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Hey, Reader!

I'm going to skip the usual raw feeding topic this week. Instead, I want to tell you what's been going on with Wally.

About a month ago, Wally started limping on his left front leg. Nothing dramatic, just a hitch in his step that made us look twice. We took him to the vet, and he came home with anti-inflammatories and pain medication. They helped a little. Not much.

We went on vacation, hoping some rest would do the trick. It didn't.

So as soon as we got back, we took him in again, and this time the vet ordered x-rays. They came back clean.

No fracture, nothing obviously wrong, which should have been a relief, but it just left us with more questions.

Our vet didn't wait around. She got Wally an appointment for the very next day, at the same small animal clinic that removed the squeaker he swallowed on Christmas.

This time, it was a CT scan he had to go under anesthesia for. The images showed something on the bone. Not a clear answer, just something that needed a closer look.

So the next day, we were back again, this time for a bone biopsy. And since it's an invasive procedure, he had to go under again.

We'll get the biopsy results next week. The vets have told us it's most likely one of two things: bone cancer, or a bacterial infection.

If it's bone cancer, Wally will need to have his front leg amputated. If it's a bacterial infection, it's treatable with several weeks of antibiotics.

Right now, Wally is on pain meds and antibiotics, and he's doing better than we expected, all things considered. He's still loving his raw dog food, still greeting us at the door, still Wally.

Our vet told us that once the antibiotics start working, and he starts wanting to walk again on his own (which he does), that's a good sign it may be the infection rather than cancer, and we can start easing him into (very short) walks.

On top of the emotional toll, it's been an expensive week too. Between the exams, the x-rays, the CT scan, and the biopsy, we're at around 2,000 Euros (about 2,335 US Dollars) in vet costs so far, and that's before we even have an answer.

I'm not sharing that for sympathy, just to be honest about what a week like this actually looks like.

This week has been a lot for us. Physically hard on Wally, and emotionally heavy for us as his humans. Pepper has been sticking close to him too, like she knows something is different.

I don't have a neat way to wrap this up, because we don't have an answer yet ourselves.

Either way, if you have a moment this week, I would be so grateful if you kept Wally in your thoughts, or said a prayer for him if that's something you do. We'll share an update as soon as we know more.

Thank you for being here, and for caring about this goofy, resilient dog as much as we do.

Happy raw feeding,
Barbara

My raw feeding recommendations:

• ​Choose between 13 different raw dog food blends from Raw Paws Pet Food here. Use K9Savings for 15% off!
• Raw Feeding Miami has an amazing raw dog food ingredient selection. Use this link for 10% OFF your first RFM purchase.
• ​Try ​this trial box from Darwin’s for 75% less (up to $100) - you’ll get to test it without wasting money. Fun fact: I started my raw feeding journey with raw dog food from Darwin's!
• ​My favorite resources for a healthy dog lifestyle - everything from freezers to knives, food storage containers, cutting boards, supplements, meat grinders as well as dog training tools and travel gadgets.
• Use my free raw dog food calculator to figure out how much of what your pup(py) needs to eat.
• Double check your meat's fat content with my free muscle meat fat calculator.

Got Questions, Comments, Or Ideas for Future Topics?

Feel free to email me anytime at barbara@k9sovercoffee.com.

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