I just dropped Malachi off at the vet for his amputation surgery and as expected I was an emotional wreck.  They just called and said his chest films looked good and were proceding with the surgery.  Our veterinary office is a multi-doctor practice and I was relieved yesterday when I took Mali for his bloodwork to know all four doctor's would be in the office today.  This morning when I dropped him off the doctor who did his blood work yesterday and was orginally scheduled to perform the surgery told me the founder of the practice
(who in her opinion is a fantastic surgeon) voluntered to do the surgery which was another blessing.

I guess I should share a little back story on Malachi to bring everyone up to speed.  Malachi is a pitt bull/rhosdesian ridgeback mix who was saved from a kill shelter in August of 2002; so while I can't be certain of his age he has been a faithful companion for almost 8 years.  Everyone loves Malachi wherever he goes; perhaps it is his brindle markings or maybe his regal attitude, i.e. when he crosses his front legs with his head held high (see avatar) but whatever it is he gets more compliments then the rest of my pack combined.  I truly think he knows that he got a second chance at life when I adopted him and has thanked me for it by being the best dog I could ever ask for. 

Like may others I thought he had just strained a muscle or stepped on something hurting his paw and he just needed time to heal.  Over the course of a few weeks thou his limp got worse and he was bearing less and less weight on his leg.  We began to think maybe he had hip dispacia so we decided to take him to the vet to get checked out.  Initially they thought he may have torn his ACL, but would need to do an x-ray to be sure.  We had to bring him back the following day since it was already 5:30 and they would need to sedate him.  We dropped him off that morning and in hindsight I guess we should have known something was wrong when they would not tell us over the phone what was going on and asked when we could come back in.  From the moment the vet walked into the exam room I knew it was not good.  She showed me the x-rays and the tumor in his bone, and then I heard the word cancer at which point I heard nothing else.  I didn't know what to ask or say, the rest of the visit was a blur.  She explained my options, but I could no longer process anything, I just wanted them to bring Malachi to me so I could take him home and cry. 

That evening my research began and I spoke with the vet again the following day going over his options including the possibility of surgery which I initially rejected.  After a few days of sleepless nights and hours of online research I finally decided I needed further consultation before making a decision and opted to follow up with an oncologist.  Last Monday we traveled to Charlotte and met with Dr. McFadden who confirmed it was likely OSA and her recomendation was amputation followed by chemotherapy.  Since he was not using the leg anymore she felt he would adjust to life as a tripawd very well.  It was a very difficult decision to make, probably the hardest decision I have ever made in my life and after a long discussion with my wife we agreed to pursue surgery.  So here I am today...a basket case...typing his story while waiting for word from the vet on how the surgery went.  More to follow...

P.S. Finding this site has been very helpful and I am very thankful for it as well as all of those who have posted to it sharing their stories.  I am not sure I could have made this decision without it.

Josh