Marley -n- Me

It was the beginning of another a busy year.  I work as the Finance Manager for my husband’s company as well as run a dog rescue and a financial advising company.  My husband’s company was actively growing and was demanding of his time.  Our son was two going on 16.  Our two dogs, Marley and Rosie, were aging but doing well.  Clover, our sweet old man cat, was just our usual fat-man happy Clover.

In the beginning of April, we went in to see our normal vet with Marley.  Marley was diagnosed with Addison’s Disease (auto-immune disease) in 2009 that requires monthly steroid injections and every other day prednisone.  This vet visit, I talked to her Vet Dr. J about some off and on lameness in her hind area.  After X-rays to check for arthritis, she came in to say that she had very mild changes to the hip bone so she sent us with some Tramadol and an order to keep an eye on what we thought were arthritic changes.

Two weeks later, Marley had all but stopped using her left leg.  The Tramadol wasn’t enough and she would not bear any weight on it, just toe-touch.  I took her in to the emergency room Easter Sunday because something was very wrong and I couldn’t handle watching her in pain anymore.  The Vet examined her and determined that she was expressing a severe amount of pain so we did bloodwork and X-rays.  20 minutes later he comes in and says “Well, I have good news and bad news.  The good news is that Marley’s bloodwork is perfect and every level is within range and I see only very minor changes in her hip bone.  The bad news is that I have no idea why Marley is in so much pain.”

Hmm.

Luckily, I had my best friend with me, Kelly, who is also an orthopedic surgical technician (for humans) and we were able to review the X-rays and she noted some odd discoloration with the ascetabulum.  The Vet we saw basically dismissed what she saw and we paid the bill and left.  I walked out of the emergency hospital and called MSU Veterinary Hospital.  They are renowned here in the midwest as being one of the best Veterinary Schools and Clinics..albeit I knew my wallet was not going to like it.

Three days later, we were at MSU receiving a full orthopedic exam and radiographs.  The orthoepdic vet, slightly stumped, said he too was surprised at her pain response with so little change in the X-rays.  We both noted muscle wasting in her left hind leg.  He examined the ascetabulum area and said he saw minor arthritic or bone degenerative changes but again, nothing to warrant the pain she was showing.  But the X-rays really did not so anything extraordinary.  I left with more pain meds, Gabapentin now, and three weeks of rest and low activity to see if Marley would start feeling better.  Better did not come.  She became worse…despondent…slowed in eating…got dandruff…would shake/hide/whine in pain.  I was almost at my wit’s end.  Why couldn’t I figure out what was hapening to my dog?!

Two days later, the Vet from MSU called to say that the radiology report came back and they noted either bone degenerative disease or a tumor.  He went on to say that would explain the pain and if it was a tumor then it was likely osteosarcoma.  Everything else drowned out once I heard that word.  I knew it was osteosarcoma after he said the word.  I had already spent the past two days researching everything that could possibly be afflicting Marley and this had come up over and over and over again.  My eyes welled up with fear.  What did this mean?  Was this her death sentence?  How much pain was she in?  Was it worse than I thought?  Oh dear God, I cannot lose her yet.  We talked about treatment, why he didn’t recommend a biopsy and instead wanted to do FHO surgery. I did my best to hold myself together on the phone.  I did not know how I would afford the surgery he was quoting.  I did not understand how this went downhill so fast.  Why Marley?  Why us?  This dog is only 11…she can’t be dieing already!  FHO surgery was scheduled in three weeks at MSU.

I called my primary vet to talk through with them MSU’s findings.  I was able to consult with Dr. W, who owns the multiple clinics of our primary vet.  He also specializes in orthopedic surgeries and is well known in the metro Detroit area.  I took Marley in to see him a week later and he saw the pain that she was in.  He recommended FHO surgery as well.  I looked at him and said “Dr. W.  I would feel a lot better about this if we just amputated her leg.  Whether this is cancer or bone degenerative disease causing the pain, the amputation will fix this.”  He took Marley back to do chest X-rays and to take a new X-ray of her left hip.  He brought her back in and said that he couldn’t amputate.  He could not cut off my dog’s leg without knowing it was cancer ethically.  I acquiesced.  I understood where he was coming from.  And I have been working with him for years with dogs that have come through my rescue needing orthopedic interventions.  I trusted him to know what was best even though every fiber of my body said I should have an amputation done.

The next day, May 1st, Marley went in for surgery with Dr. W.

One Week Prior to FHO Surgery