There Goes the Toes

Remember last June when poor little Eco had to get surgery on her foot to remove a lump (hamartoma-normal tissues growing abnormally) ?

Well either the dang thing grew back or she grew another one. The problem is it's between her toes so it's a difficult spot to do surgery, especially when there's very little skin in that area in the first place. Apparently their existence is pretty common, but they are usually on parts of the body where they can just exist without interfering with life - such as the shoulder or neck or back.

My vet posted photos of it on a veterinary forum across Canada and the United States, but it seems that  our only option is to remove the toe. We can't inject it to stop the growth and radiation is not recommended because of it's location and sensitivity. She could wear a special orthotic boot - but for the rest of her life? An active young labrador?

 So it looks like amputation is our only choice. And the vet says recovery time is only 2 weeks. I'm really sad about this but there doesn't seem a lot I can do about it. It's possible that we remove the toe and life goes on and we never give it a second thought.

Wow, I just googled "toe amputation in dogs" and was surprised to see all the entries. I guess that's making me feel a little better about it. But still, I don't like my poor little baby losing body parts!

Any suggestions? What would you do?