I introducted myself and my Golden mix, Dakota, a few days ago. Today was his initiation into the tripawd club and he's doing very well (except that he got a leg cut off). I promised an update, but there really isn't much to tell...yet. Tomorrow is the Big Day, when I take him home.

Dakota had his left front leg removed at Colorado State by Dr. Deanna Worley and team. Honestly, the dog has so many doctors working on him it's like he's a rock star. They all know of his poor beginning (almost dead when we found him abandoned at about 6 months old) and act like he's the grandest thing ever. He will be insufferable if he remembers any of this.

In case anyone wants to know, time from beginning of surgery till he was settled in at his recovery spot was almost exactly 2 hours. Instead of kennelling him, they chose to put up a gated barricade and give him part of a room, with constant supervision. I appreciate that very much. In his 9 years, I don't think he's ever been kennelled.

The tumor has not been identified exactly yet (to me, anyway), but it was graded at a 2. Lungs are clear.

Tomorrow I will fetch Dakota home into the loving arms of his big family. My husband is already thinking of how to engineer the dog door to make it easy for him to use. It requires a step up when going outside, or a step down when coming into the house. I don't know if he will need that or not; so far I haven't even thought that far.

So tonight I sit here in a Ft. Collins hotel room waiting for my promised evening update, with all the mixed feelings about this I said I didn't have. No regrets, as there were no options. But still, I gave someone permission to cut off my dog's leg. That makes me feel a little funny.