My Emil is a 9 yr old,  90lb half Catahoula, half fly by night - he looks like a black golden retriever.  Anyway, he was limping around and, since we have hardwood floors, I figured he just sprained his shoulder.  After a couple of days, off we go to the vet only to discover it's probably osteosarcoma.  This was the day before my birthday (happy birthday, mom, NOT).  This of course started us on a round of Vet visits which finally culminated in us being accepted into the clinical trials at the Univ of Illinois Small Animal Clinic.  His right front limb was amputated on 2-12-16 (diagnosis confirmed) and he had a very fine recovery.  After his surgery, he was re-introduced to his crate which he hasn't used in years (now with a 4" orthopedic mattress) and continues to sleep in there willingly.  No adverse affects from the drugs and after a couple of headers into the snow, he now romps happily although we all laugh at the giant black bunny.  Took him about 2 weeks before he became brave enough to jump up into my bed. He still hasn't tried stairs as fortunately, we live in a one level house.

I took him for his first round of chemo (carboplatin) on 2-26 after which he had absolutely no side effects.  Going back for round two this up coming Friday.  

The vet clinic provided us with a mighty fine fuzzy lined sling, but after a few uses, it was abandoned as he hopped faster than I could keep up and it slid down to his penis which made it kinda hard to do his business.  So we bought one of those WebMaster Harnesses.  This works much better - I think because the 2 straps around the middle help hold it in place.  And he looks very handsome in gray.  And the handle on back makes it easier for me to help him into the car.

He is about 10 pounds overweight - before amputation.  And, who knew a front forelimb weighed 4 lbs!!  So now I've added some frozen mixed veges to his diet and reduced his ProPlan a bit.  We'll see if he's lost any weight when we return to the vet on Friday.  And I discovered he loves cauliflower.

He's now off the Tramadol (caused him to drink a lot -  a whole lot), Rimadyl, and Gabapentin.  He's actually better than his 'old' self which I believe is because the painful limb has been removed.

I've been following all the posts here on the website and just wanted to thank everyone for sharing their experiences and knowledge.  The information I've gleaned has been most helpful.

Emil and I (and his brother Harold) wish you well.  Eventually I'll get around to posting his picture.

Sue