While the dog is getting his leg amputated, I think I’ll have a drink…or two.
A quick visit to our regular vet at Bradford Veterinary to get the fentanyl patch placed for surgery the next day. Jack loved the attention that the vet techs gave him. After that a stop at Hannafords to get a rotisserie chicken (his favorite) for dinner. He knew something was up when I wouldn’t stop taking pictures of him before he went to bed…oh and all the tears were a dead give away as well. 
Bright and early Friday January 23rd, we woke up, went through our regular routine (minus breakfast and pills). Things got really fun for Jack when he was told that he “gets to go”. Music to his ears!! Jumping for joy, he couldn’t contain himself. Little did he know!
We arrived at SAVES in Lebanon, NH at 8am. Turns out that Dr. Kelly followed us there (and quickly turned around to leave for a farm emergency). We met with Dr. Hess and discussed the sequence of events, how they were going to do the surgery (remove the scapula vs. not), cutting muscle vs. cutting bone. We had a quick tearful goodbye, he went out one door and I went out the other. In the parking lot with tears streaming down my face, I hear, “Miss, Miss”. I turn around and they tell me that I need to pay the deposit (about $1200). Isn’t keeping my baby, removing his leg and tossing it in the biohazard waste enough of a deposit? Anyway…I paid the deposit (gotta love Care Credit) and left.
Noon came and went with no phone call, finally I called after two. Turns out they called and left a message at my house instead of reaching me on my cell or at work. I went straight to work after I dropped him off to keep my mind off of what was happening and I didn’t want to take time off if I wasn’t actually going to be with him. Surgery went well, no problems. They asked if I wanted to send out some of the leg for Pathology. I said no. I’d already paid $1300 to detemine that it was osteosarcoma and had the leg removed, I didn’t see any value in sending it for more Pathology.
That night I went out!! We had a big going away party for a coworker and had drinks and listened to live music at our local Elks Lodge. Jack was being taken care of and tonight was my one last nights of freedom for awhile. I checked in with them every couple of hours to see if he had peed and pooped, ate or walked at all. On my way home from the bar at 11:30, I called and spoke with the vet tech. I wanted to see how he was doing and make sure someone was there, awake, taking care of him. She said that he pooped, ate and peed. He was getting around amazingly well and was a complete doll. She was letting him lay on a blanket next to her instead of in a crate. Aaaawww…that’s my boy!!
Sleeping that night was too quite. Even the cat, Chloe missed him. Saturday morning I had some errands to run before I headed to Lebanon to pick him up. I knew he was in good hands and the longer he stayed there the better it would be for him.
My aunt Elaine came with me to pick him up. I walked in and said I was there to pick up Jack. Before I could even get the word Jack out of my mouth, I saw his butt on the floor behind the receptionist. I dropped everything and went to see him. His tail was wagging and he was happy to see me but didn’t know how to move to show me that he wanted to be near me. He started panting and couldn’t get comfortable. The tech explained this was a sign of being in pain. We all sat on the floor in the reception area (me, the vet tech, Dr. Hess and Jack) and discussed the piles of medication and discharge instructions. As long as I didn’t move and was touching him, Jack was fine. I paid the remainder of the bill (this time before I got to the parking lot) ~ $500 and we walked outside. Jack did great; even the vet tech said that when she came in she thought he was 3 days post amputation vs. day after. We both lifted him into the back of the car, got him settled and headed home.
Next step…get him out of the car!!!
The girls at SAVES decorated his bandage with hearts cause they all loved him so much.
February 17th, 2015 at 2:00 pm
Looking good Jack! Many tears as I read your post, remembering my own similar journey last June. Good luck as you move forward.
Paula (Dobemom) and Nitro
February 17th, 2015 at 2:34 pm
I know! Isn’t it weird to think about the leg just being thrown in biohazard? I think Cadence’s went off for biopsy, but it’s like hey, that used to be attached to a dog. I still think about it to this day sometimes and it weirds me out. It was a perfectly good leg except for that stupid cancer! Glad he did good!
February 19th, 2015 at 3:14 pm
Yay Jack, you made it through surgery! PAWESOME DUDE!
OK I’m sorry about the surgery itself, but dang it’s good to know you’re home and on the road to recovery. If there is anything at all you need, bark at us, we are here for you.
Ma, we did the same thing when asked if we wanted to send the leg to path lab, we opted out. It’s necessary if you’re going to go the chemo route because oncos need to know staging and all that but if you’re not doing chemo then it’s not necessary (at least that’s my understanding). Sometimes you just have to live life to the fullest and you’re doing it. Keep up the great TLC with Jack, it’s showing.
P.S. You cracked me up when you said “Isn’t keeping my baby, removing his leg and tossing it in the biohazard waste enough of a deposit?” Funny!