About 3 years ago, we started noticing some lumps surrounding my dog, Khaos', dewclaw on his front right paw. My vet at the time thought they were fatty tumors and removed them to the best that she could as well as his dewclaw. Several months later and while we were switching vets, we started noticing them returning.

Working with our new/now vet, we closely monitored the lumps for 2 1/2 years, as we knew that doing any surgery would just cause them to return bigger faster. While his quality of life wasn't being impacted, we let it be.

Fast forward to March of this year, the lumps spiraled downhill rapidly. We went from him being fine one Thursday afternoon, to something looking off that evening, to rushing him to the vet the following morning because part of the skin split. Seeing how this was impacting him and discussing options with my vet's backup doctor (since he was out sick), we knew debulking wasn't an option, and euthanasia was suggested. With a wrapped leg, home we went to spend the weekend with our Khaos before saying our goodbyes. 

Thank goodness for us not rushing any decisions! We don't know what happened, but suddenly Saturday night Khaos was back to himself! His leg was still stressing him, but his tail was wagging again, and he got that spark back in his eyes! Unable to sleep, my husband starting researching amputations with large senior dogs, which thankfully brought him here, to the Tripawds site! After seeing many success stories, we decided we'd take the risk and try it! What was there to lose?!

After working with our actual doctor, we scheduled his surgery. April 4th, and just a month shy of his 12th birthday, my sweet Khaos had his full front right leg amputated. The vet kept the muscle, which we still see him trying to move, but to avoid the soft tissue sarcoma - grade 1 (officially confirmed) from returning, we determined this was the best solution. 

Fast forward 3 months later, Khaos is as happy  as he's ever been! Friends and family continually tell us how he just seems so much younger now. He has two younger doggie brothers that he can play with again, but based on his limitations. He even got to go on vacation with us again, something we feared wouldn't happen, and accepted his doggie stroller when he got tired.

Yes, after the surgery, it was rough at first, and we struggled to find the right harness to help him. Since we don't have carpet, we bought a bunch of throw rugs and runners so he could move without slipping. It took him a few days to adjust to walking on 3 legs, and he learned that he couldn't lift his back leg anymore. It was a huge adjustment for all of us, but it's a decision we are so grateful we made! 

While this is my first post ever, thank you to the Tripawds community for sharing success stories and encouraging us without your knowing! I'm also so glad we listened to Khaos and his signals, as it seemed like he was telling us he wasn't ready yet. I'm also grateful to our wonderful vet for listening to us instead of trying to talk us out of it as the other one had tried to.

Here's to many more happy days to Khaos!