zeus the three legged rottie – Page 4 – my dog zeus\' battle with osteosarcoma

Hi everyone, my name is Theresa and I live in Delaware. I would like to share the story of best friend Zeus. Zeus is a 140 lb. beautiful Rottweiler who is a gentle giant that loves everyone he meets. I rescued Zeus in 2011, at that time he was nine months old, untrained, not housebroken, and wild. The poor dog had been chained outside since the owner’s wife was terrified of him. Believe me the first month that I had him was a challenge, Zeus was afraid to go outside by himself. When we tried to put him out he would just throw himself against my sliding glass doors. Then when you went out with him he would out of nowhere jump on top of you. Once around Christmas time he jumped out of the back window of my car at the mall and just stood in the road causing traffic to back up even more than it already was. He was upset I had dropped my daughter off. Shortly after, I was driving past the bark park to get to the parking lot and I heard a noise like a gunshot. Lol Zeus had gotten upset that we passed by the bark park and pulled his head into the car catching his collar and totally imploding my window. Yes every day for that first month Zeus was shelter bound. But over the next few months Zeus began to trust us and morphed into the best dog I have ever owned. Unfortunately it was about the same time that I rescued Zeus that I was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer. After thinking I was cancer free for ten years this ugly beast had once again reared its ugly head. I had disease in my lymph nodes and as time progressed cancer would also be found in my right femur. In 2013, I needed to have a rod inserted in my leg to prevent a pathological fracture. My Zeus has been such a comfort and loyal companion to me during this terrible ordeal. Often times after my surgery he would walk slowly beside me assisting me around the house as he let me lean on his back. He also kept me physically active because when Zeus wants a walk I usually succumb to his demands (not that he is spoiled). I have spent many an afternoon at local parks walking with him and I believe that really helped me physically and emotionally. Fortunately my disease is very under control and besides a stiff right leg and slight limp I am doing very well. Zeus turned five years old on January 30th 2016 and I was excited that the weather forecast called for a mild day and thought we could spend the day at his favorite bark park, Carousel Park in Delaware. However, that morning Zeus was not putting any weight on his left front leg, I had noticed that recently he had been limping on and off, but he did fall once while fetching a ball and had hurt that leg. So I thought that maybe he strained a muscle. Now that he wasn’t putting weight on the leg, I brought him to the Vet the next day. That is when I heard the word OSTEOSARCOMA, it was as if someone had stabbed a knife into my heart, I mean, the irony was too cruel for me to wrap my head around. At first, I thought that I would not aggressively treat the cancer. The vet told me that Zeus would be gone in 2 months because he would not be able to tolerate the pain in his leg. But after speaking with a Veterinarian Oncologist, I decided to fight this dreaded disease with Zeus, just as he has helped me cope with mine. Zeus had his left front leg amputated on Thrsday Feb. 18th and will start chemo therapy on March 3rd. The past few days post-surgery have been tough but Zeus is taking it all in stride and is actually doing amazing. Everyone at the hospital fell in love with him!! That is just the kind of dog he is nothing but pure LOVE. My hope for this blog is that Zeus and I might be an inspiration to all who are battling this dreaded disease. God Bless you, Theresa and Zeus.