I brought Lucky home from the vet this morning. Now we wait. We might get the results as early as Friday but most likely we won't hear anything until early next week. I have a question .....how do I know if she needs more pain meds? She is currently taking 1000mg of Robaxin V twice a day. Even with this pain med she still walks with a limp or sometimes just holds her leg up all together. She doesn't cry though and she seems to be sleeping really soundly. We have noticed that she is hesitant to go down steps so we figure this must be particularly painful - we now carry her up and down any steps she must use. We will try to build a ramp off of the deck this weekend to make potty trips easier.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for your support!

Kim and Lucky

Some dogs are more stoic than others so it can be hard to tell how much pain a dog is feeling. Crying or whimpering is a sign of course, but so is lack of appetite, dull eyes and/or an overall depressed expression, hesitation to move, or out of character behavior such as growling (some dogs will do this when they anticipate pain) or cowering (if they anticipate pain). If she seems "like herself" and is eating and moving around fairly well and her expression seem normal for her, she's probably doing ok with the dosage. Anything changes before you're due to go back to your vet, I would call them and let them know so they can recommend a more appropriate dosage or medication. I hope this helps.

I continue to hope for the best possible outcome, Kim. Keep us posted.

Thanks Cynthia. Your post is a great help. I will watch her more closely today - I'm thinking she may fall into the stoic category. She definitely isn't herself. Normally she hangs out at the breakfast table with the family and eagerly waits to go to the bus stop with the kids. This morning she didn't get off of her bed at all even when Silver was leashed and ready to go. As I sit here and think about her I can definitely say she fits much of your description - I think I will call the vet today.

Thanks again!
Kim and Lucky

My first grey had bone cancer. Did they x-ray the lung yet? If not, they will do that to see if the cancer has spread to the lung. That is the problem with this cancer, by the time you find out it has often gone to the lung. Even with a clear x-ray it may still have traveled to the lung. In our case we choose not to amputate the leg and just love our boy. There was a small spot on the lung that most likely was the cancer. We were able to control the pain with lot of meds. Don't be afraid to increase the meds if needed. They told us 2 months and it was right at 2 months before we had to release Hawk to the bridge. Hawk was a very tall greyhound and we just felt it would be difficult to take his leg only to give him a few more months of life. Whatever you choose to do will be the right thing for you and your hound. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Hi Kim
I remember Lucky from the kennel - such a sweet girl - she would turn practically upside down and stand on her head to get some scritches!!LOL... It's hard to believe that she is 5 already! I know how much you love that girl and I am so sorry to hear about her "limping". The Bell household is sending hugs and healing drool to you and Lucky. I hope and pray that her biopsy is negative. You are in our thoughts and prayers

We didn't hear from the vet on Friday so I guess we will get the results early next week. She has definitley perked up the past couple of days and is more herself. I caught her counter surfing yesterday afternoon and while I was scolding her I was secretly very happy - counter surfing is very typical Lucky behavior. It was great seeing her do something that she normally does (if counter surfing were an Olympic sport she would have a gold medal!). My son got up from the table this evening to answer the phone and while both of us had our backs turned she stole his cake! She is very sneaky with her surfing and it seems no matter how careful we are she catches us when we least expect it. Anyway, after several days of her barely getting out of bed it is good to see her up and about. Unfortunately she is still limping and actually hardly using the leg at all anymore. We have also noticed that she is drinking a lot of water (I am filling the water bowls numerous times during the day) and today we noticed that she is panting a lot - like she is out of breath. I don't know if these things could be caused by the meds she is on or if it is something else.
Linda, thanks for mentioning about the lung x-ray. I will remember what you said if it turns out she has bone cancer. We are still hoping it isn't but even if it isn't there is definitely something very wrong. She has lost quite a bit of weight and just doesn't look good.
Thanks for the prayers, hugs and healing drool!

Kim and Lucky

Great News!!! Lucky's biopsy doesn't show signs of osteo and they did do a lung xray (I didn't realize that - my hubby is the one who takes her to the vet) and it is clear. So...the vet thinks she either has an OCD lesion and if it is that they can scrape the bone clean and let it heal as a "fracture". THey may get in and find it is an osteochondroma which is a less aggressive form of osteo but she could still lose a leg. I just got off the phone with the vet and now that I'm looking over my notes of what he said I have more questions. Does anyone have experience with either of these conditions or know where I may get some more info?

Thanks!
Kim and Lucky

That is great news, Kim! I will continue to send Lucky all the good thoughts and positive healing vibes I can. I will also send you some general links that you may find helpful about stimulating the immune system to help the body fight disease and heal itself. If you've Googled canine osteosarcoma, you probably already know the statistics aren't good, but try not to let that discourage you. I think it's important to remain positive. Some people may scoff, but I believe dogs can sense that and it helps.

So good to hear this news. I don't have experience with either form of cancer. You may want to join the Greytalk forum and post some questions there. I know Dr. Feeman is wonderful when it comes to advice.

Keep us posted on Lucky. We will keep her in our thoughts. And I do agree with Cynthia, positive thoughts do help.

I haven't had any luck finding info on either of the 2 conditions my vet thinks she has. I've always been happy with my vet and he has greyhound experience but I felt it would be good to get more info before putting her through surgery. I called Randy at the kennel and he recommended taking her to Dr. Crawford at Lawndale. So we have an appointment there tomorrow. Hopefully he can shed some light on her situation. Also, I talked to my vet about her thirst and panting and he said it was due to the prednisone. We are now weaning her from that and she already looks and acts so much better! She isn't using her leg much at all any more - she has figured out that she can move quicker if she just doesn't use it. It is so good to see her personality coming back.

Cynthia, I would be interested in those links you metioned.

Thanks, Kim and Lucky

VERY BAD NEWS . We took Lucky to see Dr. Crawford this evening and didn't get good news. He believes that Lucky does have bone cancer despite the clean biopsy. He sees things on her xrays that lead him to believe she definitely has bone cancer. After hearing her biopsy was clean earlier this week, we were not expecting this diagnosis today. We are still trying to digest all we have been told. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. We will continue to need them as we decide what to do from here.

Kim

Not what we wanted to hear either, Kim. Please know you and Lucky are still in my thoughts and prayers. Keep us posted as you can.

I'm so sorry to hear this news. You and Lucky are in our thoughts and prayers. We're still keeping positive thoughts.

Gary, Sandy, Paige, Pride and Blue Moon