Wasn’t sure which forum to post in. I need your help. Our 11 1/2 yo Jake, was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in his lower right nostril. We don’t want to put him through surgery because of the location, the healing would be very tough because of the location and his age. We want him to live out his life without vet visits, surgery,pain, etc. Just live doing what he loves. What do you people do in a case like this? I feel that if I do enjoy a moment of anything then I am being unfair to him. It’s not right for me be happy at any time. Not that I’m happy but I feel so guilty if I try to do things to take my mind off his illness. Even having a little fun with our grandkids…. I feel guilty. Can anyone please help me. We love our Jake so much. We’ve been taking to McDonald’s when we go for a breakfast sandwich, we go to Petco, any place where they give him a lot of attention or just running errands…one of us is always in the car with him. He loves doing this. Please, I need some advice. I am also going to look into talking to a pet grief counselor…I’m at a loss. Thank you. JoAnn
Hi JoAnn, I'm sorry you're going through this - life can be so cruel. It's obvious from your posts though that Jake has known nothing but love, happiness and security with you, and that's an amazing thing. He's been a lucky dog. Meeting a grief counselor sounds like a really good idea. I also find this article on our main site very comforting - in it Pippa has written about her experience of providing end of life care for dogs, and hundreds of our readers have taken time to share their own stories in the comments section. I should mention that the title includes the word euthanasia - I'm not trying to push you towards one course of action or another, but I hope you'll find solace and strength in all our readers' words at the bottom of the article. Best wishes, Sarah x
