Little Dog in a Big World

You may already know Sierra’s story from my earlier writings.  If not, let me introduce you to my three legged wonder dog.

I got Sierra when she was just 8 weeks old.  Though the first three years were wild, she turned into a fine dog.  Oh, she wasn’t perfect.  She was a well known thief who would take anything sitting out in the open especially if it was food.  But, she was happy go lucky, easy to command, and gentle with kids.  She was very healthy most of the time except for the occasional stomach upset.

When she was 9, a lump started to grow on her back right leg.  It was aspirated and determined to be a fatty tissue lump.  No problem.

Around her 10th birthday, it seemed like the lump was growing.  By Christmas, I was sure something had changed.  She was due for her yearly vet visit in March, so I hoped to hold out and have it checked then.

The universe had other ideas.   On Valentine’s Day, we left her alone so we could have a couple hours with my youngest niece.  We came home to a horror scene.  There was blood all over the living room and Sierra.  Her tumor had ruptured.

We rushed her to the vets.  They cleaned it up and we had a follow up the next day.  That’s when we learned she had cancer.

A week later, we were visiting with a specialist.  He took some samples and later confirmed it was cancer.  We had three choices.  We could have her leg amputated at $10,000.  We could remove the lump, then bring her back for skin grafts starting at $20,000.  We could do nothing and keep her as comfortable as possible until…  We were reassured that we would not have to make a decision quickly.

Though Sierra was in good spirits and acting like always, we were constantly having her bandages changed.  A week later, our regular vet informed us that she was losing too much blood and that we must make a decision.  That night we were at emergency because her bandaged bled through.  She played around with the other clients as if nothing was wrong.

But the next morning, I knew we had to do something.  I called her vet and got an appointment right when they opened.  I had yet to make up my mind, but knew I must do something.

The vet informed me that her cancer was called soft tissue mestastis.  It was a slow moving form.  X-rays showed no signs of it elsewhere.  She was in good health.  The vet recommended leg amputation at a much cheaper fee than the specialist.  I decided that that was what we would do.

Things just fell into place from there.  It turned out that the surgeon was there for another patient and had time to do Sierra’s amputation.  We were sent home and she was in surgery by 10 that morning.  By lunchtime, I knew that she had survived and was doing well.

It wasn’t easy at first.  I have to admit that I was not ready for the emotional or the physical aspect of a dog who needed me full time for a few weeks.  But we worked through it.   Besides a bald spot that took nearly a year to grow back, she adapted spendidly to life with three legs.

I’ve written about her recovery at length.  You can read about it on my website…Sierra’s Recovery

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