Hello!

 My name is Maura and I am the proud owner of Andy! I rescued my Dobe four years ago from the Atlanta Human Society. He has been the greatest treasure of my life.

 Last April, we discovered he has osteosarcoma. It was devastating. At the time, my mother was being treated for a rare and aggressive cancer, and the thought of losing both her and my best friend was beyond imaginable.

 We opted to amputate the leg. The surgery went smoothly, but the recovery was a disaster. Andy! crashed the day after and I spent two nights on the floor in the vet clinic with him. Finally, he was well enough to come home. 🙂

 He has acclimated to three leggedness pretty well. He runs and jumps and doesn't seem to be to slowed down at all.

 As far as after treatment is concerened, I opted not to go through chemo. It was hard enough to watch my mother deal with it, and I just couldn't bear the the thought of having to put Andy! through it, too. Instead, I found a wonderful holistic vet who was willing to work in conjuncture with my regular vet. Together, they have provided Andy! with an amazing amount of support and me with a wealth of knowledge. I am happy to report that he has outlived his "expected survival time" by six months, and only recently has there been indication of possible mets.

 Andy! has developed some rather puzzling tumors, however, one directly on the scar of his amputation and another where his fentanyl patch was. They are both grapefruit sized and the fine needle aspiration came back inconclusive. We will not remove them due to the questionable condition of his lungs.

 My buddy has seen me through the most difficult times of my life and while accepting that we have limited time together is very hard (sometimes impossible) for me, I treasure every moment with him. He has been my best teacher in this life, and when he goes, I know that my mom will be waiting to take great care of him on the other side.