Step1: Diagnosis

Hello everyone!

This is my 6 1/2 year old Dane, Daphne, the super star of this story.She is my 2nd Great Dane and I literally first met her an hour after she was born.  I had this amazing privilege because I was good friends with the breeder and since I knew Daphne’s dam since she was 8 weeks old, she didn’t mind me making a fuss over her new puppies.  I had no intention of buying a puppy.  I already had a Dane at home and the puppy I was drawn to, was the one you are told by all dog experts to never pick.  The antisocial puppy that prefers to be by itself rather than the litter mates.  It’s why I picked her because I had read that these loners don’t bond well and are often unsuccessful pets and end up being often destroyed young.  I know the breeder worried about this puppy too.  I couldn’t stand the thought that she might end up with an uneducated owner and hoping I could be a good owner for her, I decided to buy Daphne.  She came to live with Diesel ( who crossed the Rainbow Bridge last year) and I when she was 8 weeks old and she has been wonderful.  Was she a challenge to raise?  Absolutely!  I had the help of a wonderful professional to get us through some rough spots and the help of two caring breeders, hers and the lady who bred Diesel.  Daphne bonded very deeply with her new family and has turned into a truly great pet and a credit to her breed.

Until now, her greatest speed bump was the loss of her brother, Diesel.  She has had to adjust being an only dog.  She’s never alone though.  My Mom moved in with me and she is retired so she’s home a lot and I have two Siamese cats who Daphne is very attached to.  

Three weeks ago today, I was giving Daff a bath since she was going in for surgery the following week to have some sebaceous cysts removed because she was beginning to bug them.  The one that had “popped” the week before was on the outside of her left hind leg just above her hock.  Really gross stuff came out of it and my vet put her on antibiotics.  We thought that this infection might be why she was suddenly bothering it ( the cyst had been there for about 2 years).  But as I was bathing her I noticed for the first time, a small hard lump almost directly across from her infected sebaceous cyst on the inside of her left hind leg just above the hock.

I almost waited to her surgery date but Monday morning took her in to show my vet the “new” lump.  Thank God!  She was all over it.  She immediately took X-rays and sent them away to a specialist.  You guessed it.  Cancer.  Onto an oncologist at the University of Guelph at the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC).  I’m in Canada.  Here Daphne and I met Dr. Arata (which is his 1st name because I can’t pronounce his last name.)

Daphne has been through a lot of testing over the last 10 days but the long and short of it, is the cancer has not yet metastasized and she’s structurally sound enough to be a Tripawd.  That little almond sized tumour has already grown to be avocado-sized and is causing her a great deal of pain.  Her amputation surgery is scheduled for this Monday.

I know this is the right thing to do.  It’s her best chance for survival – though I understand that there are no guarantees.  If God is going to take her, then He will.  I figure I can only show Him what she means to me and pray for mercy and as much more time as I can compassionately beg for.

This has all happened so fast.  I feel like I can’t quite catch up to my new reality – that I haven’t researched enough or prepared enough.  I work full time and the trip to OVC is a 4 hour round trip.

But step 1 is finished.  Daphne has been diagnosed and she is on pain killers.  A treatment plan will be underway in about 24 hours.

I just feel… Unmoored.