Hi Colin.  Very glad to hear that Lesty is thru the surgery and hope you've taken everyone's advice and are stocking up on sleep and ice cream!

I think you'll find that every story is different.  We got our then 10 1/2-year old Roxie last June after her owner died unexpectedly. She was very healthy for her age and I thought we'd have at least a few years before any issues surfaced. She developed an occasional limp last fall. Had her at the vet and they thought it was a strain or overuse.  Got anti-inflammatory meds.  Ended up at the local emergency vet Christmas weekend because she was not using her back leg at all.  They took xrays, but not under sedation, so not a lot of manipulating of the leg.  I remember clearly the vet saying it was good that they found nothing because it ruled out bone cancer.  Limp came and went (a testament to her pain tolerance I now know) and we thought it had to do with icy trails and steps, but in late Feb we were back at primary care vet.  By then the muscle had wasted but a new hard area could be felt.  He knew as soon as he examined her that it wasn't good., and we knew, too.  New xrays and, next thing we knew, we had a new relationship with an onco at a new emergency/cancer care center.  Onco said that the location of Roxie's tumor, so far up in the femur, was extremely rare.  They would have needed to do a lot more investigating than what was done at Christmastime to find it.  Theoretically, that would have bought us more time, but it's all speculation at this point.  The ampu was the best thing we could have done for her and she sailed through post-op.  I hope the same for Lesty.  She finished chemo but unfortunately, she's now got mets in her lungs and we've been through a nasty week with loss of energy, appetite, but no clinical cause. 

We also have a 3-year old high-energy GSD, and I know that, should he develop a limp, I will insist on much more testing to rule out - or find early - any cancer.  I think everyone did their best with Roxie, but it's so important as pawrents to educate ourselves and ask questions and be advocates for our furries.  At some point, though, I guess we have to accept that we do the best we can, but sometimes it's out of everyone's hands. What's hard, too, is that so many technology advances are now available; limited only by what we can afford or are willing to pay. That can be heartbreaking, but that's another topic.  For now you know that Lesty's pain will be gone once she heals, and you've already given her a great gift.

Best, Liz and Princess Roxie