If you’ve read any of my posts or follow my work at all, you may have picked up that our dogs play a pretty large role in my life. They’re just the best. I grew up around dogs, and have had several different breeds over the years, but these mastiffs in particular have really been an interesting relationship. A 200 pound dog is a commitment, and there needs to be a deep mutual level of trust and respect. Two of them can be a part time job sometimes, but they’re soooo sweet. To me, they’re worth it.

A few months ago, Bob (the one on the left pictured above) appeared to have injured his front leg, and started limping. I crated him (in my bathroom) for a few days, and he seemed to recover. However, about a month later, he started limping again. It swelled up and initially looked like he had maybe hairline fractured it, but one morning I noticed it had grown a bit larger, and it hit me what it probably was.

Took him to the vet and they confirmed that it was likely an osteosarcoma tumor, and given his size and age he was  probably not a good candidate for amputation. Chemotherapy offered some extended life, but that leg wasn’t going to get any better and he could already barely walk on it.

This was so hard or hear. He just turned 7 in October, and while giant breeds don’t live long, seven seemed cruelly brief. Bob is the coolest dog Ive ever had. His calm and Quirky demeanor is unique. He doesn’t think he’s a dog, and he has me half convinced as well.

Even at seven, his eyes are sharp and he’s barely gray. He’s in great shape physically for a dog his age. With all this in mind I scheduled him an appointment at an oncology clinic.

Met with a surgeon, who to my surprise felt like Bob could be a candidate for amputation, however being a dog his size, it would take some work and there are never any guarantees with things like this. Bob didn’t seem ready to check out, and I was committed to helping him through this, so we decided to go ahead and amputate, treat with chemotherapy, and also an immunotherapy vaccine that this clinic was a part of the trial program for.

The plan was to do everything in one day, amputate early in the morning, administer the chemo and immunotherapy shortly afterward, and release him by end of the day. The clinic was across the water by ferry,  so I camped out in the parking lot for the day and waited. At around 6 they brought him out, dazed and still not really understanding of what had just happened to him. It took like 5 of us to get him into the back of the car. He slept the entire ride home, and when we arrived it took a few of us to carry him into my bathroom, which I made up with dog beds and blankets. It has heated floors and he loves it in there, plus it’s super easy to clean/deal with any messes, so it seemed like the best place.

he took my bed

I slept in the bathroom with him for the next several days, feeding him a pharmacy of pills, hand feeding him boiled chicken (the only thing he’d eat), and dealing with the gastrointestinal side effects from the chemo. He also had to relearn how to do everything, from walking, eating and crucially how to pee and poop on three legs. It would feel silly for me to complain given what he had to go through. And honestly the silver lining to all of this is that it’s been nice to be able to spend extra time with him.  Im happy to  help him figure this stuff out.

So far so good. Dude is getting the hang of it. There’s been some bumps, but three weeks in and He’s able to go outside and use the bathroom on his own, he can climb short flights of steps, he jumped into the back of the car by himself yesterday. I’m pushing him to take things slowly because he needs to build up his stamina as well as that front leg. But he’s driven and every day he surprises me with his resilience.

He has responded well to the first two rounds of chemo and immunotherapy, so I’m hopeful we can buy a little more time with our big special guy.

Haven’t had much time to make any personal work between this, work, and the holidays, but it’s definitely time to do a nice dignified portrait of him now that he’s a tripawed.