KB’s journey to hop star- from the beginning

Warning: this is looong!  This journey began about 4 months ago.

Kodibear is an 8 year old Alaskan Malamute.  He started limping  in late September 2013.  He seemed to be putting weight on his front legs, but there was definitely a hitch in his giddy up. We thought there was something going on with his shoulder.  He used to be a “ball dog” in the weakest sense of the term- meaning he would only fetch tennis balls indoors.   He inevitably had some super splats when he slipped on the wood floor.  We thought maybe that’s why he was limping, because of one of those falls where his legs seemed to hyperextend.  Well that was wishful thinking.

When we first went to our our local vet, she did not find anything in particular that could be causing the limp.  She suspected a soft tissue injury, advised strict rest, and prescribed a pain med.  We decided to go check out a holistic vet that a friend had recommended thinking that some acupuncture might help him feel better.  While gently examining Kodi’s leg she felt some inflammation and we watched as he flinched when she touched a particular spot.  She recommended that we get an X-ray of this leg with a look on her face that both my husband and I understood to mean “this could be bad”.  We could tell from watching her that she was very intuitive with animals.

We went back to our vet as quickly as we could and she took an X-ray.  It showed a bone lesion near his “wrist” in his right foreleg.  Given the location the vet suspected a cancerous bone tumor.  We were in shock as she explained what this might mean for Kodi’s future.  She performed a fine-needle aspirate biopsy of the site but the results were inconclusive.  Our vet told us about a veterinary teaching hospital (WSU Pullman) several hours away and we decided to go there to confirm a diagnosis of osteosarcoma and to get the prognosis.  Our local veterinarians are wonderful, but we wanted to get as much information as we could about his condition and all the options available to us as far as treatment. We also knew they could perform a CT scan of his lungs to check for metastasis – at that point that was a big fear.

We were fortunate to get an appointment within a week, but those days in-between were tough as we tearily read everything we could find on the internet concerning canine cancer. And knowing that Kodi’s leg bones were weakening, we were frightened that his every move would break his leg.  Yeah, we were a little paranoid – fortunately his tumor had not yet progressed to where it could have completely destroyed his bones.  But Kodibear is a big dog. Close to 120 pounds when diagnosed. Honestly, at first I thought to myself that I could never amputate his leg – that just seemed like a horrible thing to do to him. I think my husband felt the same way.  But as we learned more about osteosarcoma and the pain he could experience, we knew we had to relieve that pain – and try to keep the cancer from spreading.  And as we learned more about canine amputation and recovery (thank you, Tripawds.com!) , it seemed like a viable option to give our boy more time.  We struggled with whether our desire to fight the cancer was based on our selfish feelings or in the best interest for Kodi’s quality of life. KB was not giving us any signs that he was ready to leave this world.  Besides that darn limp -and it barely seemed to bother him – life was good and he was healthy.  We know that larger breed dogs usually have shorter life spans, but still, the light was not dimming in those sweet brown eyes.  If given the choice, and a voice, would he tell us he wants to fight it?

So, on October 30th, we set off on our six-hour drive to the University with all these conflicting thoughts in our heads, determined to just find out exactly what we were dealing with and hoping the choice would then become obvious.  The oncology resident was very nice, super knowledgeable, and had a great bedside manner with KB.  We decided on another biopsy and a chest X-ray, with the understanding that if the X-ray showed no signs of metastasis then a CT scan would be performed.  We’d been told that the cancer most likely had already spread microscopically, but we felt that if it hadn’t grown to the point where lung mets were visible on a CT then he had a fighting chance if we were to remove the tumor by amputating his leg.

Fast forward several hours:  Cytology confirmed cancer cells, but the CT showed no abnormalities.  That was all we needed to hear to really consider amputation.  We discussed all of our concerns regarding the surgery and the doctors reassured us that Kodi was a good candidate and strong enough to handle life on three legs, even with his large size. They had seen dogs even bigger than him do well.  They also recommended following surgery with chemotherapy to delay the onset of metastatic disease for as long as possible.  We left, grateful that we now had a better idea of what we were dealing with and how we were going to move forward.  We went back to the hotel and took care of our drugged-up furry one and thought about all we had learned. This biopsy was very painful for KB and after the drugs wore off he could not really put weight on that leg for two days.  We felt badly for putting him through that, but at that time I think we were maybe still hoping that something else was going on and we wanted proof of cancer cells.  However, it did give us a glimpse of his future as a tripawd and we were amazed at how he managed to get around – and that was with a painful limb hanging off of him.

On our drive home on Friday we set up the surgery appointment for Monday.  Set on our treatment plan, we did not want to waste any time. Fortunately, our local veterinary hospital has a great surgeon who has performed multiple amputations and he was confident that he could take good care of Kodi.  We were relieved that we could have the surgery done close to home and that he would be taken care of by people who knew him.

That same day we went to the carpet store and purchased some remnants to make runners. We knew KB would not be able to maneuver the wood floor without some help.  The owner of the carpet store is a cancer survivor herself and was so kind to us and even gave us a discount.  My husband measured and cut all the runners and also constructed two great ramps for two sets of short steps that lead to our house. So now we have carpet “hop-ways” all over the house and we’re not gonna be featured in any style magazines, but Kodi can safely get around.

Late Saturday we went to the animal hospital so that KB could get a Fentanyl patch placed on his leg.  The vet explained that it would be best for his recovery if he already had pain meds on board before surgery.   We also had him try on a Thundershirt for post-surgery coverage. They had used them on several other surgeries with good results.  On Sunday we went for a car ride and short walk/sniff outing so that Kodi would not think every car ride led to poking and prodding by doctors.

Of course, the next ride ended at the vet hospital when we dropped him off for surgery on Monday morning.   I don’t even know what I did that day – I couldn’t really concentrate on anything.  The surgery had to wait until the afternoon because of some emergency visits, but shortly after the doctor finished he called to let us know it all went well.  He wanted to observe KB for several hours, but told us we could come and get him that evening if we felt up to it or we could leave him there overnight.  We definitely wanted to get him as soon as we could and the doctor felt he would be much more comfortable at home.  So, just five hours after surgery we were hauling our very large and very drugged dog into the house on one of those thick plastic blankets with handles.  That was a tough carry, but I knew I had to keep it together and help get him safely inside.

Kodibear has always had a tough time when coming off of anesthesia and pain meds so he tends to be quite dramatic with the whining.  It’s tough to hear and there’s no comforting him. This time was no different and probably worse due to multiple pain meds.  He slept pretty hard, but would awaken every so often with some high pitched whines.  One of us just sat near him at all times, trying to comfort him.

I think he actually ate a few treats and was very thirsty when we brought him water. After a few  hours we helped him get up and using the blanket as a sling and one of us on either side, we got him outside.  He was wobbly, but he quickly figured out he needed to adjust his stance to balance and was even able to urinate on his own.  We were so impressed – and relieved.  Those first couple of nights were light on sleep for us mostly because KB would often try to get up and move around and we would jump to help him so he wouldn’t fall.

He ended up wearing that Thundershirt for about two weeks.  We put T-shirts over top, but he really liked the compression shirt and would get upset when we took it off.  He slept a lot, but would readily eat his meals and  take care of his business in the back yard.  At first, he was exhausted after a trip outside and his one front leg bent awkwardly under his weight, it just looked so hard for him. We felt so guilty. But it was really only a few days until he no longer needed us to spot him with the sling and our hop star was born.  It was still tough for him, but he learned new tricks everyday; such as the need to stay on the carpet so that his front leg would not slide out from under him.  He started to become more alert after a couple of days and flashed us a few smiles, but it was obvious he was not all there due to the drugs he was still on.  Fortunately, we have flexible work schedules in the winter and we were able to spend a lot of time with him at home while he recuperated.  We couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him alone for the longest time and I don’t think he really wanted to be alone either.  One night I had to run out for 10 minutes and when I came home, I heard a sad howl behind the door.  Poor little man –  it was a weird and scary time for him.  And for us. I wish I had written this when it was happening, but that was a difficult time and now I have the benefit of knowing that he’s doing really well. We are so grateful for every day with him.