Electrochemo is one of the options we discussed with our oncologist.  We're in Austin, and the closest place that can do it is in Dallas.  This isn't a huge issue, we can just take some vacation time if that route is best.  The only hiccup with electro is that our onc recommends debulking first and the position of the tumor is slightly wrapped around the leg - going from the outside over the front and into the inside of the leg.  In this position, she doesn't think they can do a surgery that get's enough of the margins out and they can only debulk some... giving us the possibility that this will come back later... I think the 20% chance that this tumor comes back is our main concern right now... We don't want to put Bogart through surgeries and treatment over and over again... We still haven't settled on a decision yet though, but we will probably be sure of something next week.  

Hey everyone.  I haven't posted in a little bit.. we've been going through alot and have had consultations, biopsies, and recovery from the biopsy, etc.  The results from that biopsy came back - Bogart does have a soft tissue sarcoma in the leg.  The placement makes it impossible to get the margins, so our vet agrees with amputation as her final sort of final recommendation.  We just had a consultation with the surgeon she recommended (board certified) and he also agrees that amputation is best.  We are acting quickly and Bogart is going in for the procedure in the morning (thurs 22nd).  He will stay overnight. 

The last couple days, his mom and I have taken him out to dinner with us each night after work and walked the downtown of the city near us.  He went to play at his favorite dog park last evening and had a ton of fun on the agility equipment.  Last week was his last agility class for probably a couple months, and he had so much fun.  His favorite obstacle is the tunnel - he could go through the tunnel all day long and will purposefully pick routes that involve the tunnel just so he can go through it.  

A little uplifting bit - he was in some pain after the biopsy, but in less than 24 hours, he was himself again.  He ran and wanted to jump on us when we got home from work even with fresh stitches in leg.  He completely recovered mentally from that in no time... luckily for us I guess, we don't have to worry about him pulling out the stitches or getting them removed now... but there's going to be new stitches to worry about.  

Bogart looooves the water, but Texas is experiencing a pretty dangerous crisis right now with the deadly algae in the waters, so we haven't been able to hiking and swimming in the last few weeks like we always do.  So to make up for it, we play with the hose.  This is a video of my boy playing the day before his biopsy.  

Here's to hoping for a speedy recovery and him being able to keep his balance so that we can never stop playing with the hose.

I'm off to cuddle and snuggle with my main man before his big day and the start of our new journey. 

I've watched alot of videos giving me hope and optimism... I'm sure we will watch plenty more.  We're hoping this doesn't have too much of an effect on his agility, because he just loves doing it.  So we will figure out how to transition that best for him.

It's his back left leg.  We've heard it's pretty lucky that it's a rear leg just in terms of him not putting too much strain on his front leg in the future if it were the other way around.  Bogart is just 3.5, and we want him to live forever (like every pet family member)... this diagnosis was such a scary and unexpected surprise... we went to the vet assuming he got bit by some critter while hiking and left in tears when the "C word" was brought up.   But we've all persisted and tried to remain strong.  And Bogart is going to be the strongest of all of us.  

I'm in Texas in the central time zone... I'm having trouble sleeping... I'm gunna force myself to close my eyes in a second and just hope I knock out.

I'll update everyone when we hear any news!  Thank you!