Ares the dog, not ready to go yet

Ares update:

On the 15th of November we found out that Ares, our 7.5 year old neo mastiff, rottweiler, bull mastiff cross had a lesion on his right forelimb that was a week later confirmed to be Osteosarcoma (bone cancer). In the 5 weeks that have passed since then a lot has happened. We made the decision to amputate his right forelimb first and foremost for pain management reasons. Not amputating would have left him in ever increasing amounts of pain which we were not confident was going to be managed well by pain killers based on our experience thus far. His willingness to do anything had reduced. He just lay around zoning out of life and there was the constant threat of him snapping his bone at some point which the vet said would have been excruciating for him. He also would have likely had a matter of weeks of pain management before the call was made to euthanize, so based on all the information we had we decided amputation was the first and immediate step we needed to take.

So amputation was booked in and undertaken. He returned home a couple of days later to a lounge set up with beds everywhere to give him and us options with where to sleep each night. Sufficed to say, not a lot of sleeping took place. He was extremely whiney for the first 72 hours and it was hard to know if this was coming out of anaesthesia or if it was all the tramadol he was on to manage his pain. Those days were heartbreaking and the days you wonder whether it was the right thing to do, but in the end what was done was done and so it was a matter of time and adjusting his pain meds to see if it would get better.

The whining reduced as we reduced the tramadol while still managing his pain post operation. He was not as interested in food as he used to be so was losing weight steadily. As a big dog he could afford to lose some weight but we didn’t want him to lose too much too quickly. As time progressed his apatite did increase back into normal ranges.

He found it really hard work getting around on 3 legs for the first 2 weeks. Any efforts to move would result in heavy panting as he struggled to coordinate himself and hop around. He had to relearn to squat to pee (like he did when he was a puppy) instead of cocking his leg as he couldn’t balance to do that anymore.

His further test results came back from being sent away to Massey and from there chemotherapy options were researched by the vet while the amputation site healed. The chemo treatment plan was sent to Massey for a second opinion/review and it was determined that 4 treatments may be all that’s necessary (given that we’re not going for a curative option but better quality of life for longer). The estimate is that with chemo his life expectancy may be a year instead of approximately 5 months (based on mean results from research undertaken by the vet).

So the chemo treatment plan was established by an infection caused the process to be delayed for a week while a course of antibiotics was taken. We eventually started chemo last Thursday and so far his reaction to treatment has been positive. I didn’t realise how careful we would need to be around any contact with bodily fluids for the first week following treatment. The negative side effects common in dogs are vomiting and diarrhea but so far he has not had an issue with either. He has however been drinking a lot and as a result there have been some accidents inside over the last 36 hours so we’re back to managing access to the rest of the house again.

The physical healing has not been as much of a challenge for us to cope with as the psychological healing has been. To look at him during the first two weeks post operation you would swear that he was depressed and grieving the loss of his limb. He would sleep a lot and not be interested in participating in even the simplest tricks he used to engage readily in doing e.g touch (target the palm of my hand with his nose) and wagging his tail was next to non-existent for the first week or two. When he did become more mobile and wanted to get up on the couch or the bed it was hard to watch him try and use his missing limb to get up. He would move his stump from muscle memory and then stop, realising that was not effective, and look downcast. He would not greet us at the door when we came home and would hardly move when we ate, not paying any attention to our meals (and he was always a foody dog). He didn’t even want to bark at the sound of the courier driver – previously a favourite pastime of his.

The third week post op rolled around and we started to see changes. His appetite increased, his interest in what we were eating resumed and so did his willingness to engage in paying “touch” with me again. He started rolling on his back for belly rubs again. He was still not greeting us at the door yet but when you walked it the room his tail would wag upon realising it was you. The fourth week came and went and so did the depression. He got steadier on 3 legs and found ways of getting up and down off the bed and couch. He would stand for longer periods of time and started greeting us at the door again.

Now we’re in week 5 and he’s his old self psychologically and from time to time will still try and use the missing limb but it’s less and less and when he does and he realises he can’t, no longer is there a sense of loss but rather an acceptance and shift to plan B. He’s got some more things to get used to with having just received the custom made support brace for his remaining forelimb in the post. It’s not for wearing all the time but should give him more support when running round or walking for any extended period.

So both physically and psychologically he’s improving for the moment but it has come at a cost. He has lost the use of one limb and chances are he’s not got long with us but we hope to give him a good summer before he heads downhill again and we have to go through the process of deciding when is the right time to let him go. The decisions made have been based on the advice we have had from the vets on what’s best for him so we hope to have made the right calls along the way but it does take its toll on us emotionally and financially. So far we’re up to about $6k and with another 3 chemo treatments at $1,200 a pop he’ll be the $10,000 dog before this part of the process is done.

I have been trying to fundraise myself by making dog toys in the lead up to xmas. I feel better about accepting donations when I have something I can give back. I’m lucky that this time of year has been a good time for that concept so people have been receptive without feeling obligated. I’ve never been a sales person – asking people to part with their hard earned cash has always been an uncomfortable act for me.

We’re extremely lucky to have some financial support of family and friends, because while we do have pet insurance they cannot cover the full cost of treatment, just supplement what we need to pay for and don’t cover certain items e.g the custom brace. We are extremely grateful for those that donated during the give a little campaign to help us financially through the process but also the words of support that have been passed along. It’s not easy figuring out what the right thing might be to do for your fur family so it really means a lot to have unconditional support of others. So thank you for your works and for any donations you may have made. They are both greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Shelly