It’s been less than 24 hours since I started this blog and already I feel better, and stronger. Thank you for your comments and support.
We will be letting the vet know our decision on Monday. It’s been so hard. Yes, we can have most of the mass removed surgically, and then have her go through four to six weeks of radiation, and then she would still have her leg, but why? They can’t give a guarantee that they will get it all and what have we put Molly through in the meantime? The tumor is on her wrist. She would probably always be lame and how long would it take to heal?
I would love to have a “whole” dog, but would rather have a dog who is missing a leg, and adapting well, to a whole dog who went through hell to stay that way. I sometimes wonder if we want them to keep their leg for our sake, not for theirs. They will adapt. And they will adapt just fine from what I’ve seen here. But the thought that we are making a life changing decision for them is a bit overwhelming.
I look at her now, with her bandaged leg, looking up at me with those sappy brown eyes, and my heart is breaking. Am I doing the right thing?
Yeah, I think so … it feels right. I’m already grieving for her, but it still feels right.
This is so true. And all too often we hear from people who put their dog through multiple, painful, expensive surgeries to “save” the leg, only to proceed with amputation anyway. Think about how in the wild, dogs will chew off their own leg to free themselves of pain.
They can’t make these medical decisions for themselves so it is up to us. Yes, it is overwhelming, but we must do what is best for them and not let our silly human emotions get in the way.
Molly is a cutie. Best wishes in the decisions you face. Pick a treatment option, stick with it, don’t look back, and above all … have no regrets.
Again, thank you so much for the support, and the words. You have no idea how much it helps. Being an animal lover means having to make decisions that hurt like hell, but if we really love them then we have to love them their way, not ours. The slogan for this site is perfect. And I would rather nurse her and love her through losing a leg, to adapt wonderfully, then nurse her and love her through a horrible experience she won’t understand, only to wonder if she is ever really truly out of pain. We have a phenomenal vet too. He pulls no punches. He genuinely cares … even though when we go to the vet’s, Molly is like the Tasmanian Devil the moment she sees another creature of any kind. Disrupts the whole place. It takes two of us just to take one small dog to the Vet. One to hold the dog back from scaring the crap out of every animal in the room and one to take care of the bill and such. (It’s a little embarassing … lol)
Yes, it certainly is a difficult decision. However, I don’t think dogs reflect upon the past in the way we humans do. They are very much in the “now,” and Molly will make her way with 3 legs without pining about the loss of a limb. You will lead the way with your optimistic, encouraging comments, and she will do just fine. My Daisy is a very happy girl (daisy.tripawds.com). As long as she is loved and still gets to play some, she’s fine. Since I didn’t amputate until 5 1/2 months after diagnosis, it was actually a great relief to have her pain-free and alive, and I’ve never spent one moment looking back!
I’m so glad you found this community. And you have an adorable dog there, and I bet she’s courageous as well.
Lexi (Daisy’s momma)
gayle too had a tumor in her right wrist. it was too imbedded with all the other ‘anatomy’ to promise clean margins, and radiation (with all the anesthesia, etc) didn’t seem the right thing for her. she had her ampawtation feb 17th, and really bounced back remarkably well. after five rounds of chemo, we are enjoying each and every moment, hoping for the best and living the now. what ever you decide, decide it out of love and it’s the right thing to do. molly sure is a cutie pie!!
charon & gayle
You know what the weird thing is? Amputation is more a life-changing decision for pawrents than it is for us dawgs.
Your little Molly Taz will amaze you with her ability to keep on living life to the fullest. Just wait.
Hang in there. We’re cheering your girl on and will do what we can to help OK?
I’m sorry to hear about Molly’s diagnosis… 🙁
I know what a difficult decision it is to make about the amputation. I did it for my 10yr old golden retriever Jake after he was diagnosed with bone cancer in his front right leg… He did pretty well after his surgery and recovered quickly… Removing his painful leg was a good thing…
Your Molly is absolutely adorable!!! 🙂
Angel Jake and Wolfie’s Mom
I’m so sorry to hear that Molly is going through what we have all been through but you have come to the right place. I was one of those owners who did everything but amputation when Mackenzie was first diagnosed with osteosarcoma and ended up having to do the amputation in the end. We did radiation and that didn’t work (it turned out that Mackenzie had a fracture in her leg from the cancer while undergoing these radiation treatments.) Once we had no choice but to do the amputation I never looked back. No regrets. Should have done the amputation before we went through all of this other trauma. I’m not even sure why vets even recommend radiation when eventually, in most cases, it ends up failing. We are now going on 8 months since Mackenzie’s surgery, 10 months since she was diagnosed and she’s still doing great. It sounds like you are in a good place to make your decision and after what I’ve gone through to make mine, I will tell you honestly that amputation is the only way to go. But you have to be ready for this…I wasn’t at the beginning and then was forced into it – and thank God I was because I wouldn’t have Mackenzie with me now had it not been for the amputation. So keeping our paws crossed for you. All the best to you and Molly!
Kami (Mackenzie’s Mom)