OUR DOG HAS BONE CANCER IN THE LEG (SPINDLE CELL PROLIFERATION (CERTAIN) OSTEOSARCOMA (POSSIBLE).
OUR VET SAYS TO AMPUTATE THE LEG. HE IS A 90 LB DOG AND I’M NOT SURE IF HE WOULD BE ABLE TO WALK ON 3 THEN.
IT’S HIS BACK LEFT LEG.
I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT IT IS VERY INVOLVED AFTER IT IS DONE, IS THAT TRUE?
THEN I WAS TOLD BY A FAMILY MEMBER TO GET HIM OFF CARBS. IS THAT TRUE?
I FOUND ON-LINE A NO CARB DOG FOOD, IS THAT CERTAIN?
ANYWAY, THEN I WAS TOLD ONLINE ABOUT RADIATION WOULD THAT WORK?
MY HUSBAND AND I ARE SO CONFUSED RIGHT NOW AND UPSET OVER ALL OF THIS. HE IS ON REMADYL TWICE A DAY AND THAT SEEMS TO HELP FOR NOW. IT HAS BEEN 3 MOS ALREADY.
EVERYONE I TALK TO SAYS IT WILL GET WORSE THE( PAIN) FOR HIM. RIGHT NOW IF YOU LOOK AT HIM HE ACTS FINE. HELP!!!!
EVERYTHING IS SO EXPENSIVE, OUR VET WONT TAKE PAYMENTS AND OTHERS WANT A CONSULTATION FEE.
IF THERE IS A GOD I WISH HE WOULD ANSWER US. IN MY HEART I FEEL THAT HE WILL BE OK BY WHAT WE ARE DOING FOR HIM NOW BUT THE BIOPSY AND X-RAYS SHOW DIFFERENT .
WE DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO.
DINA
Tags: dog with cancer of the leg, osteosarcoma, SPINDLE CELL PROLIFERATION
Hello Dina,
This is Linda at VetLocator.com checking email before turning the computer off for the night.
This is a very tough question that should not be answered online. It really is best to talk to someone who is familiar with Leo’s condition. If the cancer is bad enough, your vet may be right and it needs to be amputated, but if I were you, I’d probably get a second opinion since this is a tough call.
The somewhat good news is that dogs do learn how to cope with the loss of a leg. I remember a story that one of our advertisers, Charlene Boyd who is an animal communicator, had in her newsletter. I just looked it up for you because it is about a dog that had one of his legs amputated and went on to become a celebrity:
The Story Of Casey: Rags To Riches Story
The ongoing rescue of America’s unwanted dogs and cats and other species is both a heartbreaking and heartwarming experience. People involved in animal rescue work are my heroes. Whether it is rescuing animals from kill-shelters, fostering animals, doing home checks for suitable homes or finding homes for senior and special needs pets, they are truly the guardian angels of unwanted animals.
They were there when the devastation in New Orleans was made public and immediate help was needed. Animals from puppy mills and other wholesale auctions are often given a second chance through the selfless efforts of the rescue community. There are never enough homes or enough funds for transportation, housing and medical care. Often rescued animals are emotionally traumatized and social rehabilitation is the first order so they may be candidates for adoption. The spaying and neutering of all pets and proper identification will go along way to alleviate the problem of unwanted pets in America and elsewhere in the world.
The Story Of Casey: Rags To Riches Story
As many of you know, I have had Bearded Collies for 20 years and Bearded Collie rescue is one of the best breed rescue program in our country. When the need or request for help is spread throughout our breed, everyone will stop and do what needs to be done. Although not the perfect dog for everyone, they are becoming increasingly popular, turning up in pets stores nationwide. Sadly, most of these puppies come from puppy mills. This is the story of Casey, a young dog rescued from a puppy mill by the Bearded Collie Club of America’s rescue program. His prospective owner was notified that a young male Beardie was available, but needed a calm, loving home due to his lack of socialization in the puppy mill.
This story is long, but I did very little editing because I wanted my readers to see how one man’s love and determination turned around a dog that was neglected, both on an emotional and physical level as well. Through his owner’s unconditional love, Casey was able to develop trust for the first time in his life and start down the long road of being a loved and wanted dog, enjoying the life every pet deserves.
“I got the e-mail from the BCCA about the 1st of August 2004, telling me that they had a Beardie that I could have if I wanted him. He was being fostered in a kennel just south of Kansas City MO. I was there to pick him up three days later. He had spent more than two years in a puppy mill, and he was an emotional mess. He was brought into the training room with his littermate, later to be named Bonnie. Bonnie would very cautiously take a treat from me, but Zeke, now Casey, wouldn’t get within 15 feet of me. He had been so matted that he had to be shaved. He was just a nervous wreck. When I took him outside he managed to rip the leash out of my hand, but Laura R., who owns the kennel managed to get him back. She is a very nice and caring lady. We stopped at a filing station in Kansas City to get gas for the trip back to Alton IL. Casey was OK when I took him out of the car for a potty break, but then they turned on a pressure washer to clean around the pumps, and Casey went totally insane, and I was very fortunate to keep hold of him. He was shaking for 30 minutes after we left there. Later I asked someone if they used pressure washers on the cages when the animals were in them at the puppy mill, and I was told that they do that. It’s no wonder he was bonkers.
After we got Casey home he got settled in pretty quickly, but he was always looking for some way to escape. I would take him to a bicycle trail on the Mississippi river for his walks, and that was by far his favorite thing to do, so he quickly learned that “Get in the car” was a good thing. He got loose three times in the next few months, but I could get him back by following him with the car with the back door open, and calling for him to get in. By this time his separation was getting pretty bad. Then on Jan. 19th after our walk, I stopped at a big discount store to pick something up. I made sure Casey was in his bed in the back of the motor home before I got out. He somehow got all the way through and slipped out while I was closing the door, without me seeing or hearing him. When I came back 20 minutes later I couldn’t believe that he was gone. Then I was told that he ran out onto the highway, and was hit by a car. He was nowhere to be seen. A policeman reported to me that he was seen at 10:30 P.M. that night hopping on three legs. I contacted Charlene about a week later when she described to me what my surroundings were, and what stand of woods Casey was in, I thought you must have been behind me somewhere with binoculars instead of almost two thousand miles away. We looked in the small stand of woods where you said he was and saw no sign of him, but as you said, he was so frightened that we would NOT see him. The next morning, a grader operator called me and reported that he saw Casey come out of that stand of woods. When I talked to you that day while looking for him, you told me he was no longer in those woods, but in the woods up on the hill behind me looking down from in the brush, and wondering who all those people were down there. That is when I told you that I had never heard him bark in the 3 1/2 months he had been with me, and you said you were telling him he must bark so those people could find him so they could help him. Later that day I drug the live trap up the hill and put it in the woods up there. I did see him up there one time, but he was about quarter of a mile away and running away as fast as he could run. About three days later there was a light snow overnight, and when I got to where I parked my car, there were Casey tracks all around where I parked it. I followed all the tracks, but none of them went into the woods. I finally found some tracks across the road that went to another stand of woods, about a quarter of a mile farther away, and they were full of his tracks, but no Casey. It had now been 15 days since he got away, and he had no survival skills, so I was very concerned about him. Later that day I got a call from the manager of a used car lot, telling me that he saw Casey on the levee behind his car lot, and he was traveling around the lagoon. I got a call from someone else before I could drive down the hill, saying he was near the other end of the lagoon. I had over 500 flyers and posters out in the area. When I got there I saw Casey standing on a one-lane road, and he looked at my car, then started to walk away, so I called him, and he ran away like he had been shot. I moved the live trap for the fourth time, and I put it on the spillway behind the car lot, as advised by a very nice young lady who is with two rescue groups, and had been helping and advising me, named Misty Norton. I went home at midnight, and at 12:30 A.M. I got a call from a deputy sheriff, who saw Casey by the spillway, but unfortunately he called him, and you know the rest. I was back there in 15 minutes, but no sign of Casey. I went back home a little after three.
I got up at seven with very little sleep. After a shower and a bite to eat I was going out the door when the phone rang. It was the manager of the car lot, saying that when he got to work there was the loudest and most insistent barking he had ever heard coming from up on the spillway. He climbed up there and as soon as Casey saw him, he stopped barking and lay down in the trap. You telling him so many times to bark so people could come to help him sure worked out. I wasn’t about to open the trap until it was in the car, so the nice people from the car lot insisted on carrying the trap down off of the levee, so this old man wouldn’t get hurt. The number of people who helped in this effort was astounding, from State Troopers handing out flyers to dog catchers providing the live trap, and just so very many people asking what they could do, that it has renewed my faith in humanity. Now the strangest part of the story to me is when the car hit Casey, his sister Bonnie in California started whining and acting strange, and wouldn’t leave her owner’s side for fifteen days. She had never barked, either. Then her owner called me while I was driving Casey to the vet in St. Louis while still in the trap. She wanted to know what was going on. Bonnie had started barking her head off and running around the house, getting everyone up, and she didn’t stop for three hours, at about 6 A.M. or 8 A.M. here. Three weeks later Casey had his right front leg amputated, and he is doing just fine. I was going to take him to the BCCA Specialty in Omaha to be in the rescue parade, but he got very sick, so we couldn’t go. He has made AMAZING improvements in the last eight months. He was better that Friday evening, so I took him to take the Canine Good Citizen test, and he passed it. Then his trainer wanted him to take the Therapy Dog test, and he passed that too. He is the sweetest, most loving dog, and I am sure grateful for your help getting him back. He still has a way to go, but he is getting there. Thank you Charlene so very much, Pat M.”
Casey has received a lot of attention when people learned of his plight and his miraculous turnaround, in spite of losing a leg during his escape. He now does animal assisted therapy and is very comfortable in his new role of helping others. He has found his niche in life. Pat, his owner, keeps me informed about the changes in Casey and I think this is the happiest ending of all: a friend of Pat’s saw a picture of Casey with only three legs. She called her daughter who plays in a rock band and suggested that they have Casey as the group’s mascot and use his picture in their promotional material. Pat’s latest update to me reported that Casey is now OFFICIALLY the mascot and poster boy for the rock group “3 Legged Dog”. They drove 140 miles round trip for Casey to meet the manager and two members of the group a couple of weeks ago, and they all fell in love with him, naturally. His first appearance with the band will be sometime in April and he is not nervous about it, but I am. This is a group of youngsters of high school and college age, but they have had some pretty good success so far. The group can be checked out at http://www.3leggeddogmusic.com. Casey is on the PHOTO and NEWS pages. People already are asking for his photo, but he hasn’t figured out how to autograph them yet. Pat concludes by saying, “I am so proud of this boy!!!”
ROCK ON, CASEY!!!
March 23 update: Pat gave me the latest update on Casey and I wanted to share this with all of you. Casey made his first appearance with the band 3 Legged Dog and has two more scheduled for later this Spring. He went to a St. Patrick’s Day parade last Friday and did great. On Monday he went to a convent and visited the retired nuns who were mostly in their 90’s and captivated them too.
Casey is an amazing dog, but Pat gets a lot of credit too. The more they do together, the deeper the bond and the more love they share and experience together. Pat saw Casey’s potential in that scared, untrusting young dog and through his sensitive training and commitment, they have forged a bond for life.
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Charlene’s email is charlene@talk-to-animals.com and she’s a wonderful lady and is amazing in communication with pets.
Our very best wishes for Leo’s recovery.
With regards,
Linda
http://www.vetlocator.com
an agressive cancer. so you must be agressive. amputation is the treatment of choice…………IF………the other 3 legs are healthy. and if the chest xrays are negative.
best results are with followup chemo
lots of pain with this tumor.
alternative methods are available but the tumor usually grows so fast and the pain is such, that amputation actually makes the dog feel a lot better.
Before retiring, I was a Veterinary Tech for 22 years. The last 5 years, in a Specialty Center working with surgeons. In my experience. Your dog would be best suited to get the amputation, sooner, rather than later, before this cancer gets a chance to metastisize. Even though he is 90 lbs, he should manage on 3 legs, especially since it is his rear leg.