Hi Scott. I'm so sorry about Finn. 

To answer your question, I would absolutely go with the boarded surgeon at the 24-hour clinic. If the cost of doing so is within your means, then by all means please take advantage of that level of care. While there are many great family vet surgeons who can do amputations (they all learn how to do them in vet school), unless that vet does several a year, and also practices medicine and modern pain management that aligns with AAHA-accredited clinic standards, I would opt out of that recommendation. 

In the meantime please check out our Tripawds Start page , our What to Expect articles , and Jerry's Required Reading List . Ask any questions you'd like, your future posts wont' need to wait for approval. 

Keep us posted.

Awww he is such a sweetie! His smile melts my heart.

Isn't it nuts how a dog with such great nutrition and care can still get this piece of disease?! Grr. I'm so sorry.

Here's the thing about younger vets. Consider that a younger vet fresh out of vet school is trained on the most recent protocols and techniques, especially when it comes to pain management , which is critical for a good recovery.

I'm not being an ageist, I promise (I'm 50+ myself), but here's why I tend to lean toward vets right out of school. A vet who has been practicing for decades may or may not be keeping up with those pain control and AAHA-accredited surgical procedures. They may be more set in their ways, so when something goes wrong, they may not be willing to refer out to specialists (a relatively new aspect of vet care).

I admit that I used to think that older vets and human medicine physicians were the obvious choice for care. But once I learned that vets who graduated from vet school prior to the mid-1980s were taught that animals don't feel pain, and they got minimal training in pain management during vet school, I was flabbergasted. This is not to say that all older vets are not practicing good medicine, not at all. But it's just something to consider when you are choosing a vet for one of the biggest surgeries they will do in their practice.

Equally important than both when choosing a vet, is the practice itself. I always recommend AAHA-accredited clinics as a first choice whenever possible. Again, that's not to say that non-AAHA clinics are not good. Many non-AAHA clinics are excellent. But for me, knowing that AAHA clinics guarantee to practice the most modern medicine because they have a long list of requirements to follow (and get regularly audited on) in order to have the AAHA logo, gives me greater peace of mind.

Whatever you choose we are here to support you. Keep us posted OK?