The Very Bad Year for Samson

Samson has had a rough year. He had something removed from his ear, then he tore his ACL and had to have surgery to repair his knee. A few weeks ago, he started limping again, and the vet warned us that if he did not lose weight, he would tear his other ACL. But this time, it was the left front leg.

We took him back to the vet and they said that he had a mass on his joint, and they would need to biopsy to see if it was cancer. The results came back, and the mass was a sarcoma, which is a type of cancer that can grow in the connective tissue. It was large enough that the only option was to remove the entire leg. 

I took him up to Ebensburg yesterday morning, and he was terrified. He is usually a scared at the vet’s office, but this time he was especially frightened. He was actually backing into the corner, and shaking hard. They kept him overnight, and Lindsey was able to pick him today. The vet said he did well, and that he would be in some pain for a few days. 

They also explained that dogs adapt quickly to having three legs. I know people who have dogs with three legs, and they always post videos of them running around. I am hoping Samson gets to that point soon. I hate seeing him look so sad. 

The kids were a little freaked out by his little nub, and the look of his skin. I think it will be easier once his fur starts to grow back (they thought he looked super weird when he had knee surgery and they shaved his back half). Although, Payton said she looked up videos of three-legged dogs, and she said the ones she found looked like the dogs were happy.