We'll be thinking about you Friday and beyond.  When will he be coming home? 

There are several good forum/blogs on what to expect when you get your tripawd home for the first time, but I'll just give you my 2 cents.  Get something special for yourself, as a treat, for when things get frustrating the first few weeks.  It may be a bottle of your favorite wine, a special tea of coffee, ice cream, whatever-doesn't have to be food related.  For me it was chocolate strawberry truffles from a local chocolatier, perfect whenever I was especially down, frustrated or angry (at the cancer, not McGwire).  I'd spend 3 minutes (sometimes in the garage by myself) enjoying the treat, savoring it, and then would get back to whatever it was that needed doing.  I bought a box of 15 and probably only 'needed' 7 or 8 before he really turned the corner but it was there for me when I did.  It's crazy how that something small really makes a difference in how I felt overall. 

Good luck over the next few days, and know that we are here to support you whenever you might need it!

Hi All - I need to update you all, I just couldn't go through it. We had the surgery scheduled - I thought it was the best thing. But I never had that "at peace" feeling...something was just nagging at me. I started calling friends, emailing friends of friends, calling vets I didn't even know! I called the head of UGA Vet Hospital (who I've met, but don't know well) and he was so sweet. He talked to me at length about the hemipelvectomy. It is so uncommon, and let's face it -- half of his pelvis would be removed, his internal organs would be exposed and their was a real risk of incontinence. I did as much research as I could (there is not a lot out there) --- but, in the end, I cancelled the surgery. Chipper is a quiet dog - not real social. He likes being around me, and sniffing at my parent's farm. That makes him happy. And I'm not saying that he couldn't have done that if surgery and recovery had gone well, but since the cancer had already mets...we just decided to make his time left as happy as possible. And, so far so good! Two walks a day, he's getting fed like a king (I read low carb, high fat/protein -so, ground beef, scrambled eggs and flax oil --- if anyone has some more ideas, I'd love to hear!) - tramadol and deramaxx seem to be helping. Maybe, just maybe, he swallowed a golf ball and it landed smack in the middle of his pelvis - and he's going to fool us all?!!
Anyway, I want to thank you all so much. I know I decided to take a different path with my guy, I wish it had been in his leg and we could've opted for an amputation. But your support has meant everything! I just told my friend about how great you all are -- her dog had to have an emergency amputation (not cancer related) - so she's going through some new things (phantom pain , etc.) You just never know who you will meet along the way on your journeys ... but, I'm glad I got to "meet" all of you. You are a special group of dog lovers....God's special creatures!!