My thoughts go out to everyone struggling with this. It's very hard to know when to treat the cancer aggressively and when to let your pup go, because they can't tell us. They have evolved to hide their pain because in the wild if an animal cries, another animal comes and eats it.
This may or may not be helpful but I would add that it's important to have a good relationship with a vet you trust. Because there are some vets out there who will put your pet through hellish treatments just to make a few more bucks.
When my 10 year old Border Collie was diagnosed with a soft tissue sarcoma that was essentially strangling his leg, I couldn't immediately be in contact with my vet and for a time had to deal with his boss - the clinic owner. That guy wanted me to amputate and wouldn't even discuss palliative medication unless I dragged the dog (who was in completely uncontrolled pain) into the clinic. It was a very aggressive cancer and the surgery would not have prolonged his life by much but it would have made him suffer more. I chose to put him down a few days later because additional pain meds weren't helping. (We did it at home with a palliative home vet, which costs more but was a lot more humane for the dog and for us). Afterwards my vet said "your decision was both kind and correct".
It's hard as hell to know what is the right thing to do in the moment. It's a lot more important to keep in mind how much you have loved and how well you have taken care of your dog for the rest of her life. Hang tough!
This is so true and so sad.
I have experienced that first hand at 2 high end clinics in the chicagoland area, and am more than willing to state which ones and more details via pm if anyone is concerned about that issue.
I also found an amazing, compassionate vet very close to me that did a great thing for me-
My little lady was being treated by an oncologist a considerable distance from my house.
She needed fluids, and a local vet was willing to do that for me with no questions asked- I called, explained the situation, and said she is a very timid girl and doesnt need a ton of people looking over her- she has health issues and is being treated elswhere.
The vet verified that fluids was ok with my oncologist, stayed open late for me, and sent me home with 4 bags of lactated ringers so I could do it at home... total cost, 45 bucks.
Some great vets out there, and some shady ones.
