Meet Morgan, a 7 1/2 year old lab-shepard-?? mix who came into our lives as a rescue pup when he was just a few months old and much smaller! He quickly grew and showed his stubborn, persistent personality and has been the protector and playful pup since the beginning. Morgan loves to run and frequently accompanied me on my morning runs.
This all changed in early August 2013, he spent a week being ill with gastrointestinal junk then soon after stopped putting weight on his right rear leg. Since he was always running, jumping and playing we went with the assumption he injured his leg. The vet agreed and nothing was looking too terrible on exam, we started some pain meds and encouraged rest. The leg continued to worsen and we returned the the vet on September 6th. After more exam we were about to leave with a consult to orthopedics and impending knee surgery but the vet had a feeling and requested a repeat X-ray to show more of Morgan’s femur. There it was, the cause of the knee swelling…a large growth on his right distal femur which we assumed was osteosarcoma. Talk about life being quickly flipped upside down. I immediately called the oncology department at The University Vet Center and we took the soonest appointment on September 23rd.
September 23rd brought hope and good news, he was healthy, lungs were clear= No Mets! and he was a perfect candidate for a clinical trial. He underwent a bone biopsy the following day but he was quickly removed from the trial. The surgeon found crumbling bone and knew the tumor had grown since the original vet visit. The good news from this was no waiting 10 days to get rid of the worthless painful leg.
September 25th- Amputation Day! all went great and Morgan became a 3 legged pup. He came back home about 24 hours after surgery and now his new life begins…
Luckily he is moving great, but we work on pain control and eating, all while explaining to a 3 1/2 year old little girl what her puppy is going through and why she can’t play with him like she used to. He remains stubborn and insists on sleeping upstairs no matter what we do to stop him. Last night brought us all a rough night, pain and wimpering meant little sleep for the humans. Hoping each day continues to improve and the good news follows.
Next up chemotherapy to begin in 2 weeks…
To Morgan:
You rock!! Keep up the good work and I know it is hard but try to follow the rules for the next two weeks, it won’t necessarily be fun but it will help you feel better faster. We’ll keep you in our puppy prayers.
Stay strong!
To Morgan’s Family:
Your positivity is great, that is exactly the kind of energy that should be surrounding Morgan right now. It took about five nights before I had an uninterrupted night after Boomer came home – even after he decided to sleep through the night, I was still restless and worried that he might wake me up at any moment, so it took several more nights for me to actually get a reasonably good night of sleep. The drugs Morgan is on right now can make him act strangely, too. Some of the panting and whining can be more related to how the meds make him feel than to his level of pain. We ended up pulling off Boomer’s Fentanyl patch two days early (at the vet’s recommendation) because he was so dysphoric on it and taking it off made an almost immediate difference for him. Pain management is definitely a bit of a stressful balancing act.
Good luck!
Thank you, yes I know Morgan will have a tough time following directions to rest! He is already insisting on sleeping upstairs like shouldn’t.
Welcome! 🙂
Sam went upstairs as soon as his drugs wore off 😀 I had erected all kinds of barricades and safeguards, and then went down to the basement to ride my bike…and within 10 minutes I heard a hella commotion when he knocked them all down and plowed upstairs.
Of course, being a front amp, going UP wasn’t the issue :p I had to barricade/lock him in the bedroom until Pat got home and could help me get him back DOWN the steps 😀
Morgan will do great–and you guys will do great with him! 🙂
Hello Morgan and family! You sure are a handsome boy! Welcome to our little family. Osteosarcoma sure does suck, but we are all here to support each other, so let us know how we can help! Come on over to the chat room if you get a chance, theres usually at least one or two of us in there.
I’m sorry you have to find yourself here, but I’m glad you did – you’re in the right place!
xoxo,
Erica & Tripawd Kitty Jill
Morgan, you are stunningly handsome! A beautiful, beautiful boy!
I just posted on your other post about pain meds, so I won’t repeat.
But over here get t see your handsome mug and near more about what a delightful pup you are!
And also commend you n an sttitude of focusing on what’s good about the cards you are dealt! You think you have an incredible bond now”? OMD! Just wait! It’s a bond at such a deep soul level you’ll be over the moon with love!
Every day is a gift! Make memories, rake lots of oictures and stay in the now with your pup and push all worries aside! Remember, Morgan’s living in the moment, not worrying a bout a thing!
Would you go give him a big hug for us? W, will you go give yourself one? GOOD JOB!
Hugs and love,
Sally and Happy Hannah