Bacca’s Story – How it all started

Hello all – I’m brand new to this community.  Our sweet 2 1/2 year old rescue Sheltie just went through front left leg amputation.

It all started in early May 2016 with a sudden limp that caused him to go lame when on a walk and lunged to bark at a dog behind a fence.  We were thinking it was a sprain but it didn’t get better and x-rays revealed a lytic lesion. That means either a bone infection or cancer. We have no idea how he could get a bone infection as we never knew of any cuts or injuries.  We live in Texas so not near Valley Fever area but we have had unprecedented rain and flooding here this spring and I understand that spores can get into even the slightest nick.  Sounds far fetched though.  We had chest x-rays done and there were no lesions or signs of cancer so we went for a needle biopsy. It came back with no sign of tumor yet no bacterial or fungal agents presented. Just that it was a lesion and there was obvious inflammation. We gave a round of broad-spectrum antibiotics a try just in case it was a bacterial infection but no improvement. We consulted with a specialist and he said, while he could not rule out a tumor, he suspected a fungal infection.  We were faced with doing another biopsy if we wanted to identify the organism as putting him on anti-fungals without having the exact strain would not be good for several reasons.  If we had another biopsy, there was no guarantee that it would give us a result and we would have put him through yet another painful procedure. If we did find the organism and gave anti-fungals, we were faced with months of those and even up to a year if really persistent.  We had more x-rays done as we grappled with what to do.  Again, no obvious tumor in leg or in lungs, etc. but the lesion had grown.  Bacca had been through too much pain and we couldn’t imagine more testing, more drugs, and no guarantees. Plus, we knew if it was growing, it could spread to his body.  Another concern was that even if we were able to clear up a bone infection (if that is what it was), there was bone damage that would make him susceptible to issues with that leg.  We also wondered if there was a tumor that removal of the leg could take it all away.  But we do know that it could be a tumor that just could not be detected and that we are facing cancer that may have already spread microscopically.  We even had his case/records/films reviewed by an oncologist vet friend in another state.  Everyone is baffled and just not able to definitively diagnose.  We then made the difficult decision to amputate on Tue. 6/28/16.  We get the results of the biopsy on the limb in 8-10 days from amputation to say if it is a tumor or a bacterial infection. The fungal culture takes up to 3 weeks to grow if that is the case.  Aside from going through the amputation recovery that is so hard to watch, I am so anxious about what the results will be. Trying to be hopeful but also realistic.

Although I am posting this 7 days post-0p b/c I just started this blog, this was written a few days post-op.  I plan on writing more posts to catch up on things and to talk about our daily and nightly journey with Bacca post-op.  I hope it will help some folks out there as they go through these rough couple of weeks post-op and thereafter.

Thank you for your support. Go Bacca Go!