Chance is our 10 year old German Shepherd/Labrador mix that we rescued as a puppy after he was
beaten with a pipe. We raced him to the vet and after some stitches and a bit
of tlc, we had found our new family pet. Even with all of his medical issues
over the past few years he has remained a sweet tempered, loyal friend. Chance
had started limping a bit in early August and after some xrays, the nightmare
began. We were sent to a specialist to investigate an "odd" area on
his shoulder. A biopsy was performed, and it was diagnosed as Osteosarcoma. The
surgeon recommended amputation so after many tears and uncertainty, we decided
to proceed. His right front leg was removed including his entire shoulder girdle.
He had a massive 17" incision that scared me to death. It has been a
harrowing time since then with many frantic calls to my very patient vet
because I was paranoid that something had gone wrong. We built a handicap ramp
for him to go outside and he was recovering very well from his surgery,
galloping through the house on his 3 legs playfully chasing our kitties.  All the medical staff have commented on what a sweet baby he is. Even while he was coming out from under anesthesia from the amputation, the nurses
would walk by and say his name, and they said his tail would just thump away as
he was lying on the bed! Just an absolutely amazing boy....

The past few months have been very trying, stressful and financially straining, though I did find some charity foundations that are helping us to pay for his 6 rounds chemotherapy, he is on #4. I am extremely grateful for the help from these grants, otherwise we wouldnt have been able to have him treated. These past few weeks have not been very good either. Chance was having trouble walking on his hind legs and it was discovered that he had slipped a disc in his spinal cord. We are using a sling to help him around n to go out to potty. We ordered one of the harnesses from Tripawds hoping it will help to manuever him around easier, anxiously waiting for it's arrival. The doctor said if the disc ruptures completely, it could paralyze his back legs. OMG! And he isn't wanting to eat much, trying to coax him with cooked chicken breast, ground beef and rice....anything I can get in him thats healthy basically. 

We love our big boy so much that we will continue to fight this as long as we possibly can. So glad that Miss Rene suggested this forum so that I can connect with others who are battling the same kind of things with their babies. Helps tremendously to read the stories and advice from others.