winnie

MBewley, how did your Domino do with surgery? Surgery isn't an option for Beatrix - suspicious area is on her pelvic bone.

We had our consultation with Dr. Gordon (oncologist) today. He reviewed all the x-rays and agrees it's a mystery. He felt that a CT would be the best approach. He's not confident that they'd get the right spot for a bone biopsy with current information. Unfortunately he wasn't able to do the CT today. We've got an appointment for Tuesday. Beatrix is about the same. Dr. Gordon added amantadine to her regimen to keep her comfy.

Yes, large. You cut off the excess.

We put them on our dogs starting in March, I believe. We got them based on a recommendation from Petra at SAGE. We have yet to find a single flea or tick on our three hounds, even after being in Gettysburg for GIG. We got ours through Chewy.com at a great sale price.

Our greyhounds have killed birds and rabbits outside. It happens. They also coexisted peacefully within our home with three cats.

I will post an update. I e-mailed Dr. Couto to let him know we have an appointment with Dr. Gordon. This was his response: GREYT! Please tell Ira hi for me; he is a great guy! Guillermo I just hope Beatrix makes it until Thursday. We're just taking things day by day.

Beatrix has an appointment with a radiation oncologist next Thursday. We're seeing Dr. Ira Gordon in Springfield. Jen, he also works Fridays at the LifeCenter in Leesburg. So, I'm sure he's the same one. He was actually booked next week, but made room in his schedule for Beatrix.

Beatrix had her senior exam, including a full blood panel, about six weeks ago - right before this all started. So, hoping we don't have to repeat it.

Thank you for the feedback on costs, Jen. That is certainly a lot more than my internet research estimates, but I'm guessing those didn't come from the DC Metro area. It's just frustrating not having a definitive diagnosis. Right now, only Dr. Morris is convinced it is osteosarcoma and this is not his area of expertise. We went to see him for a surgical consult for a possible soft tissue injury. I have at least three other vets who are not convinced that is what we are dealing with due to the location and that she is a galgo (not saying osteosarcoma can't happen in galgos, but it is less common). I'm not comfortable making an end of life decision without knowing what we're dealing with. The investment is worth my peace of mind even if the outcome is the same.

I followed-up with Dr. Couto again yesterday and received this response this morning. So, rather than the bone biopsy, I think we'll take his advice and look into having a CT scan done first since that certainly seems less invasive. Based on my quick internet research, it appears to be roughly the same cost. We do not have pet insurance, but I'd like a definitive diagnosis even if it does not change our treatment plans. Hi Laura; I am in Span lecturing at a Congress with other oncology colleagues and I just shared Beatrixs radiographs with them; we are concerned about a pelvic mass, but because she has so much poop in the colon, it is difficult to outline it (and for me, personally, to feel confident about the diagnosis). Do you know if they palpated any abnormalities in rectal exam? If she were my dog, I would strongly consider doing a CT scan to further define the problem. Please let me know and hope the girls is well, Guillermo

We're treating palliatively assuming it is osteosarcoma. We walked this path before and we know how it ends. We're inclined to let Beatrix go in the very near future rather than wait. Now doubts have been put in my head that it may or may not be something else. It's a complete rollar coaster of emotions. I just want a definitive diagnosis.

Yeah, the vet we saw on Friday was pretty definitive despite not have oncology listed as one of his specialties. He was also not helpful in suggesting treatment options - guess vet surgeons have as good of a bedside manner as human ones. I'm getting ready to e-mail Dr. Couto and our primary vet again (now that I'm not in a meeting on an iPhone). If we do pursue this further, I will see Dr. Stewart who is the oncologist that reviewed the x-rays for my vet friend - Springfield, VA isn't far from us. My vet friend said that Dr. Gordon there is friends with Dr. Couto and has an interest in greyhound cancers too.

Jen, just saw your ETA. The vet we saw on Friday who took the x-rays above is not an oncologist. We were there under the pretense it was a MCL/ACL injury. Oncology was not listed as one of his specialities (Dr. Morris bio - http://vrc-nova.com/surgery/meet-our-veterinarians/). They do not have an oncologist on staff from what I can tell The vet who reviewed the x-rays as a favor to my vet friend at the barn is an oncologist (Dr. Stewart bio - http://www.vetreferralcenter.com/oncology.htm). She is not convinced it is osteosarcoma and is the one recommending the bone biopsy.

Dr. Couto has the x-rays. I sent him another follow-up email last night. No response. I'm going to send both him and our primary vet an email later to ask their thoughts on a bone biopsy too. I still very much appreciate any first hand accounts about bone biopsies in case we go that route.

This is frustrating because we took Beatrix to a specialist vet. We were referred by our primary vet. He came highly recommend by two vet friends. We thought Beatrix may need TPLO surgery. Apparently he is an excellent surgeon, but his bedside manner was lacking. We were not adverse to having Beatrix sedated for x-rays. The staff there opted not too. He was also pretty definite that Beatrix has osteosarcoma and said there was nothing to be done. Now we've got others telling us that maybe it's not osteosarcoma, x-racks suck, need a bone biopsy, etc. We don't have experience with other types of cancer to know if it will change our plans. We have been through osteosarcoma before and won't drag things out for our benefit when the end result is always death. However, now I've got people questioning if she even has osteosarcoma. I just want a clear diagnosis.

I'd like to know what Dr. Couto thinks too. I have emailed him the x-rays, but after expressing initial interest in Beatrix's case, he has been unresponsive.

I posted a few days ago that our galgo Beatrix is thought to have osteosarcoma in her pelvis. I forwarded x-rays to Dr. Couto who asked if we had a bone biopsy done. We did not. I have not heard further from Dr. Couto. He has neither confirmed nor ruled out osteosarcoma. The vet we saw said he was pretty convinced it was osteosarcoma. Our regular vet isn't as convinced. A vet who boards her horse at the same barn as mine also shared Beatrix's x-rays with an oncologist vet friend. Her impression was that it looks like an MLO (multilobular osteochondroma) and not an osteosarcoma based on the location. She feels that bone biopsy is extremely important in this case because she thinks if it is not an osteosarcoma then you will have a better outcome regardless. So... has anyone had a bone biopsy done? I read this article and have concerns about the pain and risks. Is it worth knowing for certain what type of cancer we're dealing with? We plan on doing palliative care regardless. Due to the location in Beatrix's pelvis, amputation is not an option. Nor do we want to put her through other treatments if it just delays the inevitable. https://pethelpful.com/dogs/Dog-Bone-Cancer-Biopsy-What-to-Expect-and-Associated-Costs Copy of Beatrix's most recent x-rays.

No, he was having issues getting x-rays in the format he needed from the specialist vet. I sent another request to them yesterday. Two vet friends agree that it's osteosarcoma based on the x-ray I posted on Facebook.

I'm so sorry. We adopted Encarna via Galgos del Sol. Travis, who runs Love, Hope & Believe Galgo Adoption in the Chicago area lost one of his galgos to osteosarcoma too. I hate this F*** disease!

Sadly, we've been in this club before with greyhound Faye Oops. I just wasn't expecting to be here with our first galgo. I just hope that Beatrix's 3.5 years as an American made up for whatever she endured for 7 years in Spain.

Following heart hound Faye Oops diagnosis with osteosarcoma in October 2011, we attended a talk given by Dr. Couto. He compared osteo in retired racing greyhounds, AKC greyhounds and galgos. Dr. Crouto has said that he just doesn't see very many cases of osteosarcoma in galgos. I remember thinking that we needed to get a galgo because I simply could not face this demon again. We adopted Beatrix from Spain in October 2013. She wasn't fostered first. We picked her up when she arrived at JFK. She was 7 y/o and fit in well with our pack. I have fallen in love with this breed - similar, yet different from the retired racers we've had. Beatrix had her baggage, but watching her transformation has been so incredibly rewarding too. She is a sweet, goofy girl at home. In public, she tends to be aloof. I often wished others could see the Beatrix we know. The limping started about a month ago. We took Beatrix to our vet three weeks ago. X-rays appeared to be clear and he suspected a soft tissue injury - possibly a MCL/ACL. He gave us medication and told us to limit her activity. None of us suspected osteosarcoma. Beatrix seemed to be better with the medication until this past week. She started dragging her left hind leg and stopped getting on furniture. Our vet referred us to a specialist. We were thinking she might need TPLO surgery. Instead, the vet diagnosed her with the unthinkable - osteosarcoma in her pelvis. There is absolutely nothing to be done. We don't know how much longer we'll have with Beatrix. We have medication to keep her comfortable. I'm a strong believer in a day too early than a day too late. We know our days with Beatrix are numbered and won't prolong her pain. I have to leave for a business trip Monday to Thursday and hope she'll be here when I get home. I know that DH will do what is right in my absence. I just hope that I get to see her face and hold her one last time when she crosses the bridge. Galgos are wonderful dogs. Since adopting Beatrix, we added Encarna to our pack in July 2016. I have absolutely no regrets. We thought adopting a galgo meant that we could escape this horrible disease. We were wrong. We have sent Beatrix's x-rays to Dr. Couto. He confirmed that it is uncommon, but not impossible. At the very least, maybe Beatrix's case can help his research.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Facing this now and it never gets any easier.

Our Darcy lost her vision as she aged. If you have other animals in the house, I'd caution you that Otis may become more reactive as his vision declines.

Thank you for the updates. So glad to see Cassie doing well.

We were apprehensive when one of our super senior hounds had to have a dental years ago. It wasn't so much about cleaning, but she had a bad tooth abscess and other teeth that needed removal. Our vet said that it would be worse to let her continue to deal with that pain. I believe she had something like seven teeth removed. She got through the procedure just fine and was able to live out her remaining 1.5 years without dental pain.