Buddy

Dear VMC staff,

I’d like to share the story of our wonderful golden retriever, Buddy. In February, 2012, we noticed that Buddy was limping, favoring his front left leg. Upon taking him to see our regular vet, Dr, Sliverstein, we received an initial diagnosis of a sprained ankle, so Buddy was given an anti-inflammatory medication which seemed to help out, as his limping stopped – until the medication was gone. The limping returned, and we brought Buddy back in, at which point x-rays were taken, which was followed by a heart-breaking diagnosis. Dr. Silverstien was 99% sure that the mass he saw in Buddy’s leg was a tumor, and that it was most likely cancerous. We felt like we were kicked in the gut – Buddy was only 6-1/2 years old, how could he possibly have cancer? Dr. Silverstein was very compassionate, while at the same time, gave us a great deal of information regarding treatment options. One of the options we were given was to bring Buddy to the U of M vet center to discuss a research study with the U of M oncology department. Upon reviewing Buddy’s x-rays, the oncologist confirmed Buddy’s diagnosis, and proceeded to tell us about the research study, the treatments, and the costs that would be involved. Buddy had a form of osteosarcoma in the lower wrist joint of his front left leg. The research study that most intrigued us was being led up by Dr. Vicki Wilke at the U of M, and involved giving Buddy a genetically modified form of the salmonella virus, with the theory being that while fighting off the salmonella, Buddy’s immune system would kick into “high gear” to also fight off the cancer cells. The salmonella treatments would then be combined with 5 chemotherapy treatments. As if this wasn’t enough to think about, all of the medication treatments were to be preceded by Buddy having his front left leg amputated. Wow… the thought of having a 3 legged dog at home recovering from a major surgery, while going through experimental medication, and then chemotherapy treatments was almost too much to handle. We thought long and hard about what we should do, including our two teenage kids in the discussions. We changed our mind a few times, but finally decided that we weren’t ready to say goodbye to Buddy. The knowledge that the results of this study would be used as part of an ongoing study for this same treatment option on young children diagnosed with osteosarcoma helped us to make the decision. If children with this awful disease could be helped by this research, we wanted to make sure Buddy was a part of the story.

On Thursday, April 11, Buddy had his front left leg amputated by Dr. Wilke. We were as ready as we thought we could be to bring home a “tri-pawed” dog, with the purchase of a ramp to get up our front steps, and a sling to help Buddy walk in the house and yard. Upon picking Buddy up the day after his surgery, he actually looked very happy, even with half of his body shaved, and one leg gone. We had been told that the tumor was most likely so painful for him that the pain of the surgery may had been a relief to him. The techs helped to lift Buddy into our car, and upon getting home, we helped him out of the car, and to our amazement, he hopped up the sidewalk, and up the 3 stairs to our front door without the help of the ramp or the sling! I don’t want to make it sound like it was without a lot of work, as he wasn’t comfortable walking on our kitchen floor (too slippery!), and he had to wear a t-shirt all the time to keep him from licking at his large wound. Three weeks after the surgery Buddy had his 1st salmonella and chemotherapy treatment, and a week after each treatment, he was back at the U of M for blood tests, and stool sample checks. The doctors were looking to see if there was any sign of the salmonella in his stools which they didn’t want to see as they wanted his immune system to kill it all off. Blood samples were taken to check his white cell counts. After every treatment, Buddy’s blood looked good, and his stools showed no signs of the salmonella. A couple of times during the treatments, Buddy also had chest x-rays to see if there was any sign of the cancer spreading, as this type of cancer will most likely come back as lung cancer.