Shooter is a fairly new member of the Tripawd community and is a 12-1/2 year old Mini Aussie. His story began just before Christmas 2012 when I noticed him limping and upon a check of his leg it was swollen clear up to the shoulder. First assumption is that it was a spider bite (which is he incredibly allergic to) and when the swelling went down after a small dose of prednisone two bumps were apparent which were obviously the bite site. So much for obviously...when the swelling began to go up and down for the next two weeks, but never completely away it was time for the dreaded vet visit. After X-rays and aspiration the unexpected news was given that this was a Mast Cell tumor and the only way to remove it was amputation. Shock does not begin to describe what we felt that day. An appointment was made with a specialist who further confirmed the diagnosis and that the liver, spleen and lymph node were not involved so our decision was made, but not without a lot of second guessing and guilt. On 1/28/13, he had surgery to remove his left front leg. The worst part of the whole thing was leaving him at the vet that day and the memory of what his face looked like as I left him. I felt like the worst dog-mother in the whole world. The second worst was lack of communication from the clinic, but two days after he was home. At first he seemed depressed, but it was discovered that the compression bandage was so uncomfortable to him he didn't want to move. After it came off, he was on his way to being the Shooter we know and love. At this time, we are still waiting for the final results from CSU on what stage the tumor was. Each day Shooter makes improvements and learns new ways to do things and adjust to his new reality. On his 3 week Ampuversary, him and his brothers and sister went to the groomer and came back new dogs! I really think being clean felt so good that he has actually been kind of crazy since yesterday ! No matter what the outcome, we are so glad we will have our Shooter for some extra time and hopefully a long time to come. He has taught us how to act in the face of adversity and we can only hope to live up to his example. 

I was going to attach some pictures, but will have to do it on his blog as I just can't figure it out!!

Found the instructions!!