Hi Kristen and Koda, welcome! You've joined the club nopawdy wants to be part of, but we will be with you every step of the way to help you on whatever path you choose.

First, know that anyone who has been through the osteosarcoma diagnosis has felt what you are feeling, myself included. But once we saw how well animals can do on three legs, we knew it was possible to give our pet a great quality of life. And it's true! Check out the latest Tripawds Quality of Life Survey Results for some insight on member's feelings about coping with amputation.

Also, be sure to take a look at Jerry's Required Reading List for some important articles, and also our Tripawds e-books if you haven't already. 

It's ironic that amputation gets rid of osteosarcoma pain, but it really does. There are other methods that some people choose to pursue, like limb salvage or palliative radiation therapy, did your oncologist mention them to you?

 I know there will be a recovery time and time to get used to 3 legs, but will he still run and play?

Yes, absolutely! It will be a new normal of modified activity, but there's no reason why Koda wouldn't be able to enjoy his life.

Sadly, many Tripawd Rotties of all ages and sizes have joined us through the years, and I can't think of one who didn't bounce back from surgery and enjoy quality time with their humans. Some beat the odds and went on to live longer than predicted, some did not, but in almost every instance their human has reported no regrets, they were just glad they got to spend that time with their pain-free Tripawd.

Will the weight be too much for his other leg to support?

No, as long as you keep him slim (or help him lose extra weight if he needs to). Keeping a Tripawd slim is the #1 thing we can do to ensure quality of life.

 What if it is osteosarcoma and it has metastasized but we just can’t see that on x-rays. After amputation, the cancer can be metastasized other places and come back with more aggression and then what? 

If you want total peace of mind, you can pursue a CT scan, which will pick up micrometastasis. Either way, osteosarcoma eventually does metastasize but there are plenty of things you can to do help slow the progression and keep him happy. Don't jump ahead to there yet, since many dogs get lots of time before that ever happens. Focus on the here and now (we call it learning how to Be More Dog ) and you can't go wrong!

Meanwhile, I'll let others chime in with their own experiences. Please ask whatever questions you'd like, your future posts won't need approval.