Hi.
everyone, first I want to say how awesome this site and everyone on it is, I'm so glad I was able to find such an awesome resource so early in this journey.
Some background: about a year ago we spotted a little bump on Zuzu's knee, so into the vet we go. Doc takes a look at it and does a needle aspiration, comes back clear and were told it's not really worth the surgery to take it off since it's benign. So time goes by and the sucker grows, zuzu still doesn't seem bothered by it, doesn't care if you mess with it, is showing no signs of pain or discomfort but because it's gotten so large in about a year we have it retested.
Boom.
Doc says it wasn't as bad as she thought (osteosarcoma), but that it's still cancerous. We send off cytology to try to get more answers. Comes back as a soft tissue sarcoma, most likely a fibrosarcoma.
We do blood work and x-rays, everything comes back great, Zuzu doesn't even show signs of arthritis and the tumor hasn't gotten to the bone. Great news. Now we get the shock, recommended course of action, amputation.
Due to the size, location and type of tumor it would be impossible to get good enough margins and the best we could hope for was a debulking, but the mass would just come back, so that would be more surgery.
We were in complete shock and disbelief.
Of course our first reaction was no, she's not in pain and doesn't have any mobility issues, we're not cutting off her leg. We'll just let her be until she starts showing signs of discomfort. The doc said it would probably be 6 to 9 months before the tumor really started grabbing into her muscle fibers and causing problems.
Then I went online and started researching like mad, and I come across this website. After lots of reading and deliberation with my wife we decide ok, maybe amputation isn't as bad as we thought and we become more accepting of the idea.
We've​ called the vet back and told them we don't want the debulking surgery and want to move ahead with the amputation. As of now we're waiting to hear back to see if she can do the surgery or if we need to go to a specialist and what the cost is going to be. Unfortunately, finances play a big part for us so that is something we're going to have to figure out.
In the mean time we are trying to get as much ready and prepared as we can. Thanks to the generosity of the angel exchange program we've already been gifted a get a grip harness(we live on the third floor and have 24 stairs to deal with) so we'll be able to assist getting zuzu out.
How soon after surgery is it ok to start using the harness? I don't want to aggravate the incision or surrounding tissue. I've read a lot of posts about the vet sending pups home with a sling, is this ideal to use in the beginning over the get a grip harness?
We won't be attempting any stairs for a while as we plan to use puppy pads inside and on our front landing (hopefully zuzu will use them, she's pretty adamant about only going potty on the grass). Does anyone have any better suggestions for this situation?
Oh, it's her right rear leg, by the way.
Zuzu, although sometimes a bit prissy and Moody, is strong willed and in great health, I have no doubt that she'll be able to adjust and continue fighting on, it's just us humans that are having the issues with it.
That's all I can think of for now, but I'm sure I'll have more questions pop in my head. Sorry for being so long winded, lol

waiting for the vet