Hi Bella and family, welcome. We are sorry you find yourself here but we can help make this easier for you! Seems like Hystiocytic Sarcoma is going around these days, check out Arty's story.

There are many times when a second or even third opinion from a specialist is needed to help a pet parent feel confident about life on three legs for their dog or cat. I would suggest doing that next. Also, have you had her evaluated by a rehabilitation therapist yet? You may want to get that perspective, as many have lots of experience working with dogs who have bounced back from injuries like this.

Even with a poor prognosis, amputation buys excellent quality of life. For most dogs, age is just a number and they bounce back. Bella is at a huge advantage since it sounds like she's a sporty girl! Seniors take a bit longer to recuperate sometimes, as in maybe four weeks versus two, but overall we've seen older, larger and dogs with more challenging health issues do very well on three legs.

Unless your gut instinct is screaming loudly that she will not do well, there's no reason to believe she would not. Having a rehab program lined up for her after surgery will help tremendously. It's so important for new Tripawds that the Tripawds Foundation may pay for your first rehab visit with Bella.

Now, the next question to ask is, what do you think Bella wants?