Thank you all for your replies already and happy independence day!  I'm over in the UK, but I remember the day well because it's also my other rotties birthday!  Roxy is 5 today!

I will be honest, I'm very good at writing down how we will manage things next week and I'm incredibly positive, but I can also guarantee that I will have my moments, I will lose that strength at times and I know it'll be hard.

Luther chose us about 10 months ago from a rescue centre that we spend quite a lot of time at.  We had rescued Roxy in November 2010 and we weren't looking for another dog.  Roxy's life before coming to us had been difficult - she had been abused to a certain extent, she'd been locked away in a kitchen (not great for a dog that spends every waking hour like she has a rocket up her backside!) and generally not looked after.  She was and remains incredibly unpredictable with other dogs and she has been a constant challenge, causing many, many tears over the years.  One day, as I turned up at this other rescue for our Sunday training class a very large chap was standing by his van in tears.  I didn't hang around to stare at him, but found out later that he had given his dog up due to his marriage breaking up, his ex-wife chucking him and the dog out and not being able to find accommodation.  Shortly after he left, I looked across from the training pen and wobbling across the field with the rescue centre manager was Luther ... he was gigantic!  Fat!  It was clear that he had been a much loved family pet and had also benefitted from a very unhealthy diet, most likely of junk food!  I love a McDonalds like the best of people, but not to give my dog!  Luther looked like he'd had them regularly!!  I had seen many dogs come and go (all rottweilers as that's what the rescue focussed on) and fallen in love with most of them, but when I caught sight of Luther, I knew there was something special about him.  Within a week, we were testing him with Roxy!  She was her usual hideous, bolshy, irritating self.  Luther just ignored her until she pushed her luck too far and he roared at her to back off.  She did.  After much soul searching, we brought him home and he has been nothing but a joy since that day.  He's the dog you can take anywhere and do anything with.  He's the dog everyone wants.  He's the dog that when you see his little stump wagging, you can't not squeeze him!  He is our pleasure, Roxy is our pain (and I mean that with all the love in the world). 

When he came home to us, we immediately got him onto the same diet as Roxy and pumped him with supplements and gradually, his weight dropped and the limping he'd arrived with eased.  We even had a couple of months between Christmas and February of have him totally normal, but then the limping returned, which was the arthritic elbow and so our story of the last couple of months began as I detailed in my first post.

I don't know if you have something similar in the US, but in the UK we have a charity called Pets as Therapy.  Dogs and cats go through a rigorous assessment to be passed (or failed) to a standard where they are able to make visits to hospitals and hospices to make the final days of terminally ill children and adults that little bit easier.  In February, Luther passed as a Pets as Therapy dog, but we've not yet managed to start our visits because of what he's been going through.  When we decided on the amputation, my first thought was that he may never get to be a PAT dog as I wasn't sure of their rules over amputees, but apparently, there are no rules and so long as he's deemed fit and healthy, he'll still be able to do it, which I'm so excited about and gives us something special to aim for.

I could spend my life talking about my dogs, but I won't bore you any more!  Thank you for such a warm welcome and I look forward to the relief of being able to share the next few weeks with people who have been there.

I'd like to attach some pictures, but I can't find an attachment button and I don't have any linked to a URL that I can post.    

xxx