After Maya’s surgery to have the bump on her leg removed, things were good. But about 3 months later the bump started growing back… This was very sad. It started off small and was growing slow. I had a weak hope that maybe it would just stop growing, maybe.
During March our whole family left for a week long vacation. When we got back and saw Maya’s leg it was shocking. The bump quadrupled in size within a week. As seen in the photo it also looked like it was starting to abscess.
We went back to the vet to see what could be done now. The only answer they gave us was to remove the leg. At this time the thought of removing her leg seemed crazy. She still had full function of her leg, she never even had a limp. So it seemed cruel to me to remove it. We went to another vet for a second opinion and they were even harsher. They told us we need to either put her down or remove the leg. At this time it was just a growing bump to me and I couldn’t understand how this could cause the end of her life. Maya is a somewhat anxious dog and the thought of taking her leg away from her was scary for me. I was concerned she wouldn’t cope well. Thinking back now I think it was me who was afraid I wouldn’t cope well. It’s hard to make major decisions for an animal who can’t tell you what they want. I desperately wished she could tell me what she wanted.
Excellent documentary, well written.
We went through almost the exact same thing with our dog. I wish we had gone straight for the amputation but we tried first a series of surgeries to remove the growth which ended up being even more distressing and ultimately didn’t work. It just wouldn’t heal.
At the end of it all we removed the leg and he was walking the same day as the surgery. I was shocked at how resilient and unaware he seemed of even missing the leg. We find he’s become a neighborhood champion – teaching kids about amputees and encouraging all of us to not take life for granted. I love our tripawd and what he’s taught our family.
Best of luck to you and yours!