Miss Lucy – the love of our life. Our border collie named after Lucy Lawless, the actress who portrayed the infamous Xena Warrior Princess.
Lucy was a playful pup who, at the age of 1 year and 7 months developed a limp on her front right leg. After weeks of local vet therapy and rest Lucy’s limp remained. We went against our vet’s advice and booked her in for an MRI with SASH to understand the cause of her limp and get her on the mend. Perhaps she had ligament damage given her vibrancy as a border collie.
Dr Martin from SASH shared the MRI results – Lucy had bone cancer. With the expert advice from SASH doctors we had a choice to leave her leg as it was, retain the limp with a very short life expectancy or surgically remove her front leg with regular follow up treatment. We were heartbroken – an extraordinarily difficult decision.
We opted for surgery after researching and consulting other families who had faced the same decision – to give Lucy the best doggo life she deserved. A successful operation and Lucy spent months recovering and adapting. It took dedication, many sleepless nights for us and our dog, and loads of puppy cuddles.
Tri paw dogs can certainly be agile and little Lucy quickly learnt to run and play even faster than presurgery. She recovered so well we believe that all dogs are born with 3 legs plus a spare! Our Lucy had just lost her “spare”. Lucy spent Nov 2021 to Feb 2022 receiving regular chemotherapy treatment and daily medication with the best care from Dr Veronika and the SASH oncology unit. In April 2022 Lucy was declared cancer free!
We continued to frolic and play. In June 2022 our pupstar was unwell with an extended belly. We immediately booked an MRI with SASH, and the diagnosis was a mass around her spleen. It needed removing. Lucy had a splenectomy and had the mass removed – secondary cancer was diagnosed after the surgery. Lucy spent 4 weeks recovering and her follow up appointment identified further tumours growing. Medication would not be enough, our love would not be enough. We made the decision for no further surgeries. Lucy’s last weeks were spent doing what she loved – chasing birds, swimming, kissing and cuddly her friends always with a smile. She had many house visits from friends as she was a much loved dog in the Ryde community.
With the support of Dr Spela and the loving support of Jess from SASH Miss Lucy crossed the puppy rainbow bridge in July 2022. The SASH diagnosis gave us the opportunity to give our pupstar the most full and vibrant life available to her. We’re thankful for SASH’s expertise and more importantly the care they gave to our family and to Lucy herself.
If your pet is unwell or is diagnosed with cancer – trust your gut instincts and ask for a second opinion or explanation if you’re unsure. Consider your ability to provide your time, care, finances and emotional support. It can be emotionally and financially draining for you, your family and the people around you. Be kind to yourself, these are not easy decisions to make. Make the best decision for you and your pet. We’re confident with the decisions we made and would not have changed a thing.
Miss Lucy – forever the love of our lives, our own warrior princess.
@lucybordercollie2020
28/2/20 – 18/7/22
