bolar Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 The week before Thanksgiving our 10 year old, 80 lb. male Pal, wouldn't walk on his rear right leg. He kept holding it up. Our regular Vet was on vacation so one of the other Vets in the office looked at him. She took an X-ray and found a mass on the top of his Tibia. She said given his age and being a greyhound it's probably cancer and we might consider taking the leg off. She forwarded his X-rays to Dr. Couto for his opinion. We had to wait for Dr. Couto because of the holiday but he came back and said it looked like cancer and we might want to take the leg. We scheduled the amputation for today but when our regular vet saw him he was surprised that Pal was walking perfectly normal on the leg. We told him that since he has been on the anti-inflammatory and pain pills he has been fine. He walks and plays like he always did. We try to tone it down, expecially inside, but he still wants to play. Well the Vet wanted to take another X-ray of the leg to see it again and if there was any change. There is a mass on the outside of Pal's tibia(it was on the first X-ray also), which our Vet found curious. We dicided to do a biopsy to see what it is. With the biopsy we will at least definitely know what we are dealing with. It was kind of hard to decide to chop the leg off just because he is old and a greyhound. We should know the results by Tuesday. It doesn't look good but at least we will know what we are dealing with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houndtime Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Wishing you and Pal good luck, whichever way it goes. Quote Irene Ullmann w/Flying Odin and Mama Mia in Lower Delaware Angels Brandy, John E, American Idol, Paul, Fuzzy and Shine Handcrafted Greyhound and Custom Clocks http://www.houndtime.com Zoom Doggies-Racing Coats for Racing Greyhounds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiveRoooooers Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Best of luck to you and your Pal, please keep us posted ok? My first greyhound was Pal (Pagliaccio), that was 13 greyhounds ago! Quote Old Dogs are the Best Dogs. Thank you, campers. Current enrollees: Punkin. AnnIE Oooh M Angels: Pal . Segugio. Sorella (TPGIT). LadyBug. Zeke-aroni. MiMi Sizzle Pants. Gracie. Seamie . (Foster)Sweet. Andy. PaddyALVIN!Mayhem. Bosco. Bruno. Dottie B. Trevor Double-Heart. Bea. Cletus, KLTO. Aiden 1-4. Upon reflection, our lives are often referenced in parts defined by the all-too-short lives of our dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annette Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 I will be keeping you in my thoughts. Towards the end of October our 83 pound Pogo developed a slight limp in his right front leg. It wasn't persistent and he put weight on that leg. Took him to the vet and of course he did not limp at the vet. There was some swelling just above his wrist and the xrays also showed a fuzzy, swollen area. We actually had the xrays done a 2nd time when our vet got in a demo model of a digital xray machine in so that the xrays would be more convenient to email to Dr. Couto. Dr. Couto did confirm that the xrays showed cancer. On November 10th we went to the vet school in Madison, Wisconsin for a consult with the oncology department. They did a needle biopsy and were able to confirm cancer. On November 20th Pogo had his right front leg amputated. He has taken us on a roller coaster ride, but he appears to be on the mend as best as a dog with cancer can be. He is walking without assistance, doing slow trots to the ramp we built for him, and occasionally "pogo'ng". Please keep us updated. Annette Quote Annette, mom to Banjo (AJN Spider Man) & Casey (kitty), wife to Roy. Mom to bridgekids: Wheat (GH), Icabod (GH), Scarlett (Cab's Peg Bundy), Rhett (Kiowa Day Juice), Dixie (Pazzo Dixie), Pogo/Gleason (Rambunctious), and Miriam (Miriam of Ruckus) and Spooky, Taffy, Garfield, & Lefty (kitties) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP_the4pack Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 If you go the amp route, I just want to let you know I did a front leg amp on a 12 yr old. She had a great 6 mos before OS struck another leg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolar Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 Thanks for the replys. I have been scouring the forums for information and decided to post our saga, mabe it will help someone the the future. Pal's left leg looks good, they x-rayed it the same time they did the right. They like to compare. His lungs look good too, but of course there are no guarantees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 I can't believe your vet would second guess Dr. Couto. I hope, in the meantime, you've got some strong pain meds? Good luck to you and your boy. Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carronstar Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Holding you and Pal in my thoughts and prayers. Know that we are all here for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_daerr Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 It's certainly a hard decision to make, especially if you have no conclusory evidence of cancer, other than a "strong likelihood" from x-rays. Typically, they would do a biopsy or FNA (fine needle aspirate) to get cells from the mass. That will at least be able to tell you if the mass is benign or malignant. It does sound somewhat abnormal for another "mass" to be appearing on the outside, but what you could be seeing is all the residual fluid build-up from swelling. Or, it could be a type of cancer like fibrosarcoma, that starts off in the soft tissue and cartilage, then eventually work their way into the bone. Even though I'm sure your vet is perfectly competent, my advice would be to seek a specialty clinic with an oncology department. As I'm sure you already know, OSA is extremely painful, and isn't really the type of cancer that you can "wait and see" with. Best of luck to you and Pal. Keeping my fingers crossed for a good update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolar Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 We got the biopsey back and it is for a fact osetosarcoma. Given this extra week to research and talking to people, we have decided not to take the leg. We don't know how much time he has before we make that last trip to the vet, but he will be comfortable until then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carronstar Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 I am so very sorry to hear this. Cancer stinks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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