jaym1

everyone else has already given good advice, so i dont have much to add. my greyhound is closing in on 3.5 months post-amputation. when people say the first two weeks are the hardest, it can be difficult to understand what they mean, and to what degree they mean it. in my case the first two weeks were the hardest on me. for my dog? honestly, i get the sense it wasnt too bad for him -- or at least, not nearly as bad as i expected it was going to be. once he came home from the hospital, he stopped whining and was just a little slow until he got off his heavy pain meds. but the general sadness, worry, and misgivings i had for those couple weeks were actually, physically exhausting. so i would say this: preparation for the care of your dog post-surgery is fairly straight forward. listen to the advice people have given you here. preparing yourself psychologically is less easy. having gone through the whole experience, however, i can honestly say that it was 100% worth it, even with the financial and emotional cost. tempo was back in fine form amazingly fast. i hope we have a long time together still, but even these only 3+ months since surgery have seemed like an ocean of time, and he's been able to be a happy and rambunctious dog for what must, to him, seem like a forever series of sunny days, dog treats, long walks, and evenings on his favorite side of the couch.

unexpected question: has anyone put an osteo greyhound through chemo and actually had the dog deal with each treatment progressively easier? from all the reading i had done, i had expected chemo treatments 4,5 and 6 to be really hard, but the opposite seems to be true. treatment 2 was substantially harder than the first one, but treatment 3 seemed to hit him much less severely. treatment 4 was yesterday afternoon and he's barely skipped a beat. he was more tired than usual yesterday, but that was it. today he was maybe a little slower than normal, but it was also around 90 degrees outside, and like any greyhound, they both move like theyre walking through cement when the weather gets like this. yesterday and today he was up and excited for walks, and even wanted to take his fetch ball with him. is there any perspective from which i shouldnt be relieved about this? is it somehow possible that the efficacy of the carboplatin is somehow no longer there, like hes building up a resistance?

its been just about three months since amputation, and tempo continues to do well. i was a little startled that some of his skin started to turn the color of an eggplant -- mostly in the area where his shoulder used to be, but the oncologist seemed relatively unconcerned, and it doesnt seem to be any sort of infection, nor is it bothering him. otherwise, he remains active -- extremely active, in fact. we still play fetch multiple times per day until he is exhausted, and i have started taking them on some increasingly long walks, which he seems to do well on. he gets a little more wild than he used to when i come home, and he has now taken to doing THIS every morning at 6:30 until i wake up. which is to say, all is well for now.

i'm not sure what your particular situation was, but i simply forwarded all of my dog's vet records to healthy paws via email when i signed up, and that was fine. no questions asked. i definitely recommend doing that right now, at the beginning, and then following up before your 30-day refund period is over, so that you can know up-front if there are any conditions that they would consider to be preexisting. your vet can easily email you all of your records. the whole process takes no time.

third chemo treatment on friday. it hit him for about 24 hours, during which he really didnt move at all, and he immediately threw up when we went for a walk at night (i think it was the jarring motion of his irregular gait). but by the next day he was getting better, though still slow. sunday was normal, though a little off, and today he's back to full strength. i was at home studying for a class this afternoon, and i heard a commotion. when i looked up, tempo was absolutely rampaging through their toy box, pulling out each toy, flinging it everywhere, then going back, taking the next one out, and repeating. i hadnt seem him do that in. . . i dont know how long. a year, maybe? i was also able to put a few pounds on him, so that he was back up to 67.3 on the scale at the vet (he was about 73-75 with all four legs), so the sardines and cottage cheese are paying off. im in kind of a weird place though, where, after the diagnosis, i was basically prepared for him to die, not to get better, and i find myself weirdly reluctant to be too excited about his progress, because i dont want it to come crashing down again. i know its a counterproductive, not-exactly-positive way to look at it, but it just sort of pops into my head. The squirrel hiding on the other side of that telephone pole just lost the staring contest. Even with three legs, he's still a hunter.

it is angell. anyhow, good point. i specified that i am in boston, as i am sure that cost of care is considerably lower in less urban areas or at smaller practices. speaking locally, from what i have observed, on a lot of procedures, angell is not necessarily far above the cost of other area facilities. however, their exam fees are substantially more expensive than they are in a lot of places, which adds a significant amount to the overall cost of care. indeed, their quality of care has so far been superb and, as a major area veterinary hospital, they have a lot of diagnostic and therapeutic treatments and tools available to them in-house that a lot of vets wouldnt necessarily have. it doesnt hurt that its 2 minutes away from me by car, either.

In case anyone is reading this whose dog has just been diagnosed, and who is wondering about next steps AND for whom cost is an issue, I thought I would post the following info: The emergency exam during which Tempo was diagnosed took place on March 21. It is now May 20th -- exactly two months later. In addition to that first visit, Tempo has had an amputation, Two rounds of chemo, a thorax x-ray, a number of blood tests, and many prescriptions. We live in Boston, and so far the total billings from the vet come in at $6,167. I only paid for the first dose of carboplatin, as OSU has provided me with 4 free dosages. So without OSU, we'd be looking at about $6500 on the dot. There are still 3 to 4 more rounds of chemo to go. Even without the carbo, its $180 per treatment. SO figure $750 more, plus 2 more x-rays ($220 each) Thus, without OSU help, from diagnosis through chemo treatment 6, we'd be looking at at just about $9000. With OSU, it'll end up at around $7500, and that's without taking anything unexpected into account.

Sorry for your loss -- it's painful. And for everyone else dealing with this.

How long did it take you until Twiggy was able to go on the super long walks you're always talking about? I get Tempo a ton of exercise, but almost all of it involves walking to the dog park (1 block from home), and playing vigorous games of fetch, which usually last for 10 to 15 minutes. When we walk, he can sometimes start panting quite soon -- obviously because of the whole missing a front leg thing -- but doesn't necessarily slow down. It's now been two months since amputation, and I'd love to take him on some of the greyhound adventure walks that happen around here, but I just don't know how to gauge his stamina, or how quickly to build it up.

well, good news for now. its been two months since amputation (just about). tempo had his first chest x-ray today, and it looked fine. unfortunately his WBC count was down around 1400 suddenly, so he couldnt get his chemo today. the oncologist, who i like very much, told me that there is sometimes a delayed reaction to treatment, like this, over the course of chemo therapy, and not to worry. we're just going to go back next week. but in the meantime, more of this and this and this

raw hide can absolutely cause upset stomaches. my two used to be incapably of tolerating it, but they love rawhide so much, and have now seemed to adjust to it so that its no longer an issue. however, every now and again i'll forget to take their rawhides away (i only allow around 15 or 20 minutes per night), and when that happens, they can definitely have an upset stomach from overdoing it.

thanks -- very good advice, as usual. good day for the dogs. they had cottage cheese with their breakfast, sardines for lunch, and leftover steak while we were visiting my sisters house. it is hard not to worry, thoug, especially with his exam coming up at the end of the week. ive been running my hands up and down tempo's remaining leg bones to check for irregularities, swelling, and/or bumps. he does have a weird thing going on in his hind leg, just above the hock. i cant tell if its swelling or muscle tissue, but he doesnt seem to have it on the other leg. its not warm to the touch, and he's not bothered when i give it a squeeze. its possible its been there his whole life, but now im being extra paranoid. in other news, getting ready to go outside in the morning is his favorite time.

he's got a chemo session and chest x-ray on friday. he is super energetic, and it is the first fairly humid stretch of mild-to-warm weather of the year, so it could very easily be that he's just not adjusted to the temperature yet. but its impossible not to panic, since the last time i thought it was probably nothing he ended up having his leg amputated 24 hours later.

tempo has been doing a ton of panting today and tonight. its making me very worried.

he seems to be doing ok with the cut. i've tried to keep it clean, and it doesnt seem to bother him too much unless i give it a good squeeze. the vet wanted me to come into the er, but i could tell they were just going to clean it out and put him on antibiotics, and i cant keep paying the ER fee as i often as i do, so they just put him on claivmox and he seems to be doing fine. still not healed, but he doesnt seem to be paying much attention to it. he continues to look a little thinner to me than i'd like, and despite sardines with his breakfast and cottage cheese with his dinner (each meal is two cups of kibble), he doesnt seem to be putting any of that back on. but in the meantime, we're still having fun every day. he was in fine form yesterday, and barked himself blue in the face at a couple dogs who were roughhousing at the park. it used to annoy me to no end when he did that, but thats what he loves to do, and as far as im concerned he can bark until the whole neighborhood wakes up. gotta make hay while the sun is shining. i just hope it'll be sunny for a long time.

ugh. tempo sliced one of his front paw pads open on something. the cut is sort of horizontal, almost as though it were cut from the side, so it goes deep, but its parallel to the surface of the pad, which means there's basically a flap of pad almost hanging off. i have to figure out how to help heal this. i really dont want to have to go for yet another ER vet visit. it doesnt seem to be affecting his gait, and he is ready to run and play fetch and walk at any time, but then again, how would i even know if its bothering him since he wont be showing a limp with three legs? anyone know what the best course of treatment is for something like this? other than this, he's been doing phenomenally well this week. he was sick the day of chemo, a little slow the next day, and then back to full speed -- 110%, even -- by the following day, and has been that way ever since.

doing better today, but still very slow and very little stamina. he will jump up and get excited to go outside, just like normal, but he'll already be slowing down by the time we get to the end of the block. it kills me to see him like this, but hopefully by tomorrow the spring will start coming back into his step. no accidents today, and he ate all his food. going to go back to giving him a sardine with breakfast, and some cottage cheese with dinner in order to keep some weight on him starting tomorrow. i really do miss seeing him run. he was so majestic at full stride. i thought rocko was limping yesterday, and i spent the entire afternoon with a feeling in my stomach like i had swallowed wet cement for breakfast. thankfully, it turns out that he finally demonstrated an ability for adaptive thought: the only trick he knows is "paw," and now every time he wants something -- treat, a walk, up on the bed, breakfast, dinner, or attention -- he stands in front of me and holds his paw off the ground daintily waiting for me to take it.

second chemo today. tempo is a little tired again and, though he ate all his food, he was a lot slower about it. he was at the vet for the treatment from 9:30 til 10:30. because of this, i got home about an hour later than i normally would have. unfortunately, tempo pooped (voluminously, though also solidly, at least) on the antique rug by the front door, and appears to have peed on another rug. this is extremely unusual behavior for him, so i am assuming his system is just being over-taxed by the chemo, and he just couldnt wait that extra time. duly noted for the future.

when i'd had non-bandage-worthy cuts, or cuts on their feet that needed to be exposed (but not licked raw) i just put one of their winter boots over the leg. the boots are lightweight, breathable, and close fitting enough that they dont get in the way, but not so tight that they defeat the purpose of taking off the bandage. i've have the boot on each dog for ten day stretches (they both got lacerations at different times that required stitches)

today was an even better day. i'm wondering if his sudden improvement might not correlate to the end of his course of anti-biotics? he had been on clavimox for a UTI after finishing his post-surgery antibiotics, and the timing seems to match up. but it could just be a coincidence. about ten days ago, i started trying to see if he'd be interested in playing with his favorite rubber bull, which he had been inseparable from before surgery. i thought it might be a way to help him return to a feeling of normality. relative quickly, he's gone from begrudgingly catching the ball when i lightly toss it to him, to trotting after it if i throw it high up in the air so it bounces right in front of him, to not wanting to leave the house without it, and pulling on the end of the leash when we do; all the way to today, when he ran after it for the first time. i kicked it just so he'd go trot after it, thinking it would be good exercise. but i was shocked to see him bolt after it, then come back for more.

did you ever find out if OSU would provide you with free carboplatin for a non-amputee osteo greyhound? this is a complex issue, and i havent really looked into it. but if the medical literature says that this therapy really could bring up to a year of quality time, then you'd effectively be going for the same result that people who opt for amputation go for, and at a total price that is not outlandishly far above amputation, especially since you have insurance. even still, that is a serious number. if you have the finances, and are comfortable with it, why not? part of me reflexively says, "no way" when the cost of care that may very well not work starts to get that high. on the other hand, life is the scarcest of the scarce, and the most precious of the precious. even a good day is priceless on its own, nevermind a year.

today was a great day. he had lots of energy, has been excited to get outside all four times we've left the house, and has been endlessly playing fetch once there. he even chased some dogs around and got to obnoxiously bark right in their faces when they were cornered -- his favorite thing to do. it has also been pleasantly cool with extremely low humidity. i think that might be helping. video that proves he still has good snout-eye coordination. miraculously, he can still dig, albeit a lot slower. this is a great relief. playing in the sun

he's only had one. with the carboplatin its one treatment every three weeks. we'll be going with 4 to 6 treatment depending on how he's doing once we get further along. today and yesterday have been great days. he had his energy back, and was close to his old vivacious self. he was swooping around in wild circles every time i got near the door, and we played (easy) fetch three out of the four times we went to the park. he even chased another dog yesterday. right now he's laying next to me on the couch with his snout on my lap.

yep, we stayed inside yesterday morning for as long as possible, but eventually i had to bring them outside. unfortunately i also had to cancel his vet appointment for his second post-chemo evaluation. hoping i can reschedule for monday.

interesting. his WBC was almost normal a week after his first chemo. but he has another precautionary blood test this friday, so maybe that will reveal something. this whole thing is like a non-stop emotional roller coaster. even when im not thinking about it, im probably thinking about it. which makes it all really exhausting.