Howdy Folks. Name's Timber and I'm a 9 year old malamute with osteosarcoma. I was scheduled for amputation in June 2008 but a bone scan revealed tumors in both my front and rear leg. Doc said "no can do"! My parental unit never thought they would be so bummed about me not having the surgery. I gotta say, I totally agree. All you tripawds out there are total champs, and you have to remember you're lucky to have it as an option. We're two months out from diagnosis, but don't stress...I'm fortunate in many ways. I've always been a hyper-spazoid, so the party people at CSU think my attitude has alot to do with my ability to tolerate the disease, the pain, and the drug side effects. I'm doing monthly bisphosphonate treatments, radiation as needed, tramadol, K9 Immunity and metronomic chemotherapy . So far, I'm a little more sleepy than usual, but its also summer, and I tend to not get my game on until winter sets in. I still hork down my gourmet hand crafted meals twice a day (thanks mom...you're such a rockin' babe), and get out for walks every night. We're looking into stabilizing my leg with the biggest tumor by getting a custom brace over at Ortho Pets (Denver, CO) but chicks dig scars man...not leg braces! By offering my musings on this subject, I don't mean to downplay this disease in anyway, its just that after two months of worrying, crying, and being angry, we've decided to get back to being the same old silly care-free family for as long as we possibly can. Peace, love, and treats to all!

- Timber (only my mom calls me Timberkins...geeeez!)