Hi Sampson's Mom,

I am so sorry to hear you are going through this. My husband and I went through something similar last year with our cat Castiel who had a fibrosarcoma in one of his front legs. We agonized about the amputation. Castiel is a big cat; we didn't know if he would be able to get around on three legs (he can!). It was the hardest decision we have ever made. Amputation was Castiel's only chance for survival, and we tried to think about what he would want. Like your Sampson, he seemed otherwise healthy and happy, so we made the decision to amputate. Before we did, we had multiple family members weighing in saying that they thought we were making the wrong decision, and this was incredibly hard -- but they didn't know our cat -- and no one else knows your dog like you. We found great support here on this webpage from other people who had been through the same thing and could guide us to the road ahead. People who knew what they were talking about because they had lived it -- not some family member talking second hand about a friend of a friend whose cat or dog went through this.  None of us know how long we might have in this world, but I can tell from our experience, that there is hope -- and that amputation is something that animals can adapt to well. There will be difficult moments, but joyous ones too. We too had a three-week delay before amputation -- and it was difficult because it was the height of the COVID -- we couldn't talk to the doctors in person, only over a phone from the parking lot, and we couldn't be with our pet in the vet hospital. We too were afraid that the cancer might have spread to the lungs in that interval. We opted to have a CT scan done before the surgery -- it is expensive and a lot of radiation too. You might want to consider a round of X-rays; while not as good as a CT, they can see some things and can provide a guide. It sounds to me like Sampson is a good candidate for this surgery.  I'll be thinking about you both and hoping for the best. Take good care!

Michelle

Just wanted to chime in and say Welcome Home Sampson!

Just wanted to say my choc lab was three weeks from turning 12 when he had amputation and he did just fine. I am sure Samson will do fine as well. After all he is half lab❤️