[lucasmom]

Ninasmom and Warrior-
I am intrigued by your posts. I have always really wondered if Lucas has OS or a bone tumor. My vet did send his films out to a specialist, but she never could "definitively" say it was OS. My vet just said the she was "inclined" to agree with him that it was OS. I never let Lucas have a biopsy. I guess without a biopsy, you can never be totally certain. I have his X rays and they do not look like OS sunburst pattern. But hey...what do I know.

The thing that inclines me to agree with the diagnosis of OS is that this tumor is growing at lightening speed. Strange thing though, he does weight bear on it sometimes. He still runs like the wind after the cats and squirrels. He really does not need his four legs at all. The only challenge with three legs for him is when he gets up from a laying down position.

So, my question to each of you is how big was/is your dogs' tumors? Did they keep growing at a very rapid pace?

Every time I considered taking Lucas to Cornell Vet University (the only oncologists in our area) I backed out because they insist on a biopsy. I believe that a biopsy would be certain death for him as the cancer tends to spread very quickly once it is disturbed. Lucas' chest X-rays have always been clear and there are no signs of mets.

Who knows...like you said, whether it is or is not, we need to enjoy each day we have and put them down when the pain cannot be controlled. I do not want Lucas to suffer. He has more GOOD days than BAD and he still has a quality of life. Deep in my heart, I know he has OS and I am sure that this is wishful thinking. This very cruel and nasty disease is robbing us of our best friends like a thief in the night. It has changed my life and the way I look at each day. Losing a loved one really puts things in perspective as to what is really important in life.

Rest well tonight my rottie friends. Laurie

P.S. Mike...I agree with you. Personally I could never go right out and get another dog. However, one side of me tells me that the altruistic thing to do would be to give another dog out there a good home asap. The other side tells me that there could never be another Lucas and I could never "replace" him. In fact, I feel I would dislike any other dog because I would tend to resent them because they are NOT my Lucas. I think that in time, I could love another dog. I have always had dogs in my life (never a rottie though), and while I loved each of them, I have never felt this way about a dog. There is something very, very special about rottweilers. As I am sure you all can agree........