Kali started limping about a month ago but we didn’t think anything of it since it happens every once in awhile. She loves chasing birds and jumping all around so didn’t look too much into it. But then a couple weeks later, her left hind leg started not looking normal at all. She had previously gotten surgery on both of her knees around 2002 & the next one on 2003. Afterwards though she was great!
We brought her in to see her specialist. Dr. Edwards had taken a couple of x-rays. Right when he came in, I knew something was wrong. I had prepared myself for Kali possibly getting surgery but was not expecting the news that he had given us. He said that she had bone cancer and that it was so aggressive that it had basically eaten away at most of her bone. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. It literally felt like I couldn’t breathe.
He started naming some of our options. Amputating the leg was one & sending it in for a biopsy to see exactly what kind of cancer we were dealing with. I couldn’t even believe it. I never expected for Kali to be a tripawd! The next option was to put her down. I had no clue what to think then… Life without Kali? It was unimaginable. Dr. Edwards said that with the amputation & chemo she could possibly have a year. But then I started thinking, are we being selfish? How’s the quality of life for Kali going to be? Weighing out the options, my husband and I decided that it was probably best to put her to sleep. From that minute on, we pampered Kali like no other. But we couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat. I kept counting down the days before we would take her in. I kept crying thinking to myself, she’s family.. she looks so strong, it can’t be her time yet!
The next day, we met with Kali’s doctor again. He had assured us that no matter what decision we made, we would be able to do either with a clear conscience.. It sure didn’t feel that way… We left the office breaking down yet again .. and said, “no, let’s go for the amputation” no matter how much time we have left with her.. we’re gonna make sure that she enjoys every minute of it.
She went in for the surgery on 1.20.11 and we were able to pick her up the next day. However, before we were supposed to pick her up. The office called saying that both her surgeon & her regular specialist would be meeting us. I didn’t feel too good about that especially since it was his regular day off. I mean, why was he coming in? Is he giving me more bad news?
Well, that’s exactly what happened. He told us that she did great during the surgery and was even walking around already! But then came the bad news.. they noticed her front right leg swelling up a little so they took another x-ray. They spotted another tumor which they didn’t know if that was the primary tumor or if the one they just cut out was. I literally couldn’t even cry anymore. I was so exhausted emotionally & physically. I just asked okay.. what are our options now. They said one was to do nothing and then to give chemo once she was healed from her amputation. Next option would be to surgically take the tumor out but without having to amputate her leg… i was thinking .. seriously, what else is life going to throw at me?!! So here we are, taking the weekend to think about what our next step is going to be …
When we picked up Kali, I thought she’d be groggy, slow in walking .. but nope, my girl was walking fine .. a lil wobbly but fine! We ended up having to get her a play gate because she just wanted to walk all over the house & since we have hardwood floors, it wasn’t safe for her. But she’s sleeping right next to me as I type this & I don’t regret the choice that we made … I plan on going on tripawds website constantly to look for advice, suggestions, and support for everything that we’ll be going through with Kali
I’m currently looking on how I need to change her diet… I read that grain free food is best for her so I purchased solid gold barking at the moon? I tried giving it to her but I don’t think she likes it lol .. I guess I’ll have to bribe her and put some hamburger meat in there 🙂
We also have another dog, Mushu who’s a black lab mix .. We’ve kept them separated for now so that Kali can rest.. I can hear Mushu whimpering to be with Kali and it seems like she’s worries about her .. but whenever she has to pass by Kali, Kali starts growling .. I have no clue why she’s doing that.. do any of you have any advice or suggestions on this?
Welcome and thanks for joining! We’re sorry to herar about Kli, but glad you found us.
Kali is only growling because she is a pack animal who is compensating for her current weakness. That, and she is confused from the pain meds. As she heals, she will become much more confident and return to her happy self.
Be sure to check the Tripawds Nutrition blog for lots of helpful advice about diet and supplements. You’ll also find a few good home-cooked dog food recipes there and cookbooks in the Downloads blog.
If you haven’t already done so, you’ll also want to bookmark Jerry’s Required Reading List, or consider downloading the new Tripawds e-book Three Legs and A Spare for immediate answers to the most common dog amputation questions .
Please keep us posted on Kali’s progress, and post some pictures. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
PS: By blocking search engines as you have in your Privacy settings, the Tripawds community will not get notified of your updates in via the Recent Posts widget throughout the News blog. Consider making your site “visible to everyone” or start a new topic in the discussion forums and post a reply there with a link each time you update Kali’s blog. You’ll receive many more comments from members.
Kali, we hope you are feeling good today and not so grumpy (that’s OK too though, we totally understand, and besides, it’s only temporary).
One thing my Mom forgot to tell your Mom in Facebook is that you might also want to look into bisphosphonates to manage your pain and perhaps shrink the tumor. Here is a link to a blog post we did about it, “Bisphosponates: When Amputation Isn’t an Option.”
When it comes to cancer, there are no easy answers unfortunately, but if there’s anypawdy who knows how to seize the day for all we have, it’s dawgs. I know you will too.