Our very-loved 9-year-old Labrador is sick. It's really bad. He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of his ulna. By the time of diagnosis, 90% of these have metastasized to the lungs. Nothing showed up on his lung film, but that means little. With no treatment, we are looking at 2-4 months. Our options: 1. Control pain as well as we can with oral meds. 2. Amputate and chemo to increase life expectancy to a year. 3. Amputate for pain control. 4. Radiation for pain control.
After speaking with a trusted vet, radiation was ruled out as an expensive form of voodoo therapy. We also ruled out chemo because he will likely die of lung mets regardless of the chemo, so why put him through that? That left us with 1 and 3. We opted for 3 because he was just in so much pain. The surgery happened yesterday. As of this morning, his vet reported that he was in a LOT of pain and requiring sedation and multiple pain meds. I was racked with guilt thinking we'd done something cruel to our guy. By this afternoon, he was faring some better and learning to walk again.
I can only hope that he gets the hang of it soon, heals well and goes on to enjoy a playful and happy end. My heart breaks to think of the decisions that will have to be made in the upcoming months, and the decisions we've already made. I hope we've chosen the right path for him.
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