Hello everyone,
I don't know any of you yet, but I just wanted to thank you all for the stories I have been reading the past few weeks preparing myself for my baby's surgery. I have had reservations about the whole tripawd thing for way too long. My 5 year old cane corso Ava had been diagnosed with osteosarcoma back in July. Being the worrier that I am, I decided that with the poor prognosis, her size and the fact that she has had cruciate ligament issues in the past that she wasn't a candidate for an amp. Wow, was I wrong. :)
She was doing so well up until the past few weeks I couldn't put it off any longer. She had the chance to enjoy her summer doing what she loved to do! Playing in the river, fly fishing( ok, maybe just watched) running like the wind, and just being her goofy self. She showed little signs of pain other than the nasty and rapidly growing tumor on her right rear leg. Maybe I was in denial about the outcome of this but I couldn't watch her drag that thing around anymore.

We decided to have all vitals checked and re-xrayed her to see if there were any obvious metastasis. Much to our surprise the bloodwork came back " pristine" ( in the words of her vet) and chest and abdominal rads appeared to be clear. So we took the plunge on Nov 17/11 and had her leg amputated.
I am now, kicking myself for not doing anything sooner. She is doing fantastic! She didn't need that other leg anyway! After the second day she was attempting to go to bed with daddy upstairs and " running" after day 5. My two daughters have been telling all their friends at school to "come and see my dog Ava! She has three legs!" Her sutures come out in two days and to be honest, I didn't think I would see that tail wag as much as it is now. Every day we have with her is an absolute blessing.
I wish I would have found this site earlier. Dogs are amazing how they can bounce back from something so easily.
Much love,
Stacey and Ava

Hi Stacy and Ava. Glad you are here and welcome. Also so happy to hear that Ava is doing well. Dogs don't dwell or think about the life they will have after their amputation. They just adjust and move on much easier than we do as human beings. I also was a lurker too before I joined but I got Cadence's amputation done right away, a week after we found the lump, even though she was doing barely more than taking a little weight off the leg. Dogs are instinctively conditioned not to show pain until the pain is really almost unbearable. This protects them in the wild. Everyone has apprehension about what the dog's life will be like after the surgery. This is normal. But I have not heard anyone say after that they ever wish they had not done the amputation. If you need any help or have any questions or concerns we are here to help. It's a great group here. Can't wait to see more pictures! Hopefully one day I can find some time to make a blog too so others can see our story. It seems like in our pack there is always something going on. 

Cadence's Mom

So happy to hear how well Ava is doing!! What a beauty! My Bailey just had her surgery a week ago and she is doing wonderful also. I was also very worried about how she would do but she is doing great and I felt so much better when I got her home and seen her doing so well. I hope your Ava has a speedy recovery and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask…everyone here was very helpful for me! Wishing Ava a speedy recovery!!

Rachel and Bailey!