The telling of our story…

 I found this tripawd site a little over a month ago after my girl was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. It has helped me tremendously and I finally decided to share our story.

Shyla is a 13 year old mixed breed pup. I’ve had her since she was 2 months old. We’ve grown up together and she means the world to me. She is most definitely the love of my life (my husband understands). I was absolutely devastated when it was discovered she had osteosarcoma… It came out of nowhere and everything just happened so quickly! We were at the park one day- she was chasing ball and swimming to her hearts content. I was just thinking about how lucky I was to have such a “young” 13 year old. Two days later she came up with a sudden lameness.  She was limping for only 24 hours before I brought her in to work for an xray. (I’m a vet tech that works in general practice) I starting crying the minute I saw the Xray. We sent them off to the  radiologist for confirmation and I immediately started her on pain meds. I went home and was an absolute basket case! I immediately starting researching EVERYTHING! And that is how I came across this tripawd site.

I got the confirmation the following day suspecting that it was osteosarcoma.I called one of the specialists and set up a consult with an oncologist. I needed to hear all of my options despite me already knowing what they were…

I didn’t know if I could put my dog through such a brutal surgery! A limb amputation!? Really? My head was going to explode with all the thoughts and emotions. But as the days went by- I processed everything and of course we were going to fight!! I wanted to give my girl the absolute best chance possible and she’s such a strong-willed girl! It also helped having such an amazing supportive husband and being surrounded by such supportive friends (majority of which that are in the vet field)

Shyla had her left front limb amputated just a little over 3 weeks ago. I have had absolutely no problems with her since bringing her home from surgery. I was preparing for the worse and reading everyone’s stories along the way to help me “cope”. Shyla has amazed me with her capabilities. She is a rock star!! She’s an extremely smart, adaptable dog and has proved just that to us.

As soon as her staples came out- we loaded up the car (me, husband, Shyla, and Rocky our other fur kid) and hit the road! We traveled up the California coast through oregon and into Washington- camping along the way. There is absolutely nothing better than spending quality time with those you love!

Shyla continues to amaze me everyday. I couldn’t imagine not doing the surgery and she proves to us that we made the right decision.

This next week we will start chemo. I’m praying that she continues on this path of awesomeness.

Age is most definitely only a number. Shyla turned 13 in January and is kicking butt as a tripawd! Considering she’s only been a tripawd for a little over three weeks- I’d like to say we’re doing pretty darn well.

Finding this tripawd site and reading all the forums and other members blogs has helped me tremendously! I am so lucky to have found this site!

I hope to continue to report more Shyla awesomeness