I think a lot of us here have been exactly where you are now, questioning the decision, wondering how we'd manage after.  I know we were here.  Amputation was exactly the right thing for us.

My biggest consideration was Fallon's pain.  She had a noticeable limp, and it went away with meds, but other than that, pain wasn't evident.  I know now it was there, and must have been horrible.  Dogs are really good at hiding pain.    

Floors without a carpet are a challenge for Fallon--if she notices it.  She is terrified of our kitchen floor now, so we carry her over it.  There's no real reason for her to go on it except our deck is outside it.  We've had to modify some things.  

Fallon can do stairs great, but we try to discourage her to save on wear and tear.  We try to walk with her, using a harness, if we can catch her quickly enough.  But she is perfectly able to bound up and down them on her own.  They are carpeted, though.

I remember surgery day really well.  It was horrible.  I knew I wouldn't get a call on Fallon until the afternoon, as she was the last surgery of the day, so it was a pretty unproductive day.  But once we got by that, things were better. It was day by day on when she would leave, she wasn't eating, had pain, leaky incision--but it all worked out.  

Amputation was the hardest decision I've ever had to make.  After that, things fell into place as far as treatment planning, etc...part of my strategy was to find a oncologist I had ultimate trust in to drive treatment.  That took a ton of anxiety away.

You and Horace will be in our thoughts Monday...hang in there 

Hi there,

None of our stories are exactly the same, yet we are all here for similar reasons. I cannot imagine, even as a former vet tech, that you, me, or anybody else here was not horrified at some point during this journey. Huckleberry is a cat, oh.. was a totally feral cat that set up camp in our yard. And I totally adored him but I knew after the time he had spent in our yard that we would never domesticate him, right!?  When he disappeared and came back a month later dragging a leg I was horrified. When we finally got him trapped and the doctor said amputation or euthanasia. I wanted to die right there. All the knowledge and logic that I had for all of the years that I worked with animals went right out the window. Ask anybody here, lol. I was a mess. I could not kill a cat that was only around 2, especially knowing he was otherwise totally normal. We managed a way to get it done, and with the help and support of so many in here Huck is thriving as an indoor kitty. My husband and I had to go through great measures to segregate him and recover him in our spare room and slowly work on socialization and introductions to our other 2 cats and our big dog. 

I do not regret one moment of it. It was scary, stressful, he was re-hospitalized because he could not wear an e-collar and took some staples out. I had to hand feed him, figure out how to medicate him without losing fingers, lol.. but now he is healthy, loving, sweet, and pretty happy. 

You have an amazing support group here. I can comfortably say that there is not much you will go through that at least one of us didn't have to deal with. Please breathe, get your house in order the way you want it for recovery, make sure you have plenty of food, treats, pill pockets, and whatever else you need to get you through recovery. 

We got rug treads for our stairs and we used rug glue tape strips to set them. They work really well for cats and for Mitchell, who is old and arthritic weighing about 75 pounds. I would definitely try something like that or a one piece runner installed. Stairs can be really tough, especially in the beginning when they are learning their new balance. You have some time for that though, unless you need them for him to go outside. If that is the case, he will definitely need your support and not even attempt stairs unassisted. 

Good luck in your journey, sending pawsitive thoughts and comfort your way 

Jackie and Huckleberry 

Just checking in--sending positive energy also!  We'll be thinking of you guys--check in when you get a chance. 

I still remember that sense of relief upon getting the "all clear and everything went well"!  Relax and get some well deserved rest tonight.  Tomorrow starts a new chapter for you and pretty boy Horace!  Hang in there we'll be here for support if you need us!  Hugs