fetchon3 said
Welcome to the club none of us wanted to be a part of.  Jackson is 2 months post-amp and he says WELCOME.  You sound very comfortable with your decision and have clearly thought it through.  That's what we love here!  How'd his surgery go?  What pain meds is he coming home with?  Is your house largely carpeted?  Many stairs to get outside?

~ Katy

Thank you for the welcome

For me, the decision to amputate was a no-brainer. Had there been mets, it would have been a harder call, but as it was... not a huge decision. The estimate was quoted at about $800--which doesn't seem much to spend for a few more pain-free months. We are not doing chemo, nor did I elect to enroll him in an OSA study at the University where I work. Given his age, and all of that, what we could POSSIBLY gain with doing chemo along with the amp over palliative amputation and a good diet just wasn't worth the cost and the stress on him. I'm not ready to let him go--but more importantly, HE isn't ready to go. When it's time...it will be hard. Terribly, terribly hard, and I am sure I will WANT to back out...but I am okay with saying goodbye when he is ready. Until then, we'll hop along.

I'm not overly concerned with his psyche--animals don't care what they look like. They don't get the concept of "three months to live" or "I must be broken, now that I have one less leg." They wake up and say "I hurt. This sucks." or "Hey! I feel great! Today is going to be a great day! I'm gonna go out in the yard and eat some poopsicles!"

He'll hurt for a couple of days...then he'll be back to eating frozen poo and barking at squirrels. As for looks, well, like I said, with his SA, we've gotten the stares and the "er, what's wrong with yoru dog?" looks for years now. He was such a pretty dog, with a beautiful akita coat...and for awhile I was sad when it fell out. But then I realized, eh, he's STILL a pretty dog, and HE doesn't care what he looks like. Same thing with the leg (which, BTW, was one of the few spots he still had actual fur and not just sparse guard hairs... ).

Surgery went well--it went quick, says the vet. Did you use a bandsaw or something? I asked him. :p I love my vet. He knows me, and knows my husband, and he knows our animals. I consider him a friend, and trust his judgement 100%. That, I think, is worth a lot.

When I stopped in to visit and drop off a toy from home for Sam, he had really just been out of surgery for an hour or so--and was in the throes of morphine crazies (like many of the arctic breeds, he doesn't tolerate it well). So that was hard to see, but he'd just gotten a sedative, and would calm down shortly. Long term, I believe we'll be on piroxicam. He already eats grain free food high in Omega 3s (Taste of the Wild), and I have an Omega 3 supplement. I think I will look into mushroom therapy in some form, as well.

To get inside and outside, there are just like four steps form the main level--last night, my husband built a ramp for the ones in the back. We tried to get Sam to use it, but he was like WTF would I do THAT for? We'll see how he feels tomorrow The rest of our house DOES have a lot of steps--our bedroom is up two flights; the basement family room is down two flights. Normally, that's where he sleeps...so for awhile, that will mean he's confined to the main floor. That's hardwood--but I went out and got a ton of rubber backed rugs and made paths all over. I think our big challenge right now will be A) the other dog and B) the snow.

In addition to Sam, we have a younger (VERY bossy) dog--she's 7. And then 4 cats, ages 11, 10, 9, and 1. The 9 year old just went into stage 4 renal failure this fall, and spent a week in hospital. We almost lost him--and although he's bounced back remarkably well, he still gets Sub q's every other day. So, needless to say, our vet bills this year have been...large

So, we are just shy of 48-hours post-op. We brought him home last night after 24-hours in hospital. Here's the rundown so far:

After the first hour of having him home, I was ready to pull my hair out, cry, yell, or all of the above. It was hard. Frustrating watching him struggle. Frustrating he won't listen and is SO not tractable (typical akita behavior..."I do what *I* want. I don't CARE if it's painful to sit face down in the snow. YOU don't tell me to come inside. *I* tell me."). Frustrating I have to try and wrangle my other dog who wants to tear his throat out (dominance issues, much?). Frustrating b/c it hurts me to have him hurt, and b/c he IS old, and he IS only going to have a few, six, 12, more months with us b/c of the cancer so of course I worry I cocked up with this decision. And that's all in an hour.

ANYWAY: We have no drains or no bandages, so that makes it a bit easier than some folks have it. I slept on the floor in the living room with him last night--not that anyone actually slept. He just whimpered and shook ALL. NIGHT. By 5-6 AM, he was crying out loud again. He finally drifted off at like 7 AM or so for a bit. The only time he calmed some was when I'd put a hand on him, which is why I KNOW he was freaked, b/c he's just not a touchy-touchy sort of dog (again, with the akita personality--loves his people, loves being NEAR you, just not a snuggler. NO TOUCHING!). He got his piroxicam this AM at like 8:30 with his breakfast, and went out to pee, and is sleeping now--he's been out for like four hours.

And I know from what everyone has said the phases we'll go through that none of this is unusual...but it's a lot easier to think about IN THEORY than it is to see in practice. We are at that stage where he just looks miserable and is shuffling about...and even though I KNOW I did the right thing, it sure doesn't seem like it right now.

BUT he is home, and this will pass. It will be several long days...but it will pass. Like I found out with my own major surgeries, and those of people I am close to...the minutes and hours are long, but the days and weeks are short. It will pass.

**(I WILL however, make a friendly, helpful suggestion: if you ever find yourself having to have someone amputate the front limb of an elderly dog and then bring him home (the amputee, not the amputor)...might I suggest summer as the more optimal time? You know, not when there is 18 inches of wet, gross snow on the ground with ice underneath? )

Here is a picture from this morning (see, I TOLD you Sam is bald! He only has some of those coarse guard hairs left. But he is still pretty on the inside )--he doesn't seem to be very interested in the bed I made for him, but one of our four cats does. Momo, the cat in question, is our CRF kitty. Between the two of them this year, I am pretty sure they are putting at least one of our vet's kids through private school.

jerry said
Awww Sweet Sampson. I'm glad you're home. Your people have a very, very good attitude. This recovery thing isn't forever, you'll get your zing back soon.

Yeah, dealing with ice and snow after amputation is the worst! One thing that  might help....when you're all relaxed like you are in the pic, let your people trim that fur between your paws. It will give you a lot more traction out there.

We hope you have a boring, lazy and relaxing weekend. If you don't feel good, let your Momma know so she can call the vet OK?

Get well soon! Oh and tell your people if they feel like they wanna scream, to come to the chat, we usually have people in there throughout the day and into the evening. We're here to help any way we can.

Thank you, Jerry! We are having a "trimming party" this afternoon, actually All the kitties are having their nails done, and the dogs their toe-poufters!

We love love love our vet--last night, he told me for sure to call him this AM if we needed him, etc. And I was all "oh, we'' be okay!" And I didn't call him...but as sure as shinola, he called us as soon as his shift was over at noon, just to check in. We've had lots of vets over the years, but have been with him for the last 7, and I cannot express how glad I am to have a doctor who really knows us (as people, not just as "clients") and our animals. It means a TON.