The Next Chapter

I Believe in Santa Paws

Chapter 1 was a wonderful 6 1/2 year ride that I will have to fill you in on some time.  Here are few pics from that part of my journey –

Chapter 2 – It seemed like just yesterday we were running through the snow telling all our friends how we believed in Santa.  Well I was running while dad was huffing and puffing trying to keep up.  That familiar pain started to creep in again but I convinced dad everything was fine and chalked up to over exhertion like so many times before.  The same sound reasoning we used the few times in the past when the aches would hit me after back packing, sandy trails, or steep mountain climbs because I would feel much better after a days rest from all the fun we had.  I did not understand what was happening and we were having so much fun camping, hiking, taking in the natural beauty, and hunting that it must have just been over exertion. 

As the pain seemed to get more frequent, mom and dad could tell there must be something more to it and began to worry.  They talked to friends and we visited our wonderful vet.  We tried a couple of different treatments but still no change so my vet recommended an x-ray because she was concerned about my shoulder.  The x-rays were shot on December 1, 2010.  After they were processed we went back to the vet and she could not believe it.  There was a lesion of some sort on my right humerous that concerned her.  She was almost as heart broke as dad and mom were since we had become such good friends over the years.  The potential good news, she said, was that the lesion was smooth so may not be cancer.  Most of the cancer she had seen looked mean and agressive with rough edges so we had some hope but needed to do a biopsy to be sure.

She did the biopsy on December 6, 2010.  On December 10, 2010 she called dad to say that the biopsy was not definitive but that there were suspicious cells that were most likely osteosarcoma but that we should do another biopsy to make certain.  Mom and dad started doing a bunch of research and fretting about looking for answers.  I could tell something was up because we stopped taking as many walks and the energy became different.  We still had lots of love time but I could tell something was up.  I kept my head and made sure to let them know I was fine so lets go play.  After dad talked with the vet some more, she recommended we go to a specialist to talk about another biopsy and figure out what the next step should be.

On December 17, 2010 I got to meet a really nice surgeon and surgical nurse who rolled around on the floor with me and reviewed all my x-rays and charts.  Then they started to talk with mom and dad about me and the mood changed.  I could not tell what they were saying but knew something was up because dad started crying and nobody was playing with me any more.  I nudged dad and tried to crawl up in his lap to assure him all was would be OK and we would all be fine.  He loved on me while mom talked with the surgeon.  They talked about options, next steps, statistics, and who knows what else.  The recommendation was amputation of my right front leg because of the degradation of the bone.  They decided to shoot another x-ray of my lungs to see how they looked and the surgeon said they looked great.  He thought I was a great candidate and that we probably caught it very early.

Mom and dad were a little overwhelmed so decided to think about it a while and collect themselves.  After a lot of nudging them, reading, talking with other vets, and finding this wonderful website, they were convinced that we would all be OK. 

Thus, on this 6th day of January 2011 I join the ranks of this wonderful TriPawd community!  I will do my best to do you all proud.  I am still learning names of all our new friends and cannot begin to put into words how thankful we are that you are all here to help, share your experiences, and support mom and dad.  I know I am going to be fine so thank you for helping my mom and dad. 

We are still learning names but have seen some really cool friends out there – fortis, duckbutt, monkeybutt, to name a few.  Thanks again for the open arms.

Paws and Kisses – Sierra