Hi --

I have a seven-year-old male Lab mix who has developed a bone tumor in his
right front leg, just above the wrist joint. He had been limping off and on
for several months (he'd limp one day, be fine for weeks, limp another,
etc.). The vet chalked it up to overexertion (these are active dogs, and
sometimes they overdo it), and a day or two of aspirin always seemed to
clear up the problem. But last Thursday he was limping really badly, and
Friday he refused to put any weight on his leg. I took him to the vet on
Friday, where they X-rayed his leg and found the tumor. My vet just called
me back to say that he had conferred with other colleagues and that they're
pretty sure it's osteosarcoma.

The dog was placed on Tramadol on Friday. By Saturday he was walking with a
bit of a limp, and by Sunday he was rarin' to go again. I've been extending
the interval between doses; he's currently up to 18 hours without any
obvious problem. He's walking OK, wanting to go out, chasing the ducks, etc.

I started reading up on cancer therapies, particularly alternative therapies
and nutrition, on Saturday after I got over the "gut punch" of Friday
afternoon, and have begun to implement some of the feeding modifications (I
didn't want to wait for the vets). I am looking for any additional
information, insight, help, etc. that I can find. I'm not ready to say
goodbye to this dog just yet, and I'm pretty sure that neither is he. The
vet is going to call me back with the information on the chemotherapy
protocols. But it is highly unlikely that I will have the dog's leg
amputated, since he already has two bad knees and he would not be able to
move on just one good leg. So I am looking for anything that would help me
retard (reverse?) the course of this disease, and/or will keep the dog as
healthy as possible. Any pertinent information will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Chuck and Rocky (and Duke sitting in the wings)