Greetings! I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but since it kinda falls under "on going care", gonna take a stab at it.

My boy Vito is a 12 year old 62 pound greyhound mix. he had bilateral TPLO surgery in feb of 2011. He came thru that smashingly, and other than some minor loss of muscle tone in the biceps, which seems to be the norm, you would not know it to look at him that he has the bionic knees.

This past October, he lost his right front leg (including the scapula) to osteosarcoma in the distal humerus. He just finished his fourth and final carboplatin on Jan 14. Once again, he is comin thru with no complications except for a bit of low energy. But considering everything he's been thru the last three months, not being able to hike to the top of the mountain is really not that hard to understand. He wants, no, DEMANDS his daily 3-4 walks  - sometimes we only go to the end of the street, sometimes we go a corner or two further - but everyday we try to go a little bit more. I let him determine how far he wants to go. If he wants to stop and sniff, we stop and sniff. If he wants to walk on, we walk on. I should mention that he has always been an athletic dog, even after the TPLO. We live near many hiking opportunities so we've always taken them all, and spend a fair amount of time (as in every chance i get) out in the back country of the Sierra's. Also - he will bring you his ball and if you throw it, he will bring it back until your arm falls off. That dog LOVES his ball.

(but not his 'balls' coz he's been tutored)

I know it's going to take some time for him to regain his strength from the beat down chemo gave him, and losing a front limb is a little harder than losing a back one, but I'd like to hear from anybody who may be in, or has been in, the same situation. 

Has the TPLO had any major impact on recovery in terms of the new gait, and does/has it affected stamina because of it? Is there anything i'm not aware of that i *should* be aware of in terms of making life easier for him, and is there anything i should be on the look out for that could be not so bueno?

A few other notes: He's on the best food, he eats better than *I* do. Seriously, the butcher grinds up chuck fresh for him and i make him food with nothing but fresh ingredients . . . while i stand in front of the refer with a fork. He gets all the immune building, cancer fighting supplements, along with regular body work in the form of massage and acupressure, and gets Rimadyl as needed for pain, with valerian root to help him sleep if he's restless.

He also shares his life with a 13 year old pit bull mix, who is basically Queen of the whole dang world and has everyone around her wrapped around her little paw. They have been together 11+ years (She came first, V followed about a year later) and they have always been close - and he has a few best doggie friends he sees on a regular basis (when my friends go away for work, i get their dogs, and when we all go to the woods, we ALL go to the woods)

So i'd say his life is pretty full of good fabulous things, which is important now more than ever. I just want to make sure it stays that way for as long as possible.

Thank you for any insight, advice, or experience you can relate.