We have a beautiful 5 year old English Bulldog named Bailey. Since Bailey was about a year old, her front left leg was a little bigger than her right. Almost a year ago in August, we went on a camping trip to Jellystone. After we returned home, Bailey developed a wound on her left paw. We took her to the vet who did cultures and scans etc. We continued to follow up every week or two and it would not get any better. By January we decided to take her for a second opinion. I first went to a specialist who said she may need her leg amputated but she was way too overweight and would not do well. At this time she was about 52 pounds. I was highly upset when I heard immediately that she needed her leg amputated, as it was something that we never considered. At this point she was mostly in a cone all day and night because she would not stop licking her wounds. We then took her to see another vet in Philadelphia where my sister has a friend who owns a rescue. The first vet determined she likely had cancer. Then she went to a dermatologist who did a biopsy that did not show anything. She had additional scans and lab work. She was then placed on a medication for vascular flow in addition to her Zeniquin and Prednisone. We returned home and since then she will heal in one spot and then another spot will open up. We have played with medication doses, but even on the highest dosages she is still not ‘normal’ and in obvious pain. She has been on a strict diet because we knew amputation was a consideration. She has been in pain more, holding up her paw. She has also been licking her paw a lot and we have had to put her cone back on at times. We returned to our vet, who thinks that the swollen limb is being caused by a dilated blood vessel which as she gets older is getting worse and blocking blood flow to her paw. Due to this her wounds will not heal. She suggested at this point, since we have done testing and tried many things to help Bailey, that we amputate her leg. Bailey has also lost almost 20 lbs and now weighs a healthy 34 lbs so she is a candidate for amputation. So we have made the decision to amputate on Friday. This does not come easy for my family. My husband and I have two beautiful kids age 2 and 5. We also have a 10 year old Boxer. We know it is going to be a rough road, but we are trying to prepare as best we can. I will post more as her journey develops!
