This is my first post on this but we have visited often for advice since the week of March 19th.

Dozer was born in October of 2000, he's a Lab/Great Pyrenees/Malamute mix. We got him Christmas Eve of 2000 in Fairbanks, AK.  We all currently live by Coeur d'alene, Idaho. Here is Dozer's Story………

Thanksgiving weekend, 2008, my husband and I noticed Dozer limping on his right leg and the ankle area was swollen.  We took him to the vet that next Monday, we were NOT prepared at all for the diagnosis, Osteocarcoma. We couldn't believe it.  Complete sadness, we have had him since he was 8 weeks old.  We could not imagine life without him, we know he would n't live forever, but he didn't deserve to go this way.

Treatment:  Since we caught the cancer early enough we decided to start with pallitive radiation at Washington State University Vet. Hospital (2 hours away).  Dozer had his first dose on December 11th.  We were not considering Amputation or Chemo at this point.  He responded very well to the radiation, no pain for about 4 months.  Then he started limping again in March.  We knew he could have the radiation up to 3 or 4 times so we scheduled another treatment at WSU.

March 19th 2009:  Dozer limped his way into the foyer of the vet hospital. After another xray of the leg, it was determined the bone had fractured.  The fracture was not straight across but ran from the side, up the middle of the bone.  When the bone is fractured, there is a chance that the radiation will not work and it's only time  untill the bone will completely break and we didn't not want to see that happen.

Amputation and Chemo was recommended. We were concerned about Dozer's size, being 120 lbs at the time and a case of hip dysplyasia.  We spoke with the Oncologist, Surgeon and Dozer's primary vet back home.  A CAT scan of his lungs showed no sign of spread of the cancer and his blood work was good.  We hated seeing him in pain, he put less than 10% of his body weight on that leg, this was breaking our heart.  Our new goal was for him not to be in pain anymore, we decided to proceed with the Amputation.

Friday, March 20th Dozer had the surgery.  What a long horrible day of waiting.  He came thru the surgery fine.  They didn't want us to come see him untill the following day, the less excitment that better for recovery.  On Saturday we finally had a visit.  I was so scared. I cried in the lobby, I didn't know what to expect, would he be mad at us? Could he ever forgive us?  He was not going to be the same dog and I wasn't ready to accept that.  We walked in and he was all bandaged up in blue stretchy gauze and he was so excited, not a bit mad at us.  We were so happy!! We had a nice long visit.  We got to take him home the next day.

Recovery:  Bringing Dozer home was very hard. He became very depressed within a day. We could not get him to get up out of the backyard. He couldn't get on his bed, he wasn't eating, it was awful. I cried and cried. Did we do the right thing?  I wished he would understand that we did what we thought was right.  That leg was no good and was going to become more painful.  The first 3 days at home were the worst.  He finally got on his bed, i took a picture and cried. It was the first big step for him getting back to his life.  In total, the first 2 weeks of recovery were the hardest on everyone, but it DOES get better!

Chemo:  We decided to do the more expensive chemo (Carboplatin), less side effects and 4 treatments total.  He finished his 4th treatment today. After each of the treatments, he feels fine the day of, but then the next 2-3 days the nausea and lethargic side effects kick in.  His appetite has actually stayed pretty good, the vet recommended some Hills A/D soft food to keep him eating.  Every 2 weeks after treatment he has a blood count done.  His blood work has been normal except for after the first Chemo, his platelet count crashed so we had to wait an extra week in between the 1st and 2nd treatment. 

We have given Dozer a second chance at life.  He is back to the same goofy, loving dog.  We got him a Ruffwear harness which helps alot! The next purchase will be a life jacket, we are back to taking him on boat rides. We  will give him the best life possible.  Right now his prognosis is good.  We know we did everything to help him and if he was to go 3 months from now, we know we was not in pain.  He's our angel dog:)

Dr. Clovis and Dr. Luce at Rivercity Animal Hospital and Washington State University Vet. Hospital gave Dozer the best treatment and we are forever thankful to all of them.  Dr. Jeffrey Bryan, the Oncologist recommended the Tripawds website, not only did it help us get through this but our families too.

Brendon and Megan