Mandi and Brandi,

I cannot start without saying how sorry to hear of the diagnosis, but you have found a community filled with wonderful people who will share their collective experience base, provide excellent advice, and give support. I also will have to appoligize that for another couple of weeks, we will not be on the internet as much as usual, but I will be leaving you in excellent hands.

Miss Cherry turned eleven the day before her amputation and that is very senior by Standard Poodle measurements. She had significant other issues at the time, but for me it was an easy decision. The amputation would eliminate the pain immediately, and the chemotherapy would provide the chance for a longer turn. Do not let the age deter you from doing what you feel is best for everyone here will tell you that with extremely few exceptions, they recover from the amputation very quickly and can enjoy an excellent level of quality of life. The first two weeks of the recovery may test you both, but after that you will move forward quickly. Any decision on continuing treatments like our chemotherapy is not as clear-cut and the effects are much more complicated. However, the amputation will provide immediate pain relief and allow you to more excellent time together.

Should you decide to move forward with the amputation, there are sets of suggestions that we provide. Many here can detail these later if you decide to go that way. For now, we wish you the very best, send positive thoughts, and will include you both in our prayers.

Spirit Cherry's Dad

Sophie was 12 and a half when she had her amputation surgery (Feb 25, 2010). Like you, I agonized over the decision fearing that I had ended Sophie's life – just in a different way than the cancer would have done. 

I was wrong. My 12 year old son pointed it out to me very clearly. The night we brought Sophie home from her surgery – I couldn't deal with it at all. It was beyond my ability to cope – and I had some other very difficult things going on in my own personal world that I was not able to deal with at the time – so dealing with a newly 3-legged dog was not something I was prepared for in any way, shape, or form. My son told me I was treating Sophie like a freak – that she deserved better than that from me – and to pull myself together for her sake. 

He really did. And he was right. 

Sophie, a Golden Retriever, 12.5 years old, having just lost her soulmate (Keaton, a 14 year old Golden Retriever) 2 weeks prior, adapted to the loss of her limb very quickly. It wasn't without problems, or setbacks. It took her a few days to get her balance, a few more days to be able to navigate the stairs in our house on her own. But she certainly adapted more quickly than I ever could. She inspired me, and humbled me. 

Sophie had lymphoma - a large mass on her upper left front leg. You haven't mentioned what kind of cancer Brandi has - osteosarcoma is, from all accounts, extremely painful for the dogs - and the surgery alleviates the pain immediately. The recovery for these dogs can be even faster - because they are already adjusting and not using the leg for bearing weight as much as normal because of the pain. Sophie's cancer wasn't so much painful as it was interfering with her movement because of it's size and location. She was weight-bearing on that leg, and it did take her a little while to adjust her balance.

If this had been a decision we had to make with our other dog, Keaton, we would not have made the same decision. Keaton would not have recovered well from a physical challenge such as losing a limb. He simply was not the type of dog who overcame physical challenges such as this. Sophie, on the other hand, never let anything stand in her way. She always went at life 100 mph with her hair on fire. We knew that she would bounce back, despite her age. She was healthy in every other way. So knowing your dog, and whether Brandi is the type of dog to overcome this type of challenge is something only you can say.

Is Sophie the same dog she was before? No. She is different. She takes advantage of all of us – like when she stands at the sofa in the living room – her one front foot on the cushions – looking around over her shoulders – waiting for someone to boost her up – when she is perfectly capable of getting up there herself. She still goes for "walks" with her big dog-walking group in the day-time. But she rides in a Chariot – and she gets out to walk when she wants to – or when she has to pee or poo – and then she hops back in to be pushed some more. She still gets the socialization of the dogs, she gets to be outside, but she would not be able to do the hour or 90 minute walk without the Chariot. 

She sleeps a lot more than she used to. She doesn't chase balls like a crazy woman anymore. She likes to chase them about 10 feet – and she won't bring it back for another throw. She used to do it for hours – and man, she was fast !! It's sad to think that she doesn't do that anymore. But – as someone else said (CometDog) – as I am about to hit 50 !! (OMG) – there are MANY, MANY things that I can no longer do – and I still have both of my arms and legs – and I don't have cancer, or chemo drugs to deal with. 

I have to comment on the weight thing. Sophie has always been a "big-boned gal" - and that was a great concern to me with the amputation, too. It turned out to be a non-issue for her. She has lost some weight since her surgery - mostly because her appetite comes and goes due to the chemo treatments - so she doesn't eat as much as she used to. 

My mother is EXACTLY like yours !! She tries to make me feel guilty all the time about my animals. As soon as we were told Sophie had cancer - my mother said "Put it down." Several years earlier, when my older dog started to get arthritis she said the same thing about him. My mother has osteoporosis - quite severe and is quite crippled. I did what  "Admin" said in the post above - I told her that I never considered putting HER down just because she was stiff and getting crippled. Don't listen to the people who make comments like that. They have never experienced the love, or the bond that a person and an animal can share. It is definitely their loss. 

Tana  

Well, I can't speak from experience with an older dog, unfortunately.  I can say that my Yoda, who had osteosarcoma, only made it about 4 months after diagnosis and it was still COMPLETELY worth for us.  Heck, half that would have been worth it.  I have some videos of how well Gerry and Yoda do/did on three legs.  Yoda was 5 when diagnosed and Gerry is between 2 and 3, but still what Brandi would have in common with them, once her awful tumor is gone, is the lack of pain! 

You know your dog best and your vet knows better than any non-vets out there with opinions for you.  So listen to yourself and your vet and best of luck to you and Brandi!

Here are links to those videos I mentioned (sorry Yoda's is kind of poor quality – old camera):

http://gerry.tr...../dog-park/

http://gerry.tr.....in-action/

http://gerry.tr.....-roommate/

Hi Mandi and Brandi,

We're so sorry to hear about Brandi, but so glad you found tripawds.  You've already received excellent advice from this loving community.  Holly was 8 when she had her amputation, and has not had trouble adapting.  We had a hard time getting our brains and hearts around the amputation.  We didn't know any tripawds at the time and didn't find this site until after Holly came home from her surgery.  Our vet told us that dogs aren't like people - they adapt to life on 3 legs, and other dogs won't stare at them and think "wow, that dog only has 3 legs".  He was so right.  We've never looked back at our decision because Holly is so happy (that's why we call her Jolly Holly ).  You know Brandi best, and will make the decision that is right for her with lots of love.  And all of us will be here for you, whatever that decision is.

Hugs,

Holly, Zuzu and Susan