Welcome Timber.

Never good that you had to look for this site- but great that you found it when needed.

My pug Maggie is one of the smallest tripawds, she is also a rear amp and now weighs less than 16.5 lbs.  She is nearing 11 years old and had her amp over three years ago.  She has mast cell cancer, not osteosarcoma, but her prognosis after surgery was not too good.  But that is a story you can read in her blog sometime if you are interested.

Mag had her amp before this site was established, I just found it last fall while looking for some hints on helping her get  better traction.

I was also unsure at the beginning, and Mag didn't help me feel better as she took a long time to adjust.  But she was being the same  obstinate pug who hates any change in her routine. After she was done with her chemo treatments she became her old self again and I have absolutely no regrets about any of the decisions I have made for her.

I hope the healing process goes well for Timber.  Please take advantage of all of the knowledge and support you will find here.

Karen and the pug girls.

I'm sorry the first day wasn't what you had hoped for.  This is a major surgery, he will need that 2 week hell recovery time, they all do.  Some of them have an easier time of recovery than others.  Most require lots of rest and have infrequent go out periods.  By the third day, Trouble was strong enough to get outside and back in by herself. We saw improvement daily, of course we knew she was in pain with the leg.  Even the recovery was less painful for her than the diseased bone.

If you haven't started a joint supplement yet, that is one thing I would suggest.  It made a world of difference for Trouble. Their odd gait has to contribute to stiffness in the joints.

Oh Angus. I can see exactly what you mean. If only we can know how things will turn out before they will. Of course if Angus did better and had a good few months (or year or two), you'd probably feel differently. I think you made the best decision you could, so you should not carry those regrets with you.

It took me about 6 or 8 weeks post-amp before Tazzie started to rack up enough good quality time to feel good about the decision. Having said that, he was on the verge of a fracture (the pathology report said there was a small one present already), so we would not have had any decent quality time if we had not done the surgery. Really, for most of our OSA dogs, there does not seem to be an alternative to amputating other than palliative radiation if the leg has not fractured.

Unfortunately there is nothing fair about it, taking dogs away when they are young and filled with such a zest for life. I am so sorry you did not get some good quality time following the darn surgery. I whine a bit about only having four months, but having less or none has to hurt.

You remain so supportive despite your circumstances. I love to see Angus's face whenver you post. He is beautiful. (And you always have those cool emoticons – where do you find them?).

Tazzie's Susan

Angela,  first off welcome!  We are always glad to see new people, just not glad they have to join our group.  I think you have to weigh the type of cancer and the statistics (even though I am the one who preaches statistics are only numbers).  Trouble was fighting osteosarcoma – a known painful disease, a known aggressive disease.

And let me assure you, Maggie WILL look at you with questioning eyes when you pick her up.  Trouble did.  It was as if she were asking if we still loved her without the missing limb. I loved her and spoke in a happy voice to let her know we accepted her and all was well.  The doubt disappeared from her eyes and she's been happy ever since.

Do your homework and research, make your decison based on what is best for Maggie, and you cannot go wrong. You will make the decision that is right for the two of you.

You may want to also start a new topic for Maggie so her story doesn't get buried in the middle of this existing topic.