Hi Zoe's mom, welcome. Your future posts won't need to wait for approval so post away. 

I'm sorry for the diagnosis. It sucks. There's no denying that. But in order to help Zoe, it's important to decide soon so that she can get her pain managed somehow. Whether you choose to amputate or only provide palliative (pain relief) care, we will support you.

Is she on any pain meds right now? If she is limping, she hurts, so she needs to be on something to ease the pain. The sad truth is that no pain med will completely get rid of osteosarcoma pain, which is why the vets recommend amputation. It will get rid of pain but not the cancer, sadly. However, keep in mind that the prognosis is an educated guess that is based on averages, not necessarily Zoe. She is her own dog, and you never know if she will beat the odds. Many dogs do! They go on to live out their normal life expectancy, pain free and enjoying their time with their favorite people. Our own Jerry got another 2 years after his osteosarcoma amputation, and some dogs have gone longer. So try not to focus on the long term right now, just the short term, which is to help her pain.

Did you see an oncologist yet? If not it would be good to do that, so you can get educated on what her treatment options are. Palliative care can also mean giving radiation therapy, like Hazel's people decided to do. It's a form of pain relief that gets around amputation surgery, and it worked out well for them, and many other members here.

An oncologist can lay out all the options and then you can feel good about deciding. Make the appointment asap, they can be really booked right now.

Be sure to check out Jerry's Required Reading List , our senior Tripawd stories, and the Tripawds Start Here page so you can get a handle on our resources OK?

I hope this helps a little. Stay tuned for feedback from others!

Oh I'm glad to know she's getting some relief. That should be helping a bit.

I know the diagnosis gives you whiplash doesn't it? Ugh. But what I can tell you since we started this community in 2006, is that the vast majority of dogs do really well after surgery and bounce back to a new normal within a few weeks. Senior dogs tend to take longer, but they get there too. Excellent pain management helps tremendously. If you're going to a specialty clinic for care, she's set in that department.

Meanwhile, you might want to check out our Tripawds Quality of Life survey results:
https://tripawd.....y-of-life/

It's almost unanimous that folks say they would choose amputation again, even when their dog didn't live up to the prognosis. The time you get that's pain-free is such a gift, even if it's not as long as anyone wanted.

Another thing to remember is that dogs don't keep track of time. Only we have that burden. And they also don't have an expiration date stamped on their butt. With or without cancer, nobody knows how long they, or we, even have on this planet. Cancer makes our ultimate expiration real, but it's been with us the whole long. What it does, as sucky as it is, is teaches us to be more present, not take every day for granted, and know that ever moment counts.