Around the time that Punch left us, Mom noticed that my elbow was swollen. She thought it might be from arthritis or a little fluid build up in the joint. It wasn’t painful and didn’t change how I walked, or jumped or laid down.

I had another warty looking bump under my leg, but the vet had said that it was nothing to worry about. She said “Boxers get weird skin things as they get older”. So Mom didn’t rush to go back to the vet.

But it started to get bigger and Mom wondered about the ‘no problem’ vet, so she took me to a different vet. He said that both growths should both be removed and tested, so I had a quick surgery and went home right afterwards. The test came back…two different types of cancer. The vet said he was sure he removed the entire underarm lump, but the elbow one was more complicated. He said if that one came back, it would be very aggressive.

Six months passed with no problems. Mom and Dad thought we were in the clear. Then the elbow lump came back. We went to the vet right away.  He said that my leg should be amputated and he took some chest x-rays, which showed a shadow.  To be sure, he recommended we come back in one week for another x-ray. We did. Clear lungs. Good news. Mom and Dad took me home to decide about the surgery. But the next morning, I woke up with a swollen neck and face. Mom thought it was another cancer lump. But the vet thought it was a bug bite, which didn’t surprise Mom because I like to eat bees. Yes, you read that right…buzz, buzz, buzz. They drive me crazy, so I eat them. Anyway… he gave me a shot and sent us home.  It was a Saturday (of course, Mom said). Sunday morning the swelling was a bit better, so Mom thought the shot worked. But by the middle of the night, I was miserable. My whole neck and face were so swollen that I couldn’t even lay down. So Dad took me to the animal hospital. They did tests and found a massive bacterial infection under my chin. They inserted drainage tubes, put me on IV antibiotics and kept me there for two days. I had the tubes for two weeks and was on pills for one month. All the vets said to wait on the amputation, even though my elbow tumor was growing. They were worried that the infection was going to come back.

The week after my last antibiotic pill, my family went on a long-planned vacation, leaving me with a close friend. I didn’t have any more infection problems, but during the time they were away, the lump grew like crazy. When they got home, Mom said, “Now the lump has lumps”. It looked like this…

The next day (a Saturday, again) we went back to the animal hospital and the vets there said that the infection was clear and we shouldn’t wait much longer. Mom and Dad made the appointment and on Monday, May 23rd, I had my right front leg amputated.