Our 9-year-old dog border collie, Lady, was diagnosed with chondrosarcoma (cancer of the cartilage) in her right hip joint in late February of this year.

On March 11, she had surgery to remove the tumor. Because of the location of the tumor, the type of surgery she had removed part of her pelvis, and, as a sad but unavoidable consequence, her right hind leg.

She stayed two days at the vet hospital, and then came home. She was ambulatory, with a sling under her hindquarters, from the day of the surgery, and I did visit her in the vet hospital on the day after the surgery.

She never has been good on a leash, so in those first few days at home, after a few tries of walking her with both leash and sling, we gave up on the sling entirely. She would just be hopping along too far ahead of us to try to keep up! It took way too much coordination for us to hold the leash and both handles of the sling and try to support her all at the same time. And, really, she seemed fine without the sling, for the very short jaunt outside to relieve herself.

Every day since she's been home, she has gotten better and better, having more energy, engaging in behaviors like trying to sneak the cat's food from the cat's dish, and signaling at the door when she's ready to go outside. The first week home, I had her eat while lying on her dog bed, as it seemed to be too hard for her to balance on three legs and get her mouth down to the food dish. But after about a week, my husband would have her stand to eat (while we still brought the food to her at her bed). But the past three days, when she sees I'm fixing her meal, she scampers to the laundry room to her usual spot to be fed! And stands and balances just fine while she is eating.

Yesterday, the surgeon called to say that the pathology report shows that the tumor was removed entirely, and there are no signs that the cancer has spread. (We had CT-scans done prior to the surgery that showed her lungs and other organs were clear.)

Today's milestone is that she got her sutures removed and got the green light from the vet to not have to wear the e-collar any more. Whew.

We are almost back to life as usual, and so thankful to our regular vet, the specialist surgeon, and everyone else who helped us along the way. Everyone at every clinic we've visited (and there have been several) has always remarked on what a sweet dog Lady is.

Before this journey to becoming tripawd, I was aware that there were 3-legged dogs in the world. But in the past 6 weeks, I have met in person many people who have had 3-legged dogs OR cats, and all of their stories have helped me realize that the amputation makes my dog a little bit unique, but that it is not uncommon. Already, only two weeks post-surgery, my dog is wanting to romp, and naturally brings her left rear leg to a centered position behind her, as if this is what she has always done for the past nine years.

Karen in Kent, WA