Hi Alaina, welcome! I'm so glad you posted. It was great chatting with you yesterday on the Tripawds Helpline .

I'll try to answer your concerns too:

I worry about his after care by myself. What can I expect?

As I mentioned, lots of folks here do the after care on their own. He may be wonky and hard to maneuver so having a sling is helpful. Taking someone with you to pick him up and bring him home and out of the car is a good idea if you can do that.

We love harnesses to help new Tripawds as you might have gathered, but we don't recommend using them until stitches are out unless you have inside stairs he must navigate to go outside. I think I recall you said he only has a few to deal with?

Most dogs will be wonky and zonked for a few days, then tired, and then slowly over the course of a week or two start to get their sparkle back. Older and larger dogs tend to need more time to recover, but they do get there. Just try not to compare his recovery against what you see here or in other places online. Max is his own guy with his own timeline.

Is he too old to put through amputation?

If your vet feels he's a good candidate, that's awesome. I think I recall they gave him the green light? Age really is a number to a dog who is otherwise fit and has no serious health issues. 

I worry that taking his leg will make no difference and only cause him more problems or the cancer will show up elsewhere. 

While there are challenges during recovery, mainly our own emotional ones, once recovery is over Max will start being Max again. It may not happen on a linear timeline and there may be hurdles, but he will get there. As for the cancer, there are no guarantees. Your vet and oncology team can let you know what to expect with the type and grade of MCT he has. Keep in mind that cancer doesn't always do what it's supposed to and in this case hoping for the best and preparing for the worst is smart. But you also need to focus on the present and remember that Max is here right now, and all he wants is for you to be there with him.

I worry I will regret the amputation and recovery will be too hard for him and me. 

You may do that during the first few days. There's not a single person here who doesn't feel guilty when their dog is struggling during recovery. But too hard on him? Probably not based on what your vet thinks his physical shape is in right now. And as for you, nope, I'm betting you can handle it too. Together, Team Max can do anything!  And as you mentioned, you've been through TPLO recovery. If you can do that, you can do this easy peasy comparatively speaking.

Is it selfish to want more time with my precious boy?

There is never enough time. But sometimes we have to take steps to ensure that whatever time we have is spent pain-free so our dogs can be dogs. Amputation does that, it gives a better quality of life for whatever time he has left. People may say you are selfish. Ignore them, they've never been in this situation most likely. We get it. NO you are not being selfish. Is wanting to help an otherwise healthy dog live without pain being selfish? Of course not! 

What if I can’t afford everything he needs?

By taking care of the pain, that's the #1 thing he needs. Anything after that is icing on the cake. Even chemo is optional. Money is always an issue for a pet parent, and we have to make hard choices many times. We get it. And nobody here will judge you for your treatment choices because every situation is different. But just getting rid of the pain is a huge gift to Max that will enable the two of you to have more quality time together, for however long that is. 

Gotta run for now, I hope this helps. Keep us posted OK? 

Hi Alaina, I'm so glad you were able to consult with a surgeon. Although amputation isn't the route anyone wants to take, if it can help Max be out of pain and live a good quality of life, that's what counts right?

How is your home set up? Is it Tripawd-proofed? Here's the Tripawds Recovery Shopping List for some things to consider to make recovery and life on 3 easier for max.

When it comes to rehab therapy, it's almost more helpful for the pet parent than the actual Tripawd. Well really it helps both, but honestly, if more people took their Tripawds to rehab, we would see healthier, stronger Tripawds over the long term. Moving on 3 has a big impact over the course of a dog's life.

Surgeons don't see the dog over the long run, just in the recovery phase. But what we often see here is that after recovery, many folks just aren't aware of their pet's physical needs. We sure weren;t. And without that knowledge, injuries caused by the wrong kinds of activity (flyball anyone?) happen more than anyone wants. Surgeries on remaining limbs happen all the time in our community, many might have been prevented with the right knowledge.

Every dog is different, and a therapist can evaluate the individual pup to assess their strengths and weaknesses. What may look like strengths now may be prone to injury later if the pet parent doesn't know how to prevent those injuries. Therapists go over things like their findings with the pet parent, and show them how to keep their dog injury free with certain exercises and mobility parameters. We see such a difference with dogs who get rehab versus those that don't, that the Tripawds Foundation will pay for your first rehab visit . It's that helpful!

Please let us know how we can help you and Max OK?