Dave,

I am so sorry for your loss, I cannot imagine your pain at losing Baer so suddenly.

Jen,

We just made the decision to amputate Chili Dawg's leg a little over a month ago.  It was an emotional decision, but he was already a tripawd before we did that, as he was barely walking on his front leg when he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma.  The first night he was home was the roughest for him and myself, as he couldn't get comfortable.  For several days we used a towel as a sling under him to help him move and he was restricted to just the main floor of our house.  We also used these foam pads that we had from when my kids were younger to help him with traction .  He also didn't want to eat, and I did a lot of hand feeding to get him to eat.  As he came off his medicine, we saw a lot more of his personality return.  Now we make sure to keep his nails trimmed and the fur on his paws trimmed very close so he doesn't slip.  If you asked him, he wouldn't even know that his leg was missing.  I think he is just so glad to be alive and not in pain any more and I to see him wagging his tail and his smile back on his face again, I know that we made the right decision. 

Jen,

I am also new to this site. We just had our lab, Emma's front left leg removed a little over two weeks ago, it was hard to watch her recovery, but thanks to so many people in this community I learned the meds were most of the problem and lo and behold over the past two days, she is surely returning to her old self. As Chilidawgs Mom so perfectly stated it she was already a tri-pawd! The only difference is now she is pain free, she is happy and is already testing me to give her the "look" that "noooo" she is not ready to chase the all elusive squirrels who challenge her daily or jump on the bed where she is used to sleeping, running down to the creek to swim, etc. She is ready and it is like she has been given back years to her life without the painful leg holding her down. We felt we had to make the decision within a very, very short time and looking back I am thankful, it was harder on me and the kids letting her leg go than Emma letting her leg go! All she knows is she gets even more love and pampering (if that is possible) and she doesn't hurt anymore! The most important thing to learn is a dog does not have any emotional attachment to their limbs and there is no social stigma, all the things we would feel as a human do not exist in a dog's world, a lot to learn from our three legged friends!

You are doing exactly what you need to do in order to make the right decision and whatever it is it will be the right one. Best wishes!

I hope you feel a little relief in making the decision to amputate, I honesly believe you will never regret it! As so many wise people have suggested on this site. Look at post op pictures. I felt so similar to you butI never prepared myself for the after surgery part of this process. As my 16 year old said, "Damn Emma that is one sick scar!" Another thing which was weird for me to get used to was the movement of the muscle where the leg was.......she used to always put her paw over my hand when I pet her as if to hold it there. she also always put it on my lap just to let me know she was there, soooo, I would watch that area move and it would make me sad.......it took a little time but I got over it and now my son just calls her "The Champ" and she now uses her chin to rest it on my lap and it is even cuter! Some adjustments for sure, but it seems to be more the little things that we have to adjust to over time. I hope everything goes perfectly, check out all the information available in this community, it is pretty amazing and I certainly wish I would have discovered it two weeks ago!