We still don't have our full biopsy results yet, but vet thinks Lexie has  soft tissue sarcoma -- a very rapidly spreading one. It also presented with visual similarities to nerve sheath/mast cell types of tumors, but amputation wasn't advised due to lung mets. 

She started short course palliative radiation on the leg this past Thursday. The day before radiation, the tumors had become ulcerated (hopefully that's the right term) and raw; her licking at them definitely didn't help. The radiation onco vet kept her bandaged between visits, and she's on precautionary antibiotics.

After her Friday treatment they said that her bandage should be okay until our Monday morning return visit, but Sat. night it started to get a bit smelly. And on Sunday afternoon, the leg seemed to be bothering her more.

An hour or so ago she started gnawing the bandaged leg and tore some of the top part away -- no exposed skin, but she definitely got through the outer layers. I put her 'rain boot' on top of the bandage so she would be less tempted to bother it. She's sleeping comfortably now after her last dose of Gaba, Tramadol and Rimadyl. So, my questions...

Should I take her to the emergency vet for a re-bandage this evening? I have no experience with large-scale wounds like this, and none whatsoever with radiation.

If her onco doc and the rad vet techs were there now I wouldn't hesitate, but none of the cancer specialists are there on weekends. Having a non-cancer vet or LVT treating her without seeing how bad things were before, or knowing her case, makes me a bit nervous.

Also, the radiation staff who bandaged her had the advantage of her being under general anesthesia at the time. She's never liked people touching the lower half of her legs or paws from the time she was young. When I took her boot off after short walks she did a warning snap, and when I tried to put it on again after she tore part of the bandage she yelped and snapped. Also...

Any idea if the smell could be due in part to the radiation? I couldn't smell it myself until this afternoon, but my other half has a more sensitive nose than I do and he noticed it yesterday.   

I think I'll call over there in a bit just to see what the LVT on duty thinks and find out if they can ask the attending vet, but wanted to see if anyone in the Tripawd family had any thoughts and see if anyone else who had to deal with tumors has been in a similar situation.

Lexie and I thank you in advance for any thoughts or insights. 

P.S. This morning she did run up our bottom level carpeted steps two at a time when I was getting her chicken meat out of the tupperware, so structurally the leg had seemed to be better earlier. She definitely doesn't know her limits yet, though.