Denali’s surgery appears to have gone well.  I went to visit her and these dogs are AMAZING!!  She was already hoping around and getting up and laying down on her own.  They had to put an Elizabethan collar (aka cone of shame) on her because she was licking.  She was a little out of it, but was trying to fight through all the medications she was on to be her smiley-happy self.

Here’s a non-disturbing picture from tonight:

On Monday Denali, my parents and I went to OSU Vet Clinic.  Denali was a VERY good girl in the car (she loved watching the semi trucks!).   When we got to OSU, there were quite a few other dogs and people for Denali to meet.  She went back for a small chat with a student vet and then we got to meet with Dr. Couto.  Dr. Couto was 95% sure that we are dealing with bone cancer and he said even in the other 5% if it is not bone cancer, we would have to amputate in order to ‘fix’ the problem.  He also went over our other options of radiation therapy and a few options that we’ll have for chemo and also he TOUCHED on ‘life after chemo’ and metastasis.  It was very informative and I am glad I went for my own peace of mind – even though the out come is the same.

Denali’s amputation is scheduled for Thursday.  My poor vet’s office has to put up with my million and one questions, but they are very accommodating and seem happy to answer.

Here are some pics of my little girl:

The biopsy came back negative.  My vet still feels we are dealing with cancer though.  When I asked him for his professional opinion on what to do – he said he would opt for another biopsy so they would know for sure which cancer they are dealing with to come up with the best possible treatment plan.  After thinking about it, I called Ohio State University Vet Clinic and made an appointment there.  Not knowing how my vet would react to this, I called him up to let him know my decision to get a 2nd opinion.  My vet’s reply when I told him the news of going to the OSU campus for Denali was “that is probably the BEST thing you can do for her”.  He told me he would be very willing to work with OSU and if I wanted to get the amputation done there if it’s necessary, that they will help me with all the after care and he also asked that I keep him in the loop.

I have wanted a great pyrenees since I was a little girl. After getting my house, I volunteered at a shelter to get some experience handling dogs and waiting for the perfect time. Denali came along in Feb 12 2005 (born Dec 25 2004). After she was about a year and a half, we got her a pyrenees friend – Loki from rescue. Denali has helped me through some very tough times and has just always been there for me. She’s not a typical pyrenees – she loves life and everybody and everything in it. It’s very rare that she not approach anything with tail held high and wagging.

June 2nd 2010 – the door bell rang and Denali went sliding across the floor. After that she had a slight limp.

June 9 and morning June 10 2010 – the limping appeared to have went away.

Evening June 10 2010 – I came home and she had diarrhea and was back to limping. I gave her a bath – no noticable swelling.

June 15 – While getting ready to leave for work, I noticed Denali didn’t want to put weight on her leg. Made vet appointment for next day. When I got home I noticed the swollen spot her her rear left leg.

June 16 – Vet Suspected Osteosarcoma

June 17 – Bone Biopsy done and sent away. 95% sure that she has Osteosarcoma but I need to be 100% before amputating and starting chemo treatment. Lung x-ray clear.