Wednesday is the day. We take him to surgery at 9 AM, and he’ll have to stay for at least one night but perhaps up to three nights depending upon how fast he’s recovering.
I am relieved beyond belief that this option will eliminate the cancer. As I watch videos of other three-legged dogs, I realize we are so incredibly lucky that his tumor is a soft-tissue sarcoma because it doesn’t cause the pain or infect his lungs like so many of the other cancers. Amputation will literally eliminate the tumor. We are so incredibly lucky for that.
Yet I can’t help but mourn this loss. It’s more than a loss of his limb; it’s loss of a completely reckless, care-free mobility. It’s the loss of knock-down-drag-out wresting matches with Lucas. We will need to monitor closely the health of his other three legs, we will need to monitor his weight, we will need to ensure we’re protecting his health because Emmett will do and do and do every single thing we ask of him. We will need to ensure we never ask too much.
It won’t matter how much you ask of Emmett, because he will always give you everything. That’s just the kind of loving dog that he is. He’s lucky that he’s been blessed with two such incredible owners who will always give HIM their everything.
It won’t be long before you won’t even notice that it is gone!
Just think how much easier it will be to rub his belly with out a leg getting in the way.