Welcome to the family, you've come to the right place. So you want to know about transition and recovery. OK, on recovery, first of all you need  take a deep breath and relax a little, put some of your anxiety in check, these guys will pick up on your tension, so act and treat her as you always have, it will do wonders for her, especially the first couple weeks, those are the toughest for both of you. On transition, you will be amazed at how they adapt to three legs, some adjust quicker and better than others, but usually they figure things out pretty good themselves. Any floors that might be considered slippery you might want to put some carpet runners down until she gets her new walk and a hop figured out. Pay attention to how she acts once she's home and on the pain meds, they sometimes make them loopy, not themselves, some dogs don't get along with certain meds, tramadol seems to be one that some dogs just can't handle. There is the possibility of phantom pain, Gus started having it about 5 days post op, lasted about 4 weeks, Gabapentin worked well to take some of that pain away. Expect these first 2 weeks to be a roller coaster, Pearl not being herself, thats all normal. Appetite might come and go, she may do nothing but lay around, let her, you really don't want her overdoing it to soon. I foy u have a concern about somthing, call your vet, they want to know right away to make sure all is going the way it is suppose to. You are about to learn a whole lot about the resilience and determination of these guys, it's us humans that get all wound up. Good luck, Paws up, Spirit Gus and Dan 

thanks for all the support!  We got the report that surgery went as well as could be expected.  They had to take more tissue then originally planned, so we have our fingers crossed for recovery.  Pearl is only the 17th reported case of lymphangiosarcoma in dogs so we dont have a lot of data to go on, just hoping for good news in the morning.

Hi Pearl & Family,

Welcome! Happy to hear that the surgery went well. In addition to the advice given so far, I would add that it's not a bad idea to look at pictures of dogs that just went through the same surgery. I made sure I looked at some pictures prior to picking up Skyler, as I really didn't know what to expect. I know our pups can pick up on our emotions, so I wanted to maintain a "poker face" the first time I saw her. And yes, get plenty of rest!

Sending lots of prayers & golden hugs your way. Please keep us posted! You've come to the best site for info/support!

Cathy/Jane/Spirit Skyler/Chloe

Welcome to Tripawds, Pearl and family. 

Good news that the surgery went well. Check out the postings about the 'cone of shame' and alternatives.

Our dogs are amazing animals – they adapt very quickly to the new normal. It takes us humans much longer to make the adjustment. 

As has been said above – stay calm – get lots of rest – and heap lots of love on your Pearl when she comes home. 

We're here when you want to talk, need a shoulder, have some information to share, or are looking for some. 

Tana and Angel Sophie