The Tripawd

Thursday was a very very bad day in our home. I took the day off to take Auburn to the vet. She's been limping and was diagnosed with arthritis in her ankle. We were going in for some routine blood work associated with the painkillers. When we arrived at the vet's office, Auburn was very excited. I opened the back of the X-terra, and she jumped right out. She landed, and immediately started screaming and yelping. It wasn't just one simple yelp. It was a series of horrific wounded animal cries. Fortunately, we were at the vet, so I managed to get her inside. She would not put any weight on her right front leg. It hung meekly at her side, and she whelped if we touched or moved it. The vet checked her, couldn't find a break, but recommended x-rays. I said, fine, obviously there's something wrong, so let's figure out what it is.

I received the dreaded phone call later that afternoon. Auburn had broken her right front leg up near the shoulder. It was a solid break, which meant whenever she moved, bones would rub together and cause tremendous pain. The bone broke because she has bone cancer, which made the bone appear moth-eaten on her x-rays. This break would never heal. There were two options: amputation or euthanasia. Our vet doesn't do amputations, and she didn't really think Auburn would be a good candidate for it, but she referred us to a clinic in Cincinnati. Thursday night was just awful. I really believed we'd have to put Auburn down in the morning because she was in constant pain. The vet even gave us a limited supply of pain killers because she felt Auburn's time was so short. Friday morning, we got Auburn up and into the car (a neighbor helped). She would whimper occasionally on the drive down. It was very somber.

The vet looked at her x-rays, examined Auburn, and started talking about amputation. There were other options--we could wait for a bone biopsy--two weeks, which would be two weeks of agony for Auburn, so we agreed that wasn't possible. He told us three-legged dogs actually do quite well. We were very concerned about her quality of life. Could she go on walks? Would she be happy and want to play? He made no promises, but in his experience, the dogs bounce back rather quickly. She'll immediately be free of the pain due to the broken bone and the arthitis in her ankle. She'd be sore due to the surgery (obviously), but dogs are quick recovereres. He pulled no punches and said Auburn might only live another year. The cancer may have spread (they saw nothing, but microscopically, it could be everywhere). Ashley and I decided to have her leg amputated. We hope it's not selfishness on our part; I'm sure there's some it, as we had to put Dudley down less than a year ago. But euthanasia is so final--there's no going back on that decision. With the amputation route, at least we'll know we gave Auburn a fighting chance.

She had the surgery yesterday, and I picked her up this afternoon. I'm amazed this is the same dog we took down there Thursday morning. Before, she would hardly move, let alone walk. I expected them to wheel Auburn out to me. Instead, the door opens, and she comes hopping through. She's a little wobbly, but the staff all said she'd be sure-footed in less than a week. We have some post-op care to do--pain medicines, antibiotics, and cold compresses. But we all think it'll be worth it.

Here's a picture of Auburn. She looks a little scary, because they had to shave a lot of her side to do the surgery. Plus, it's quite a large incision. But she seems to be feeling alright, has an appetite, and even gave Bode a couple kisses. I'm off to feed Auburn. Hopefully she eats, and then sleeps for twelve hours, which was her routine when she had four legs, so it shouldn't be hard for her to do. Pleasant day to all.