Hello! Two weeks ago, a beautiful tripawd crossed my path on a walk, and as I took note of its strength and grace, I had absolutely no idea that I'd find myself just days later frantically researching bone cancer, amputation, and finding this amazing resource and community. We've been on a fast journey that really caught us off guard. Front leg amputation is scheduled for Feb 14. Many of my initial questions and anxieties have been calmed by information I've already found on this forum, but I have a few lingering questions if anyone would like to respond. 

Trevor is a "flat-coated Goldendoodle", 75% golden and 25% poodle. He weighs 70 pounds, so a big guy. Long legged. He just turned three in October. He came from a responsible, well-established breeder whose dogs have generally lived to ripe old ages in excellent health. Nothing is certain, of course, but I mention this because despite the golden in Trevor, and the large size, we just weren't thinking about cancer at all when we started noticing a very slight limp in his right front leg in late November / early December.

It seemed like a paw issue, and more like a "tentativeness" than an actual limp. It was intermittent. Trevor loves running and bounding and leaping. We figured he took a hard landing somewhere, or stepped on something. Our vet did an orthopedic exam, and she detected nothing too concerning. She thought it could be a soft tissue injury and said those can take awhile to heal in dogs. She prescribed some Rimadyl and Gabapentin and two weeks rest, which we did, even though "rest" is Trevor's least favorite word. He's a super high energy guy.

The issue got better quickly, it seemed, even before the full two weeks of rest were over. We let him do short walks, and then let him re-join his daily pack walks with his pals. (He goes out with a walker his best friends, off leash, and loves his romps). And he was fine. And then the limp was back, off and on, just a little, but noticeable, and restarting medication didn't seem to help much.

January 19, we took him back to the vet and got X-rays as a precautions. We were shocked to learn of an aggressive bone lesion on his proximal humerus. That's pretty far from the paw we'd been focused on! Our vet cautioned this looked suspiciously like osteosarcoma. Lungs looked clear, but she recommended a bone biopsy as the next step.

We moved over to the first animal hospital with an immediate opening for a consult, and got the biopsy on January 22. We had to wait a full week for results. We were unprepared for the biopsy recovery. He was not using his front leg at all when he came home, and then the limp was worse. But he bounced back, and now his gait looks somewhat steadier again. Sometimes it seems as though nothing is wrong! The challenge has been to keep him on restricted activity, as there is the risk of pathologic fracture. Trevor is still high energy. We don't let him off leash in the yard now and he doesn't go on his pack walks, just short "sniff" walks, out of an abundance of caution. It feels like having an high energy dog that's made of glass. Gapaentin doesn't slow him down one bit.

So after a week of fearing the worst, we got the biopsy results. The diagnosis is NOT osteosarcoma, but Chondrosarcoma. So it's "good news" in that it's got a somewhat better prognosis, if we act fast, before it spreads. I guess it's a very small percentage of this type of lesion that ends up being something other than osteosarcoma, and Trevor's apparently landed in that percentage - although there is a small chance that it could turn out to be "chondroblastic osteosarcoma" - we won't know until after his procedure I guess. But right now they feel pretty confident with the chondrosarcoma diagnosis. 

We will need to amputate the front right leg. He will not need chemo. We are relieved to have this news, and some hope, and a path forward. We believe he'll make an amazing Tripawd. He's been training for therapy dog certification, and while this will set us back a little with timing, I think we'll still pursue this goal when we're on the other side of all this. But it's also very sad and hard to process this major change for such a young and active dog. 

I have several questions at this stage: 

1. Does anyone know of a discussion thread specific to Chondrosarcoma?

2. I hear positive stories of dogs rebounding quickly from this procedure, for the most part, but taking awhile to get endurance back up. I also understand he may need to limit some of that high-impact activity he's used to to protect his other limbs and joints. I fear that he won't make it back to those glorious 60 minute off-leash walks / runs with his pals, or won't be able to keep up. Is that length of off-leash walk with other dogs a realistic goal to work toward, or is he likely going to need shorter walks after this indefinitely?

3. Due to a long-planned family event, the rest of my household is going to have to be away for some of Trevor's first week of recovery. I'll have help for the first two nights that he's back, and then I'm on my own for a week, though friends and neighbors will be coming by. I was able to help him move outside for the bathroom and back in after the bone biopsy, and friends loaned us a wheelchair ramp, which helped a lot. I think I"m ok physically to handle him, and I have a sling.  I can't quite tell yet if dogs tend to sleep a lot in those early days, while medicated, or if there's a lot of hands-on round-the-clock work involved. At the moment it almost sounds easier, if he's resting, compared to the constant vigilance I do now to keep him from running / jumping and preventing fracture. Should I consider having someone stay with me for the days my family members need to be away - for physical and/or emotional support? Or can this be a one-person job? 

Many thanks in advance for your help.