[suprz]

i was just wondering how your dog made it thru the surgery

[AKcrab]

Thank you! What a very nice thought!!

He made it, but that's about all I can say right now. He went in this morning, and we don't get to pick him up until 2:30 tomorrow afternoon. We asked if a visit was possible, but they try to keep the animals sedated and calm, and unfortunately seeing "mom and dad" doesn't achieve that goal.

I imagine the first few days will be a bit tough, but everything I've read from other folks having gone through an amputation is: It's worse on the owners than it is on the dog.

Long-term prognosis is not very encouraging, as only about 10% of cases end without the cancer reoccuring in a new location, but you never know, maybe we'll be one of the 10%! Have to try and maintain a positive outlook.

We've researched some homeopathic supplements to try and give him to put down any cancer that may be lurking, but honestly I don't have a lot of faith in alternative medicine. The supplement with the most promise is called Artemisinin and has been shown to reduce tumor's in some patients (both canine and human).

For those who may have missed my last thread on the topic, my 6 year old Golden/Lab/Shephard mix (Blaze) has bone cancer in his right front leg, and had to undergo amputation today. I'll try and give an update to his progress in the days to come.

If you're wondering why I didn't just update the old thread, read it to find out why.

[Stubie]

I hope he gets through it fine. I see lots of dogs with things like that at work ... I work at a kennel on Saturdays. Mostly, though, the not "normal" ones are blind.

By the way, Blaze is a mix of three of my favourite types of dawgs!!

[typoon]

Good to hear AKCrab, keep us updated on his condition. Glad everything went well and hopefully Blaze will be in the 10%

[maxelson]

AK- Thanks much for the update. We're pulling for the boy! My three pups send their best to yours.

[Timo]

Yep, keep us in the loop

--the (new) Blaze fan club

[daimoni]

.

[Anomalous]

Again, I hope your dog is doing as well as possible.

[mrfrost]

Missed the first thread (Not that I mind) so here it goes. Best of luck to your dog AKcrab. My late mother in law used to have a Jack Russel with only one toe which caused him to use only three legs and he managed just fine. They don't pee standing up anymore though.

[AKcrab]

He's home!

Blaze hopped out of the vets office, into the back of our car, and hopped right into the house. He'll be up to speed in no time, I can tell already.

The results are rather gruesome to look at, but the cancer is removed for now, and we look forward to many more months of his company.

For the not-so-squeamish, here is a link to a picture of him taken a couple hours after his arrival home.

[mrfrost]

Good to hear the little dude is ok!

Looks like a very clean job.

[Yoda's Erotic Piggyback]

Ouch, that picture isn't easy to look at but I am glad he is ok. Once it is clean and the hair grows back he will look great. I hope he makes it!

[DeathMan]

poor puppy

Soon this will be just a sad, foggy, memory.

[suprz's ghost]

i'm glad he's doing well!!!!!!!!!!!

give the little guy a scratch on the belly for me

[iOliverC]

Thats one brave dog there...nice to know he got through it healthy!

[typoon]

Glad to hear Blaze is doing well. Keep us updated on him every so often.

[davesimondotcom]

Go Blaze!!

Glad to hear the little guy is doing well, AKcrab...

Best wishes to the canine survivor!

And thanks to suprz for starting this thread. It's good to hear a happy ending!

[Timo]

Originally posted by Mr_Frost:
Good to hear the little dude is ok!

Looks like a very clean job.

give him a doggy treat from us!

[typoon]

Originally posted by Timo:


give him a doggy treat from us!

I'll second that.

[fhoubi]

That new picture set me into tears..

Surfing your homepage, you must love animals. I hope your dog stays ok akcrab.

[AKcrab]

Originally posted by fhoubi:
Surfing your homepage, you must love animals. I hope your dog stays ok akcrab.

We do love animals. The current count stands at 5 dogs and 7 cats.

Blaze is doing better then we could have imagined. We intended to keep him from doing the stairs, but turned out back for a minute on his first night home, and up he went! I can't believe how resilient dogs are!

[fhoubi]

Nice to read akcrab. BTW nice house! Where do you live?

Please keep posting about Blaze

[mollusk]

Glad to hear your dog Blaze is doing ok. My dog Jiki had his left front leg amputated a few days ago also. Some of my friends thought I was nuts to do it but he is doing fine. Harder for the humans I think. He is not in the pain he was in (cancer in bone also) and looks like it has not spread anywhere else.
We have several dogs in our neighborhood and they are all "buddies" The funniest thing is they all (3 of them) line up at the mailbox and sit at attention when the mail carrier comes because he gives them a biscuit! It is so funny to watch. And Jiki can still do that just fine. He does milk the little girl across the street for extra biscuits though. She gave him one of her stuffed animals to sleep with. Just have to be careful and keep the wieght down so extra pressure is not put on the hind legs.Mine is a BIG dog. Again glad all went ok with yours.

[The Ginger Rat]

Good luck to puppy! I didn't realize they would have to take off the whole leg (I assumed just the lower part)

However long you have him, live and enjoy every day you have together.

EDIT: What a handsome dog he is, btw.

[TheIceMan]

Originally posted by The Ginger Rat:
Good luck to puppy! I didn't realize they would have to take off the whole leg (I assumed just the lower part)

However long you have him, live and enjoy every day you have together.

EDIT: What a handsome dog he is, btw.

Yes, I second that wish. Also sending good thoughts to you, your family, and household of pets as well.

[AKcrab]

Originally posted by mollusk:
My dog Jiki had his left front leg amputated a few days ago also. (cancer in bone also)

Are you going to do any chemotherapy with Jiki? Did the vet give you the same sorta gloomy long-term prognosis as mine did?

[digimage]

Originally posted by AKcrab:
Are you going to do any chemotherapy with Jiki? Did the vet give you the same sorta gloomy long-term prognosis as mine did?

I'm very happy he pulled thru.
My Mom's Basset/Ridgeback Mix had the sane thing, but because of her weight and height it was concluded that she couldn't walk after the loss of a front leg. :-(

Seeing yours pull thru made me feel a lot better.

[davesimondotcom]

AKcrab, just noticed where you live, I have a friend who lives in Wasilla, I think... she works for the newspaper.

[Stubie]

Poor guy .... It's great to hear that he's still walking around just fine, though!

[AKcrab]

Originally posted by digimage:
My Mom's Basset/Ridgeback Mix had the sane thing, but because of her weight and height it was concluded that she couldn't walk after the loss of a front leg. :-(

Oh, how sad! We have a basset named Rosebud, and she sends her condolences.
Here is Rosebud and Blaze, almost 6 years ago when he was still a puppy.


davesimondotcom:
We have a local paper that comes out once a week: Frontiersman. How did your friend end up in the frozen north?

[Mastrap]

Hey, glad to see that pup is doing well. I once had a cat who got cancer. She looked equally gruesome after the operation but it all healed well, fur was re-grown and she was up to her usual tricks in no time at all. We fed her special cancer survivors food for a while, full of antioxidants and vitamins, then she returned to decimating the local mouse population.

[Face Ache]

You could saw all my dog's legs off and he wouldn't notice it until dinnertime when he tried to get to his bowl.

And then he'd probably just roll.