Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

I have an 11-year-old black lab mix named Shelby. And though she is technically my dog, she has lived with my parents all her life. (This becomes important later.) Her story seems a bit unusual compared to what I’ve read.

Almost exactly 2 years ago, when she was nine, she had a mass removed from her right front paw- right in the middle between the two toes.  Surgery went well and her recovery went well but the lab report on the mass indicated osteosarcoma. Our vet was surprised and a bit skeptical at this unusual presentation. As Shelby was showing no symptoms we chose to keep an eye on her and see what happened. Surprisingly nothing happened for almost 2 years!  The surgery site healed up. She walked, ran and played normally and gave every indication of being a happy healthy dog. She has a lot of energy for her age!

We continued to regularly check her paw for signs of the mass returning. Unfortunately about a month ago it showed up again. And though it seemed to cause her no discomfort, appeared to be growing fast this time. It was also much harder feeling than before. I made an appointment with our vet who said that the osteosarcoma had returned and because of its location between her toes couldn’t be removed with enough skin leftover to close the incision. As Shelby was still walking normally, and because my budget is very limited, I again elected to wait and watch. Over the next two weeks the mass grew out through the bottom of her paw and began to bleed. She was limping severely now too, usually not even using that leg. The vet gave us pain/anti-inflammatory meds- tramadol and gabepentin.

Currently, Shelby is on a very low dose. She is still excited about her food and playtime- though she only watches now instead of chasing the ball. And of course she doesn’t jump up to bark at everything anymore. The mass is huge and seems to take up all of the bottom of her foot.

I know her time is short, most likely months. Afterall, she is eleven. I don’t want her to hurt or be in a med induced haze. Part of me wants to go with amputation so that whatever time she has left is pain-free. I’m not bothered by the idea of her losing her leg, but it’s a major surgery and that scares me a lot. It would be a lot to put her through and while she’s otherwise healthy, she is an anxious dog and gets scared going to the vets. My parents, who are her main caretakers are against it too. And then there’s the financial aspect! Unfortunately, that is a HUGE influence on the situation.

I don’t know what I expect to get from posting all this. But I wanted to share it with people who have been here and know what it’s like. Needless to say, I’m not feeling very merry this Christmas. Thanks for listening.