Over the weekend of June 22 and June 23, a couple of times I wondered about that right front leg. I remember thinking “did he break something in his foot?” Went to see the vet on July 3rd and he decided Oscar needed x-rays of that right front leg. At that time he also started Oscar on tramodol 5 pills every 12 hours. Oscar had the leg x-ray on July 9th and when I picked him up at the end of the day, the Dr. mentioned “osteosarcoma”, showed me the x-ray and I was able to see the tumor. His tramodol was changed from 5 pills every 12 hours to 5 pills every 8 to 12 hours. (I then vaguely remembered someone had mentioned cancer back in April when he had the first set of x-rays but I totally forgot about it.) They were able to do the bone biopsy the next day and then we had to wait for the results. I was pretty sure he did have cancer; he was limping etc. I was also getting VERY frustrated trying to give him pills; tried rolling then in deli beef which worked for a couple of days and then he chewed the meat carefully and spit out the pills. (on July 4th I grilled them each a steak and cut them into pieces: THEY DID NOT CHEW ONE PIECE OF MEAT; SWALLOWED EVERY PIECE WHOLE! ). He did the same with deli turkey and ham, canned dog food, liverwurst, hot dogs and ice cream. I even tried the ugly practice of shoving them down his throat, but he has a super gag reflelx and is able to eject them from his throat. About 3 days ago–at my wits end– I tried chunky peanut butter and it’s working! He can’t tell the pills from the peanuts.
THE DECISION.
When Dr. Brooks showed/told me about the cancer he also mentioned the usual treatment: amputation and chemo. I was adament–NO AMPUTATION! His hips are bad, he’s too big, it’s cruel etc etc. My biggest concern was his comfort. His results came back on tuesday July 16th and he did have cancer. I was able to get an appointment on Thursday July 18th at the University of Wisconsin vet hospital. Wednesday July 17th, couldn’t sleep and found myself on “YOU TUBE”. It was a site of people with their 3 legged dogs and how well they were doing. A little crack appeared in my No Amputation decision. The vets gave me all the treatment options and the amputation/chemo started looking better. Asked for 1 night to think about it and the vet gave me the “Tripawd” website. After seeing all the positive posts I made the decision to have his leg amputated; there should be 100% pain relief. I know if I don’t-his pain is going to keep increasing and his leg will probably fracture at some point.
I know he is miserable. He’s not eating and he’s barely using that right foot. He holds it up. It was breaking my heart–he was still trying to play with his stuffies and limping the whole time. But…he can still get up the stairs and on the bed.
Tomorrow we are going to the UW vet school for his pre-op physical. (This blog is now caught up in time.) Off to download the e-books to help me get ready for his surgery.
So sorry you jave to be here and so glad you fou d us! Welcome to your new extened family who will be by your side to support you and cheer you and Oscar on!
I’ve seen a couple of your posts amd so glad you are avle to share yor storu with us.
What a great reunion of Gus and his brother! I dn’t know how I missed our blog yesterday but t least I was able to catchmup today!
CRUNCHY peanut vutter…..what a great idea! Yeah, once they discover “the” pill it’s almost impossible to disguisemit. Tramadol is supposed to be one heck of a bitter, foul tasting pill!
This is not an easy decisin and recoveryis no “walk in the park”. But, as you’ve seen, recovery does happen at each individual dog’s own pace ad in their own way! Once they recover, yo will be so thrilled at how well Gus will do and how happy you both will be that he’s free from pain!!
I have a 115 lb. Bull Mastiff (123 lb. before surgery) and was also adamant about no amutatin, chemo. etc. And here we are—over five mnths later—and it was the BEST decision! Yeah, it was a rough recovery! Some dogs take lomger than others. I was sure I had made the wrong decision for probably the first three weeks. But I stayed connected to this site as though it provided the very oxygen I breathed! It became my life line and I haven’t let go since!! The kind people here promised me it would get better…promised me her sparkle would come back…and boy oh boy! It got soooooo much better and her sparkle is so bright you need sunglasses:-) 🙂
How much does your BIG Mastiff Gus weigh? Do you jave anyone to ride with you to pick him up? Do not do that alone! Do you have anyone to help you when you get home? I had none of the above and that would be my first suggestion if possible!! Make sure youhave scatter rugs for tractin if you ave hardwood. Of course, no stair climbing at first at all. Do you have stairs that he has to use for potty? If so, you may wat to have somene build yo a ramp. My Hapy Hannah uses a ramp to gomup….she goes down fine ut can’t go up. I think it’s part fear and part her back leg is just not quite strong enough. She’s a “plus size model” here!! I do work on trying to get some weight off her but to no avail so far
I know this is an anxious ime for you. also kow that you will be n awe of your Gus andand, if you think you have a vond ow, just wait!! Your love for him will become so encompassing…so deep…you wn’t even be able to describe it!!
Just stayin the moment with your boy. Love him and spoil him and then love and spoil some more! The time you have together is sacred—a true gift.
You are not alone!! We are here for you every step of the way! Hold onto us! That’s what we’re here for!
Now, go get al, Gus’s stuffies together for his welcome ho e party! He’ll be high as a kite from hospital meds’ so don’t let him think his brother is his stuffie:-) 🙂
Get some sleep while you can! Have a glass of wine or a box of chocolate…..or both!!
Surrounding you with loving support,
Sally and Happy Hannah
Of course, everywhere I typed GUS…..you know I meant OSCAR!! I’m the resident “duuuuuh” but, thankfuly, they still put up with me:-)
Oscar and family, I think it’s a safe bet to say that most of us felt the way you did when the amputation option was first presented by our vets. But yeah, after seeing that dogs don’t care and love life no matter how many legs they have, it’s a pretty straightforward decision. We send all our best to you and hope you have a speedy and uneventful recovery. Thanks for joining us here.