Sad post about my dog...when do you know [View all]

it's time to say good bye.

We have a ten year old Pyrenees. He is a wonderful dog, got him from a rescue at a year old, he had been returned a few times, because apparently, people don't read about breeds before they adopt fluffy white dogs and they were not ready for the barking.

Anyway, he was limping when we got him, but then, he ran into a doorframe and his leg was back to normal, seems his shoulder joint was loose and it came out every so often, but went back into place easily.

This is to say when he started limping recently, we thought it was the usual thing.

It got worse and we took him to the vet. He has osteosarcoma in one of his front legs. We did two x-rays and the void in the bone doubled in size in a week.

We talked about chemotherapy....the vet was honest with us. In a dog his age, we could buy a few weeks or a month for thousands of dollars and we'd have to amputate his leg. She also said that in a hundred pound dog of his age, it would be very hard for him to adjust.

I trust and believe this vet. She cried with us as she told us...

So, how do we know when to let go? Do I wait until he can't walk anymore? Or until it impairs his breathing? Right now,. he's still able to get around, but it gets worse every day. He still makes it up the stairs at night to sleep next to our bed, he still moves to "guard" the doorway of any room I'm in and, according to DH and the one kid at home, is very anxious when "Mama" isn't home.

So, I know it isn't yet...but I don't even know what to look for.

Thanks. Sorry for the downer post.