February 4, 2019 I took Dizzie to the vet due to limping the previous day.
With no known cause of an injury and no other symptoms, we immediately had x-rays taken.
I remember the technician coming back into the room and asking me to follow her to the back so that I could see the x-rays. It happened so quickly I didn’t have time to think. Then she pointed at the screen and told me although she wasn’t proficient at reading x-rays there was cause for concern. The bone slightly appeared to be ‘moth eaten’. I instantly felt queasy and asked her to please tell me what she ‘thought’ she saw. In laments terms, she thought she saw signs of osteosarcoma- bone cancer. I had to clench my jaw to keep the tears from coming. She assured me I would receive a call from the vet once the x-rays were officially read.
The dreaded call came and the suspicion was confirmed, even though it was thought to have been caught very early on. At that time, we discussed our options: let nature take its course, immediate removal of her affected leg or to perform a bone biopsy to confirm the cancer before choosing to amputate.
Osteosarcoma is quite aggressive, so I was encouraged to make a decision as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, it was honestly all too much to comprehend at that moment. I gave myself the night to sleep on it.
I spent months scrolling online searching for my dog. Some how I was sure that I would just know when I found her. And then one day, just like that, there she was- Dizzie! Her eyes literally looked into my soul from her picture. I immediately reached out to the rescue who had her, to check her availability and fill out an adoption application.
February 3, 2019 started with a limp. Although it seemed to come out of nowhere, Dizzie was obviously in pain. Immediately I called her vet, who knew her well due to an ongoing battle with allergies. I feared the worst but kept telling myself it was just going to be arthritis and that she would be fine. Little did I know, this was her first symptom of osteosarcoma.