longer quite the threat she used to be and are beginning to walk around her as bold as brass. Talk about salting the wound.

I guess the moral of this story is get biopsies done before making any big decisions. Don't assume.

At least for right now, she seems to be feeling OK...

Kitty S.