Hi

I'm sorry your dog has to go through this.  You too.  It's hard to settle when there are so many unknowns.

I can only tell you how it was for me.  My dog was in the hospital for three days after the surgery and I went to visit him every day.  I hand-fed him so he'd eat and I went with the techs when they took him outside to practice hopping.  So when it was time to take him home, I already knew what to expect.  He was able to do much more than I thought he'd be able to–in fact when we got home, he hopped immediately up on the bed.

You don't say whether your dog is big or small–mine is big.  Too big for me to lift.  Fortunately, he could do everything he needed to do on his own.  I made a raised platform for him to use getting in and out of the truck and that works really well.  I also have a ramp, but he's scared of it so it sits unused in the garage.

It is overwhelming, but if you visit her in the hospital, the techs are there to help and you can learn a lot about what it's going to be like so it's not so scary.  As Admin said, being strong is important.  Your dog looks to you for direction and you want to make everything seem as normal as possible.

Let us know how it's going.

Mary

PS  You're taking her to get rid of the awful pain.  She'll be grateful.

Sorry to hear about Lily's sarcoma. What a sweet name! This is a hard time to be going through right now. You found the best place for support and help from people who've been through this with their dogs. 

You'll get through it! Our golden Honey had her amputation surgery 3 weeks ago today. She has osteosarcoma in her left front leg and we wish we had done it sooner. She was in a lot of pain – but not anymore. Many people find that it takes about 2 weeks of a lot of ups and downs to start recovering – some longer, though. Honey had an infection and it took her a little bit longer but she's starting to feel like herself again – just a little slower for now. The first week after the surgery was hard.

It feels awful right now but Lily will get through it. Check out some of the resources on the website - I seen some videos of our tripawd friends running, swimming, catching frisbees. I laugh through tears watching them doing their favorite doggy things!

Please post and let us know how Lily's surgery goes. Our thoughts and prayers for you and Lily.

Alice

One thing that helped us a lot for that initial sight of the amputation was to look at pictures online so we would know what to expect.  The pictures are really hard to look at, but it helped us to not break down when we first saw Skyler after her surgery.  It can be pretty scary, so the more prepared you are the better off you'll be.  The first 24 hours were hell, but it did get better after that.  Give Lily lots of love and reassurance and you'll be surprised how well she responds.

Good luck!!!

Jane, Cathy, Chloe and Angel Skyler

Hi, all of the above plus this:  I got through surgery day by obsessing over this website all day.  My 8 year old black Lab Ajax also had a type of soft tissue sarcoma (chondrosarcoma; tumor of the cartilage; falls in the same category as soft tissue sarcoma medically, though often discussed in books and articles along w/ osteosarcoma). 

Ajax's amputation was 23 days ago – just a little bit before Honey's – and he's doing awesome.  I have no videos b/c I am tech challenged, but if you search "Ajax" you can read my posts for the weeks following surgery.  Bottom line – it has been SO much better than I imagined!  Hang in. 

Read about all the things Ajax has done since the surgery.  And he doesn't hate me.  And  I don't think he was in pain, so that I was taking away a horrible pain – I was just doing something medically necessary.  And looking at him didn't upset me as much as I thought it would – probably because of this site preparing me.  Good luck!  Your young guy will bounce back faster than you ever imagined.

I agree with what everyone above has said – my dog had his surgery today and just got word that all is good.  I kept myself busy at work, but when there was a lul, i would be thinking of him – the power of positive thinking got me through the day.  Knowing what good hands he is in and that we are doing to start a new and different life together kept me on the good side of things.

Keep positive – sending all the positivity I have in your direction.

Ryan