I adopted Daisy on Sept. 11, 2008, when she was 10 yrs. 4 mos., and the bond was immediate! What a playful, sweet girl. Last December 3, she was diagnosed with bone cancer in her left forearm wrist. In looking back, I can see signs of it as early as last summer, when she would come up limping after retrieving her ball for the 20th time.  Not knowing then that bone cancer is common in labs, I assumed it was age-related arthritis. Anyway, I felt cheated out of having had so little time with her and asked God to please guide me to help Daisy stay here longer than is typically expected.

I started reading everything I could find online and found Dr. Demian Dressler's e-book, which I promptly purchased, and started following his recommendations for supplements and diet. (I cook for Daisy about every 8 days; it's lots of work but worth every minute of my time, as I think her good nutrition and all the love I put into her food contributed to her staying relatively healthy.) I am also fortunate in that my vet uses a type of kinesiology to determine if a pet has parasites, yeast, toxic metals and minerals, etc.,  and what supplements the animal's body needs at that time. Therefore, Daisy was quite healthy and her immune system strong.

I knew right away I wasn't going to do chemo. I vacillated about amputating and initially chose not to because of my vet's experience with other cancer patients and the cancer going to the lungs. As the tumor grew, we added pain meds to Daisy's diet. She still ran around and retrieved the ball 5 months after diagnosis, which was amazing. As I've read elsewhere, this situation helped me stay present, as every day I thanked Daisy and God for one more day with my best girl.

In May the tumor started growing more rapidly–nearly baseball-size–and it got to the point where she couldn't put any pressure on it and was in pain even with pain meds; this is when she had her first experience hopping on three legs. To make matters worse, we live in a split level, and Daisy is used to following me everywhere (upstairs, downstairs, etc.) I knew she couldn't go on like this, but she still had so much spirit and will to live. After having her lungs x-rayed and finding them clear (amazing!), I had her left foreleg amputated the next day (May 19). There were people praying for her hourly that day, and other people were sending her healing energy. My vet was quite surprised to find her standing up 24 hrs. after surgery. After he carried her out to do her "business" and back in, he set her down and she took off running for the other door–she was ready to go home.

So we are now 10 days post op., and she is doing great. Her energy is coming back, and she's more and more like her old self. On day 5, she went down a flight of 6 steps by herself–scared me to death  but she was so proud!–and since she follows me everywhere, I realized I had to either keep the baby gate in place or take her with me. On day 7 she went UP a flight by herself! Most of the time, though, she waits for me to put a towel under her middle to assist her. (I have her harness but won't use it until the stitches come out.)

She is a very courageous girl, and I am so grateful that I get to enjoy her for however long.

Lexi, Daisy's momma