Thank you, Jerry, for all the wonderful information and hopeful thoughts. I'm so grateful to have found this community which has already shown so much support.

I wanted to give an update on Oscar's first oncologist consultation as it could bring information and hope to others. The oncologist confirmed that Oscar has a tumor in his right front shoulder that has a 90% likelihood of being osteosarcoma. He took lung x-rays and found no sign of cancer in them. Which is excellent news! After doing a physical on Oscar this oncologist decided amputation followed by 6 rounds of chemo would be the best course of action. I made sure to ask him about arthritis already present in Oscar's other limbs but he believes Oscar would handle being a tripawd just fine. 

The chemo protocol this oncologist suggested was alternating between Doxorubicin and Carboplatin. Starting with Carboplatin, 3 weeks later doing Doxorbicin, alternating between the 2 every 3 weeks for 6 treatments total. He said he chooses to alternate because he sees fewer side effects when alternating and also has success with putting the dog into remission with the 6 treatments.  He said that with amputation and this chemo protocol Oscar would pass away from something other than bone cancer when his time came. He said he doesn't call it cured but remission is highly likely. 

Of course, this is exactly what I wanted to hear. I'm now super hopeful that Oscar won't have the painful journey I imagined when my primary vet broke the grim news to me.

Now I just want to make sure Oscar's path to remission is the best possible one. I've scheduled a consultation with an ortho surgeon for Monday, fingers crossed that he too feels Oscar will have a good life as a tripawd. I've also scheduled a different oncologist consultation for Tuesday just to get a 2nd opinion and compare clinics. I want to see which one Oscar and I are most comfortable with as we'll be spending a lot of time there. The 2nd oncologist consultation will also include another amputation estimate. So, after Tuesday I'll have 2 oncologist estimates and treatment plans plus 3 different ortho surgeon estimates for amputation. 

The first amputation estimate came in over $5000 which even the oncologist that works with the hospital was shocked by. He advised me to contact other hospitals for estimates as he believed the amputation should be around $3000 at most. After calling 12 different hospitals I've found most will not give an estimate of surgery cost over the phone and insist on a consultation first. So I went with the best-reviewed one and scheduled the Monday consult with them. The hospitals that gave me at least a rough estimate ranged from $2000-$4000. With one being super low at $1600. However, the veterinarian doesn't seem to be a board-certified surgeon even though his office claims surgery is his passion. When I asked they said he performs amputations regularly. Another red flag is they don't staff anyone throughout the night. So I'd have to take Oscar home the evening after surgery or leave him there unsupervised. A 3rd option would be to transfer him to a staffed hospital. 

I'll wait until after the last consultation on Tuesday to even begin making a decision on how to move forward. I just wanted to keep updating throughout this process in case anyone has advice or information to add. Others might find the information helpful as well. 

Thank you all for the support and help! Today things seem to have a more positive outlook. 

Kindly 

Sara 

Hi Jerry, Thank you for your kind words. Today has been a much brighter day than yesterday.  

I agree that the cheap vet does not seem to be a good option. I 100% agree that there should be overnight care whenever surgery is performed, especially one that's so invasive. I recall a friend years ago loosing their young great dane due to developing a blood clot after amputation during the night when the office was unstaffed. They hadn't thought to ask and just had assumed someone would be providing aftercare throughout the night. Their story has stuck with me and I always ask about staffed hours. 

Thank you for the AAHA-accreditation tip. I'll add that to my list of criteria for choosing a hospital. 

Yes, he did mention that Doxorubicin can have negative side effects such as nausea, tiredness, diarrhea and not wanting to eat. They included medications to combat these side effects in the estimate they wrote up for me. They said I can choose to take the drugs home with me just in case he has the symptoms or that I can call and pick them up should he need them. Whatever I feel the most comfortable with. Oscar has always had a sensitive stomach so I was thinking I'd have the medications on hand if I need them.  

Thank you again for all the amazing information and support! 

I wanted to update everyone on what's going on with Oscar. After seeing the other oncologist who also thought amputation and chemo would be Oscar's treatment plan we found a surgeon that could amputate that same night. His tumor was visibly large than the previous week and we didn't want to wait another day getting rid of it. 

We are now at four days post-op! He came home late on day two. That first night was a rough one. I "slept" on an air mattress beside his recovery area and hardly closed my eyes. I just stared at him and worried. I worried if his other legs were strong enough to do this. He looked so miserable and weak. When we tried to take him outside to potty he refused to put any weight on his legs. He just kept collapsing on us. It was awful. 

The next morning I didn't attempt to get him up and went about my morning routine. As I was feeding the other dogs I looked over and Oscar stood up and took his first steps towards the kitchen! He had done it all on his own! My husband was able to capture a photo of him standing there. Best photo ever! 

The rest of the first day was a little rough. He didn't want to stand again the rest of the day and refused to put any weight on his legs like he'd done the first night. I think the weather had a lot to do with his mood. It rained non-stop the entire day and into the night. 

Well, today was a different day. It was one of those perfect sunny days. We started the day by taking him outside and placed him in the grass. Not even 2 minutes later he got up, walked a few steps and went potty! All by himself! I was there of course in case he needed me but he didn't. He handled it like a champ! He's now gone outside and used the bathroom four times today! 

It seems like any time we try to help support his weight he gives up on walking. So we just walk beside him and help him stay balanced. We bought a sling but he hates it and won't move if we try to use it. To carry him outside into the grass we use a baby crib mattress on top of a throw blanket. It acts as a stretcher so that he uses his energy outside to potty instead of to get outside. He's a big dog at 80lbs and it takes two of us to carry him out. We use the crib mattress as a dog bed because they're firm and come with a waterproof, washable cover. $60 from Ikea so they're cheaper than any other dog beds their size. 

For his recovery area, we have a gymnastics tumbling mat with a quilt over it, and an orthopedic dog bed with pillowed edges and the crib mattress. He goes from one area to the other several times a day. I believe the difference in the firmness of each area has helped keep him comfortable. 

We're also using ice packs on his incision and other legs multiple times a day. His incision looks great with no bruising nor swelling. We figured his other legs could use it too as they are working extra hard. Especially his front shoulder and leg as he is a front leg amputee. 

The best advice we've gotten was to stop treating him like a patient, remove the fence we had around his recovery area and just be our normal selves. Removing the fence showed an instant improvement in Oscar's mood. We're so proud of how good he's done with this and look forward to each new day of improvement. I hope his first few days of recovery will help give others the confidence that an old dog can do it. Oscar is 13 and has a whole new chapter of life to live. Thank you to those that posted and offered their advice and support. This website is amazing and I'll continue to keep everyone updated on our best boy. 

Oh and he's already trying to follow me if I leave the room as he has always done. However, we did not expect him to do this so early and haven't placed carpet over the tile throughout the whole house yet. We'd only placed it in the kitchen and living room thinking it'd take a week or so for him to need to go anywhere else. Guess he has other plans.