What a whirlwind - or should I say tsunami - this past week has been.  Carter, our beloved soon-to-be 7-year old retriever/setter mix was showing just a slight limp just after we returned home from the requisite family holiday visits.  We had a friend stay here at the house with him and his little Jack Russell brother Linus.  We watched him for a couple of days then called the sitter and asked if anything had happened while we were away.  When the answer was no we made an appointment with the vet for Saturday thinking that it was to be just a strain or sprain.  After the xray was read and the initial diagnosis of cancer was given we were in disbelief and shock - but it was supposed to be a sprain!!!  We scheduled a follow-up visit for monday with more xrays of the lungs to see if the cancer had spread.  The vet prepared us for the worse stating that most likely when  the tumor is discovered the cancer has already spread to the lungs.  After reading the xray our vet determined that the cancer had spread into the lungs but encouraged a second opinion.  Unfortunately here in the Richmond, VA area there are no oncologists so we booked an appointment for Friday in Northern VA at South Paws with an oncologist. 

The week was hard - i even had to ask my partner to pull off I95 as we drove up to the visit so I could be sick and sick I was.  We were ready for the worst and expected the worst just to be prepared.  Fortunately the second opinion gives us hope as the oncologist determined that the cancer has not spread into the lungs nor anywhere else.  He also stated that the tumor is not in the usual place and is not the usual shape of osteosarcome but it is a tumor of some kind in the bone.  As we all now know the suggested treatment is the amputation then chemo.  The costs were higher than I could have even projected but we reflected that we could either vacation this year or prolong our dear Carter's life - the choice was obvious.

We have our ups and downs - interestingly when one of us is up the other is down and vice versa.  Carter has been our delight for the past 7 years and we want to protect him from pain - to protect him from the pain, amputation is the answer.  We are going through the usual fears right now...will he be able to jump that log he always jumps down at the River?...will he still play defense when his little brother tries to catch the frisbee?...how will he do his favorite stretch off the sofa?...what if something happens in surgery?  Knowing that so many others here have been through the same experience is more than comforting.  We are confident in our decision and reading all of your stories only bolsters that confidence.

We have already taken Carter to a local therapeutic doggie pool, Paws to Swim, so that he knows the layout and routine when he is ready to swim again (he is a water dog in every sense of the word).  We understand the swimming to be a great rehab tool.  We ordered the Ruffwear harness tonight in anticipation of our continued although abbreivated river walks.  We read the answers to the most frequent questions and plan to invest in runners, a thick mattress and his favorite treats tomorrow and Wednesday.  And we even viewed the post-surgery photos so that we can be prepared. 

We hope that the post-amputation biopsy will be a bit of good news but we are prepared to accept the osteo diagnosis.  We are also prepared to make this the best year...or part of a year...or few months of Carter's and our lives.  He brings us such joy - from the sweet bay of his howl on command to his clever discovery of treats when we play CSI to his pawing at our approaching enemy hands for "how dare you tickle my foot." 

We will rely on you all for your strength and wisdom and promise to share what we learn in return.  This is just the continuation of our W-A-L-K (yep we gotta spell) with our beloved Carter boy and look forward to his three-pawed hop down this next fork in the trail.

Greg and Ben (carter's dads)