Pablo is 8 1/2 years old now. He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in July 2013 and had his leg removed on August 1 almost a week after diagnosis. Sadly, this cancer is very common in large breed dogs and many times by the time the lump is found, the cancer had spread to the lungs. Fortunately, his lungs were clean and a rigid chemotherapy schedule gave him a good chance to get on with it.
He is now two years post op and we are thrilled that he has survived beyond all expectations.
When the oncologists talked about statistics and survival rates, this is not a common time after the operation, so that is even more thrilling. We were hoping for about a year at best.
Three-monthly chest x-rays are necessary, which look for metastases in the lungs. Thus far, all is clear.
No one can tell Pablo he only has three legs, though we had to ensure he lost a lot of weight to be able to carry himself. Apparently he is a great ambassador for large breed dog owners who are about to go through the same heartache of having to consider amputating a limb.
He's gone from 57kg down to 40kg now and he does not walk up to 5km a day, only a few hundred meters, but he loves it and can pee standing on his two left legs only! What balance!
Love Pablo, it seems he is not aware that he is missing one limb...He looks so happy!
You have given him a wonderful home, lots of love, and also freedom to be himself - my heart does shrink a little when I think of what he has gone through, but at the same time I am so happy to see him having fun! As you said in your title, he is "living the life" which is most important:)
Yeah, he was really good with chemo. Handled it without any major side effects. That's a big plus.
His brother Biscuit, who passed late last year, was struggling through the process and most of the different
drugs that were administered played havoc with him. Biscuit lost his appetite, was really hard to feed and while
he had three remissions, his body gave up almost a year ago when we stopped his (Biscuit's) chemo completely.
Then it was just waiting for the right time, while it's still not too late.
However, Pablo, on the other hand, is a trooper and in fact, we just realised the other afternoon he did a 1.6 kilometer (1 mile) walk.
For a couple of years we occasionally saw a three-legged coyote on our property. He seemed quite fit and wild -- I have always wondered how he lost the leg and what became of him.
Pablo - living the life
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