15/09/2026
Please be patient with me through this next, very difficult chapter 💔
Thank you
I am devastated to have to tell you all that our amazing, gorgeous, most special of boys, has been diagnosed with osteosarcoma 😔
X-rays showed a suspected bone tumour in Lochie's ankle. The vets did a biopsy which sadly confirmed the worst. This is a very aggressive and painful bone cancer, which is terminal. We are beyond heart broken.
There is the option of amputating the leg in question, which would remove the unbearable pain which will come in time, however, it will still metastasize and will likely hit his lungs first. When the tumour was found, our vets automatically x-rayed his chest straight away. Fortunately nothing showed up in his lungs, but this doesn't mean microscopic cells haven't already spread there. X-rays will only show these once they reach a certain size.
We have researched, and continue to research, all options, statistics, success rates, chemo etc. Larger dogs are more likely to struggle on 3 legs but many do cope very well. With amputation we could, in theory buy him a bit more time (up to 6 months) and with amputation plus chemo we could possibly extend his time by up to 12 months.
Unfortunately we have to take into consideration all this poor boy has already been through, most significantly his spinal surgery back in January. Although this has all healed well, he does still suffer some discomfort in that area, and we know this will likely deteriorate further over time. He is already very stiff when lying down and our vet who knows Lochie well, suspects this is still due to his back. We also have to consider that the ankle on question has been causing problems since march and we have no way of knowing when the cancer first appeared.
We have not made any set decisions yet, but we are leaning towards not amputating. As much as we want this amazing boy in our lives for as long as possible, our priority must be Lochie's quality of life for whatever time he has left. If this is on the shorter side then we want to be able to spoil him as much as possible and give him the opportunity to enjoy it as much as he's able, not put him through more trauma and have to restrict him while he recovers from yet another major surgery.
Without amputation we are left with pain management. We visited the vet again yesterday and the good news is he's happy with how Lochie is looking right now. He estimated his pain level to be around 2 out of 10 on his current medication, and we still have options to increase his pain relief. We do have to be cautious with his exercise as the weakness in his bone means he is much more at risk of breakage, but there is still a lot he can do and enjoy.
We don't know how much time we have left with Lochie in our lives, and this is absolutely heart shattering. But, this boy deserves nothing but the best. Best food, best experiences, endless adorations from all his wonderful family, friends and fans, and we will do everything in our power to make his time with us the best it can possibly be.
So, what's next? We will continue to look into any form of medication, supplements, diets etc that may benefit Lochie. We will also be putting together a bucket list.
Can you help with this? We welcome any suggestions, options, offers etc for anything to provide him with happy times.
Lochie loves his friends and visitors. He loves tasty treats, any opportunity to be cheeky! Outings to dog friendly places etc. any and all ideas welcome and anyone who wants to see him to brighten his day sometime please get in touch. I will of course chauffeur him to see anyone who would like a visit from him.
I promise from the bottom of my heart we will do everything in our power to give this exceptionally wonderful boy the very best remaining time possible, for however long we are blessed to have him in our lives 💜
