zeuspod said
OMGosh!!! I KNOW MURPHY!!!  We volunteered with PAWS when we lived in State College and Murphy was our favorite dog!!!!  We were heartbroken that we were not in a position to adopt him and then thrilled when we read that you guys had given him a home.  Greg spent, literally, hundreds of hours walking Murphy (I was a little to small to control him if he became too excited, but I cuddled him on the meet-and-greet-room couches!)

Unfortunately, I am a member of this site because our Zeus fought Osteosarcoma.  He did great with his surgery and treatment, and far outlived his prognosis but we did eventually lose him to the disease.  After his passing we couldn't bring ourselves to adopt right away, so we started volunteering with PAWS.  Murphy is one of the best dogs EVER and we still talk about him - that cute little dance he would do when you scratched right above his tail.  I saw a post on the PAWS facebook page today about Murphy, so I came over to see if by chance you had found this site.  I am SO glad you did!  It is an awesome resource.

Murphy's mom, I am so very sorry you guys are going through this.  If we can be of any help at all, please please let us know.  Hopefully you are Metzger's clients - they are fabulous and took such good care of our Zeus.  All the strength and comfort in the world to you during this difficult time!

Lisa Gordon

Hi Lisa! Thanks for reaching out to me and Murphy! I'm glad you were so good to him during his time at Paws, and you are right, he is an amazing dog! One of my first thoughts when I heard they were recommending amputation was that he won't be able to do his happy dance anymore! And I am lucky that I found Tripawds right away, and so far the advice and resources have been invaluable.

Murphy does indeed go to Metzger. He had his surgery last Monday and has his first follow up on Tuesday. So far there's only been a slight hiccup in his recovery (he had to go in once because he went too long without a bowel movement) but other than that he's recovering remarkably well. There are times it would seem he is having some phantom leg pain , and Metzger may prescribe gabapentin to help with that. 

He's a trooper. We're still waiting on the results to come back to know more about what comes next. His lungs were clear and so far there were no signs that the cancer spread. There's still a chance it's not osteosarcoma and we are hoping that the amputation is all that needs to be done. 

Murphy says hello and sends many ear kisses your way!