Beautiful Beau is a much-loved 2-year-old Weimaraner who has become a familiar face at Hollybank after he was sadly diagnosed with an osteosarcoma, a malignant type of bone cancer.

In July 2023, Beau presented to Hollybank with a lump on the side of his left forelimb. In a young dog, differential diagnosis such as trauma or inflammation were thought most likely so Beau was prescribed some non steroidal anti-inflammatory pain relief. However, the lump continued to grow and Beau became increasingly lame on his left forelimb.

The decision was made to sedate Beau to take some x-rays of his leg. The x-rays sadly showed changes characteristic of a bone tumour. As this was unexpected in such a young dog, we consulted with our orthopaedic surgeon who agreed that the likelihood of an osteosarcoma was extremely high. While osteosarcoma in dogs cannot be definitively diagnosed on x-rays alone, a presumptive diagnosis can be made and in many cases biopsy is not necessary. In Beau’s case we did try to obtain some needle biopsy samples which were sent away to an external laboratory for analysis. These samples were inconclusive, which is a risk we face when trying to acquire samples of hard bone.

While the most pressing concern in patients with bone cancer is pain, this type of cancer also unfortunately has a high risk of spread to other organs via the blood stream. X rays taken of Beau’s lungs showed no obvious spread although microscopic spread would not be seen.

The ideal therapy for bone cancer involves complete resection of the tumour and this most often requires amputation. This removes the painful tumour and also reduces the risk of further spread. Although many cats and dogs can cope remarkably well on three legs, amputation is always a very difficult decision for any owner to make.

Beau’s owners made the brave decision to amputate his forelimb in order to give him the best chance of being happy and comfortable. We are very pleased to report that Beau was also incredibly brave and made a speedy recovery following the surgery. He is now coping amazingly well on three legs and back doing the things he loves!