I am sorry to hear of Bonnie's dx.

Osteosarcoma is a very aggressive form of cancer.   The pain from the tumor site is unbearable and beyond our imagination.

As far as treatment is concerned... Amputation primarily is to eliminate the source of pain, and hope to stop or slow down the metastasis.  After that, some might opt for chemo, some might just go with alternative treatments, or even both.

Speaking of recovery and adaptation physically...  Most dogs cope with the lost of a limb well.  There are a lot of stories here about tripawds of different age, size, lifestyle, being in a multi-dog pack, ... etc.  

That said, amputation is a major surgery, so the first 2-3 weeks post-op is usually a challenge for the parents to trying to guess whether they are in pain, why they have poor appetite, sleeping too much, worry about them stumble on things ... etc.  Again, all these stories can give you a better feeling of what to expect after the surgery, as every recovery story is very different.

The fact that Bonnie has also diabetes... to be honest with you, it indeed poses more challenges in her case.  As cancer cells thrive on sugar, the general recommendation of cancer diet is to keep the blood glucose level as stable as possible to avoid sudden spike of insulin level.  Besides, radiation and some chemo drugs do cause blood sugar levels to rise.  I would expect the oncologist and the vet (or vet nutritionist) to work closely as a team to design a plan of attack for Bonnie, to keep her diabetes in control and yet keep feeding the cancer cells to a minimum.   (Just curious, what is Bonnie's current diet?)

That being said, let's not worry about diabetes for now.  Hope that by gathering more info, you will be able to come up with the decision on whether or not to go for amputation.  Once this difficult decision was made, the rest would be much easier to handle.

For the time being, think positive, and don't let Bonnie and the rest of the pack pick up any of your negative energy.

Please keep us posted.  Wish you and Bonnie all the best.

I have now joined the forum.  I had to change my name to register, but I am now official.  This is a great forum and I am grateful for all the posts.  They have answered many of my questions so I can go into the specialists visit better informed.  Thanks to all of you for that. 

Thanks for the advice.  I have been pretty lucky so far and have kept her glucose levels in line with what I have been using, but there is no need for the rice.  I changed to the EVO last month on my own.  My vet had not pushed for any change in diet.  Bonnie's brother, Clyde, could use the straight EVO, as could Bonnie, but I was told that their mother, Saydie, should not have such a high protein diet since she is 12.  Considering that I can no longer free feed anyone since I need to control Bonnie's intake, it should not be a problem changing her to straight EVO.  It just seemed so high protein that it scared me to change totally.  I will work on switching her this week.  I have no idea what will happen tomorrow or even if the specialists will see me immediately, but I plan on spending the day there if they will fit me in.  I cannot thank you enough for responding so quickly.  I really do not think I will sleep until I know what is going to happen.  I just spend the day hugging and loving Bonnie.  The other guys let me know when I am overdoing it and push their way in for love too.  I just hope I can be strong enough to do whatever is necessary.  Boy does love hurt!!

Thank you Jerry.  We spoke with Metropolitan Veterinary Associates this morning.  They are a practice of vets from U of Penn in Trooper PA.  They have specialists for all sorts of problems, osteo, cancer, skin, internists, etc.  We have an appointment for noon tomorrow.  That was the soonest and believe me we begged to get in ASAP.  We live in West Chester PA, so the trip to the specialist will be about 45 minutes.  There is another practice in Frazer PA that is Veterinary Referral Service, but we could not get in there till later. 

Bonnie is doing fine on pain meds right now and you would not know there was any problem if you did not see the swelling on her leg.  Action cannot happen fast enough as far as we all are concerned here. 

Thanks for all the suggestions on food.  I will gradually phase out the California Natural out of their food and replace it with all EVO.  I started picking it out this morning since I had already mixed them both.  I bought another bag of EVO and am increasing it gradually.  I do not want Bonnie to have an upset stomach going into this, so am trying to be careful.   

We really appreciate everyone's support.  I figure nothing will happen tomorrow other than xrays and tests to be sure where we stand.  We will keep you all posted.  Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Jerry,

Okay, the roller coaster ride begins!  I knew when we went that nothing serious was going to happen today because we had not been told to deny food. 

We got there and Bonnie and I were both on pins and needles.  Lori Cabell is the bone specialist and both of our males have been to her for ACL reconstruction.   She looked at the xrays we brought, walked Bonnie around, and felt all her bone construction.  She is a bit confused.  The xray makes it look like Bonnie should be limping, holding her paw up, and in pain.  Bonnie is not doing any of that.  I thought the pain pills were just doing a great job, but Lori says that, given the way the xray looks, Bonnie should not be as content as she is and actually running around so easily.  Lori wants us to come in early tomorrow, not eat past midnight, and give only a half dose of insulin in the morning. She will then do more in-depth xrays of everything and then put Bonnie under to do a biopsy of quite a few sites to see where we are.  So....I am somewhere in between heaven and h---. 

Thanks for all your support.  Believe me, and I told Lori this, I would have been insane without your site.  You are all my angels and I can't thank you enough just for being there.   Lori says not to get my hopes up and I am trying not to.  This may not be osteosarcoma, but it could still be some other form of cancer.   We will pray for the best and prepare for the worst.  Either way, I am grateful for the digital hugs and prayers we have gotten from all of you. 

Jerry, I certainly will.  I have also promised Lori to bring the web address.  You may gain quite a few more readers! 

You are quite a handsome dog!  I will have to keep Bonnie from looking at this.  She is quite a flirt and would definitely put on the charm for you.

Thanks again - for everything

Chris & Bonnie