Our first feature pet of Limb Amputation in Pets – a series by Torquay Animal House Vets is the remarkable Raff! At the time of writing this, Raff is a twelve and a half year old English Staffordshire Terrier (more commonly known as a Staffy). Raff has been a much loved patient here at Torquay Animal House since he was just a young puppy way back in 2012.
Raff’s dedicated mum Kristin kindly penned the following words about Raff and his and their families journey through his limb amputation experience.
“Our gorgeous Raff is a 12 and a ½ year old English Staffy. We’ve had him since he was a pup, and he has grown up with our kids. He is as much a member of our family as any human. He’s the greatest singer, smoocher and snuggler.”
The diagnosis
“Raff had had a bit of arthritis in his right leg previously, but at 8 developed a decent limp in his front left leg. X-rays revealed suspected osteosarcoma in his humerus. This was at the peak of lockdowns in 2020. I’ll never forget standing in the carpark of Torquay Animal House talking to Dr Denis about our options. Knowing nothing about Osteosarcoma previously, we were devastated to learn the aggressive nature of this disease and potential prognosis, but were given some hope with a referral to a specialist in Melbourne to have the leg removed.
Dr Denis pushed for surgery to be moved forward from the original option of two weeks later, to two days later – something I will be eternally grateful for. It all moved faster than we could process and it was incredibly emotional but we still say it was the easiest hard decision we’ve ever made. Not that it felt that way at the time. But, the alternative was never a consideration for us. ”
The Surgery and chemotherapy
“We really didn’t know what to expect. Due to covid restrictions, only one of us was allowed in the building to drop Raff off, with vets we didn’t know. He was to be left in a consulting room on his own and then they would look after him. We were to collect him the next day. We were given the same instructions upon arrival. He would be left in a consulting room, one of us could enter and hopefully he would walk out. Only problem was he did not want to move. It took two nurses dressed in full PPE gear to carry him out to the car – with him being very vocal the whole trip home. That was Friday night. By Saturday lunchtime, with the initial support of a homemade harness, he was hopping across the backyard. And from there, there was no holding him back.
Raff had his humerus and shoulder removed. Diagnostics revealed he had the fibroblastic variant of Osteosarcoma. Despite clear scans, we were recommended to follow up with chemotherapy due to the aggressive nature and microscopic cells, which we did – once every 3 weeks for 6 rounds, which he tolerated well. We followed up with scans every six months and are thrilled that they’ve continued to be clear. ”
The recovery
“This dog has honestly blown us away. He has now gone four years post amputation, and I can hand on heart say everyday has been a recognised bonus day. The collateral beauty in all of this is the way he’s changed our life. He comes on road trip family holidays with us, exploring new riverwalks, lakes, creeks and forests. We bought a stroller for him to go on longer walks with us when he’s had enough which he truly loves. We just slowed down life to enjoy our time with him. I made a promise to him in the days straight after surgery that every day we could get to the beach, we would get to the beach. We’ve seen more than a thousand sunrises together since. He has bounded through waves, chased balls, played tug of war, run with dogs – and just continued to be the happiest dog. He is pure joy.
Our greatest challenge is now – at 12 ½, his arthritis is slowing him down. But, with a variety of treatments, this is being managed as well as possible.
Without a doubt, we would make the same decision (for amputation) again in a heartbeat. As I type this, Raff is lying beside me with his head on my lap, snoring his deep Staffy snores.
We couldn’t be luckier.”
Thank you to Kristin and Raff for generously sharing their story with us all.