Hi, and sorry you and Bond got such bad news.   In terms of the surgery, I would want to make sure that the surgeon had done amputations before - some of the emergency vets are better in this regard, especially if they have a surgical and oncological arm.  You want someone experienced.   And, it is major surgery, so Bond should not be left alone overnight the day of.   Either get him somewhere with 24 hour care, or bring him home.   (The latter is hard, but do-able). 

Great idea moving downstairs.   Many dogs learn to do stairs again, but Bond will likely not be able to do so immediately (although we do have some miracle dogs like Pofi who were doing stairs again almost immediately).   Make sure that you have good traction on all hard wood or tile surfaces - industrial floor mats or yoga mats work great.

There is a thread somewhere, I think under Tips and Resources, called something like what did you pay or what did it cost.   A number of people have added their costs for amputation and chemo there.   Although costs differ by where you live and the type of facility you go to, you should be able to get some general information there.  

My Otis had four rounds of carboplatin, which he tolerated well.   Some dogs have six - just depends on the protocol their oncologist follows.   (But for now, focus on the amputation, and the next two weeks of recovery - you can decide on chemo later).

This community is a great place - so feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Hi Jenn and Bond, welcome to our group although sorry about the circumstances. 

Has your regular vet done a lot of amputations? If not, I would for sure go to a specialist - a surgeon who has done at least 50 of these surgeries. Don't feel rude asking them about their experience. It's your baby! I would also spring for the overnight stay. Comfort and pain management is crucial in that first 24 hours and best to have trained techs there keeping an eye on things. 

As for chemo, Chance and I aren't going that route. We are doing holistic. If you end up not deciding to do chemo and have any questions please let me know and I'm happy to help you. Chance had his front right amp on October 12th. 

I know this costs a ton of money. I put it on all my credit cards stretched out. My kind father helped me pay for a portion of the surgery. And I am a musician and sold some of my records to offset some of the costs. Get creative! I know it's a lot of money but I think it's worth spending. Chance is SO much happier now that he is free of his painful leg. 

Also don't go down the 'prognosis' rabbit hole. I was the same way when I first arrived here at the forum and felt so sad and hopeless. But like many others here will tell you, none of us knows how long we have regardless of what treatment options we choose. Many babies on here have beat the odds. The important thing is to get rid of that yucky cancer in the leg and go from there. Read and be informed but as you read, don't apply everything you read to you and Bond -- Bond is unique. Stay positive for him and tell him how brave and awesome and strong he is! Every day! 

Sorry to hear about your bad news! Luckily you've found this great site to assist with everything!

My dog had a regular vet, one who we had never met and was new to the clinic do the surgery (back leg of a chihuahua x jack), we did book in with the vet we'd seen regularly at the clinic who said he was experienced in the surgery, but for whatever reason he wasn't there. The surgery was a great success. But as others said, if your vet does not have experience a specialist might be a better option. Other things to consider are what emergency and monitoring devices the clinic has. 

Our regular vet wasn't 24 hour either, and we had the same problem of figuring out where to do the surgery, whether she should be alone overnight afterwards (I didn't want this at all!). We transferred our dog to the 24 hour vet when the regular clinic was closing for the night, and to save on costs we used a 'babysitter' package where the dog is monitored by nurses and only seen my a vet if something goes wrong, and they'll always try to contact you before this. This might be a good option if a similar package is available. Otherwise I'd look into the pro's and con's of taking your dog home on the same day. Leaving them their overnight is a big risk - chances are your dog would be fine, but the question is would you be able to cope with it if something went wrong and it would have been fine if people were there.

Our surgery (including post op care and follow ups) cost about $2500 AUD, and $500 for the overnight care, $150 for new rugs, new harness and new bed. This was after $1000 for the biopsy. So about $3000 US dollars all up - lucky we didn't need chemo. I'm sure others can indicate the costs of that. 

Best of luck with your decision and try not to stress about the prognosis. Just enjoy everyday with your boy and live life to the fullest - thats all he wants to do and all he wants from you . It is a heart breaking time, but a brave face is best for him. 

Hi Jenn and Bond

My sweet Bruce (also 6) had his left rear leg amputated on August 31, his surgery was performed by our regular vet, for three reason 1) she was experienced with amputation 2) cost 3) she knows Bruce, she knows how important a part of our family he is and she adores him. The down side was that the clinic does not have overnight staff, we did bring him home the same day, and yes, it was frightening, but in the end everything was fine, he was restless the first night and I did sleep on the floor with him, the second night I was able to sleep on the couch and he slept on the floor beside me and he had a much more restful night.

A couple of days before surgery we got him a halter and tried to get him used to wearing it (he hated it), now every time he sees his harness he gets excited because it means he's going out in the car and he sits and waits patiently while I get him into it. We also covered our wood floor with a variety of non slip rugs and yoga mats and he has been able to get around really well.

On December 5th Bruce will have his final (4th) round of carboplatin, he has not had any real side effects from the treatment aside from being tired for a couple of days after each one, and his white cell count has been low after each and we had to go from 21 days between treatments to 24 days between treatments because of this. Because of his low white cells, he did pick up an infection in his chest which has since cleared up, the upside of that was we did an additional chest x-ray between his 2nd and 3rd treatments and so far his lungs are completely clear and he has been feeling great ever since that nasty leg was removed.

We are in Canada so I'm not sure the costs are relevant, other than to say by having our vet do the amputation and sending the tumor to pathology the  cost was $1400 as opposed to the cancer center cost which would have been $4,500. The chemo is being done at the cancer centre and is 4 treatments x $450/per treatment.

You and Bond will be in my thoughts and prayers as you go through this journey.

Hugs

Tracy & Bruce

Hi! I'm at home with my two-day tripawd for the first time. She had her rear leg amputated and was also diagnosed with osteosarcoma almost a month ago. We are very anxious about her pain and simply getting her out to potty! It all makes us wonder if we are doing the right thing for her. These comments are all very reassuring! Thank you for asking! Hope you Bond is doing well! Just wanted you to know that you're not alone tonight!