GO RILEY! I wonder if the 'simple injections' you mentioned are subcutaneous injections?  Those are very simple to give once you get used to it.  When I had goats I gave them most of their vaccinations that way.

It's amazing what sunshine does for ones spirits (animals and humans a like).  Ellie is sunbathing as we speak as well!

That's so cool he's already laying on his incision side, so glad to hear he's doing well.

look forward to updates!

Hi All, 

I'm new to the Tripawds community and this post re: Riley's vaccine treatment caught my eye. My youngest golden, Nora (i.e., "Nora the Explorer"), age 2.5 years, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma recently and completed her front-leg amputation surgery on August 10. We have been presented with the option of chemotherapy (standard, current protocol) and the option of using a vaccine which would be made by Torigen pharmaceuticals. For those that are using or have used the ELIAS immunotherapy, were you made aware of Torigen or did you receive any comparison information (ELIAS vs. Torigen)? I'm wondering if the ELIAS treatment is more established than the Torigen or if they are both still in the early stages (i.e., no efficacy data for Torigen). I'm also curious about the use of a vaccine like this with or without chemo. Are the vaccines/immunotherapy and chemo done together or is one in lieu of the other? Of course, I have these same questions out to my veterinary surgeon and oncologist, but curious about the Tripawds community's experience with this - have you heard of using both treatments? It seems counter-intuitive to use both if they are designed to impact the immune system in different ways, but I'm still learning. If it's one or the other, will be a very tough decision. There is a lot more data about the chemo route, although the vaccine may offer a stronger outcome (i.e., Nora's surgeon offered that one dog treated with Torigen was doing quite well 18 months following diagnosis - compared to a median 11 months for chemo route). I did watch the 2021 podcast Tripawds hosted with Torigen and was able to obtain some initial information there (thank you!), just curious if the community has any more recent personal stories to share re: this topic. 

The post-op process has been smooth overall. We have managed pain and diet very well since surgery. We live in Florida, so the heat and rain is always extra when taking potty breaks with Nora. I lucked out, as my tee shirts fit Nora perfectly, so she wears them to go outside to protect from water/dirt. While we have a one-story, we are elevated so a few stairs min for every entry into the house. My husband has been carrying Nora down the stairs and then she walks once on level ground. Even though she seems stable walking for the most part, I'm still very nervous about navigating stairs, or her running/jumping, and causing additional injury. As I understand, Nora is now carrying 70% of her body weight on her one front leg (and she's 90 lbs!). Will take it slow (should be no problem with two young golden retrievers, lol!). Nora's older brother, Winston (3.5 yrs) is adjusting - he's learned her limitations and we are finding a rhythm in balancing attention between the two of them. At one point, Winston was so jealous of Nora's attention he licked the fur off his left paw and then presented it to us as to say, "ok, my paw is hurt now too, so can I get special attention?". Very important to balance so one issue doesn't lead to another. 

As a side note, Nora's new harness arrived today. I ordered the Flagline harness by Ruffwear through the Tripawds website. We are very excited to use it and will share how it goes. 

Thank you for reading and sharing. 

Stay gold, 

Jessie