brock
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osteosarcomaHello
Sadly my wee boy has this horrible cancer and only has a short time left with us.
Has anyone here been through this with their dogs.
If so how did you cope what decisions did you make.
Is this common to the breed, he's a GSP.
Any thoughts experiences would be much appreciated.
Regards Brock
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cressy
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Oh I am so sorry.
I had a weim with a long term debilitating disease and although not cancer she was in pain and confused towards the end. All I can say is, enjoy what quality of life you all can together - you will know when it is time to say goodbye.
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Helen
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Oh, I'm sorry to hear that Brock.
Helen
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brock
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The news absolutely knocked me for six it just happened so sudden.
Within ten days it has gone from being a limp which the vet suspected cruciate ligament damage to being diagnosed with the osteo to having his leg amputated 
This will leave him pain free hopefully for however long he has left.
He his recovering very quick from the op and will soon be his normal self.
Thankyou for the kind replys
Regards Brock
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münstermanager
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So sorryHi Brock
I only saw your posting late last night, so sorry for the tardy reply. I am so very sorry to hear your news. Poor dog, poor you.
I don't know if osteosarcoma is common in the GSP. I had a Large Münsterländer with osteosarcoma a couple of years ago. I couldn't find out much about it within the breed, but I later spoke to a member of the LM Health Committee. It didn't appear to be common. Do you have a Health Committee for the GSP? I guess you must. They may be able to help you. If not, you could talk to the Club Secretary.
Like yours, Wooster (my LM) appeared to have cruciate damage. He'd had cruciate damage (strain, not rupture) before. The x-ray showed an odd pattern but it could have been osteo-arthritis according to the orthopaedic specialist. The vet didn't want to do anything at the time & had discussed Wooster's case at a conference amongst specialists in the States and so I went to a leading homeopathic vet. In the meantime, the vet spoke to a senior oncologist at the AHT & decided to take the amputation/chemo (much kinder than it used to be) route. They thought it would give the dog a year with any luck. It didn't, but he was incredibly happy. I mean really very happy and he looked brilliant - like a 3 year old dog, not a just turned 8 year old dog with cancer.
He, too, recovered very quickly from his op and, by gum, he could go like greased lightening. It was hard to keep up. He was still restricted as the vet wasn't sure how strong the other cruciate was but he had been on restricted exercise many times in his short life through injury after injury and Foot & Mouth and thrived most on human contact, so it didn't really affect him as he could still play with other dogs, jump in sticky oozy mud and point at the pheasant in the garden....
You ask how people coped with their decisions.... Having seen the homeopathic vet the day before the amputation, I was very confused and was totally unsure if I had made the right decision. Several days later, I knew that I had. As it happened, everything the homeopathic vet said would happen did happen, but the dog was very very happy and that is what this was all about. Friends, colleagues and so on, took it very differently. Friends (?!) who criticize me all the time actually didn't, but some others were quite unnecessary. I realized that not everyone would agree with my decisions, obviously. Some that did not, just did not speak to me for 6 months and were then back to normal. If they really disapproved, I thought that was a good way to handle it. Others just constantly criticized me and said i was being this that and the other as well as selfish. I guess it was a good way to clear out 'the circle'!! A few people didn't want to see the dog. Whether this was their reaction to disability or because they were so fond of the dog and couldn't bear to think of him not being here, I don't know but I didn't question it. Those that did come couldn't believe their eyes and actually questioned if the dog had cancer. All of these reactions gave me a lot of food for thought. I was so sure of my decision that I did not waiver. I know it was the right decision for that dog. At the end of the day, we have to wake up every morning with ourselves....
Oh yes, and some people took it upon themselves to criticize my vet and say that vets only grabbed money. Well some do not and mine cetainly does not.
The last week or so was more difficult and I can still torment myself with things I may have missed or whether he was put to sleep a few hours too late (not much I could have done about that, unfortunately & the vet had checked him). Sometimes I can see his face looking bemused but then I remember that on his last whole day, he chased the cat around the garden and leapt over the compost heap.
I put him on various supplements including cottage cheese & flax oil, echinacea and milk thistle. He had homeopathic remedies and various arthritis remedies (Aloe Vera juice, Devil's Claw....)
If I can be of any help to you in any way, please PM me and I will send you my email address.
Good luck. Enjoy your dog as much as you can for the time he has left. My heart goes out to you.
Sue
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