Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi Robin,
This is my first post. My yellow lab/sharpei rescue (Ted) was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in March 2016. He had a very slight limp on Sunday and I took him to the vet on Monday where an X-ray showed his ulna was almost completely in half. I was hesitant to amputate so my vet did some research and referred me to a veterinary surgeon who recommended that we remove the ulna since it was in the very center of the bone and he had good margins to work with - and there was no chance that the cancer would/could jump to the other bone. It seemed like a good alternative and he had the surgery and recovered pretty well, though he still had a slight limp. Three months later....guess what? Cancer in the same leg but in the soft tissue - exactly same spot where the ulna was removed (they tell me that is "rare"). We have three options - amputate, remove the cancer from the leg (which we are told will cause it to grow at a much faster pace elsewhere), or do nothing and keep him comfortable. I've been struggling with the decision for a couple of weeks now - I should/could have made the right decision months ago but I didn't. Last week I went to my vet and had his other legs x-rayed to ensure there was no visible cancer in them and also had another chest X-ray. Everything is clear for now. He is scheduled for amputation of his front left leg on Monday. It is a really hard decision but I know it's the right one for him. I'm scared and a little sad but I know it's going to be okay. I hope things worked out for you and your sweet Victor.
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