Final decision

Yesterday we met with M because we both needed to hear him say it. We needed him to say that we have done all we can and that this cancer is just so aggressive, we can't seem to stop it or slow it down. He showed us the XRAY in which Arlie has a 2" tumor on his left lung. Right now you would never know he was sick. Honestly, he's running around and playing and enjoying life.

M went over our options. We could try oral chemo at $700/month (which at this point is out of our budget) or just enjoy Arlie for what might be his last few weeks/months. To date we have spent nearly $13,000 to save our dog (including amputation and meds) and we just can't do anymore. Especially since Arlie is so drug sensitive that it's most likely that this will make him sick or not do anything but prolong his life a month.


M looked at us and said that Arlie has put up a great fight and is super strong and it's our choice. We looked at eachother and decided that we will live out our final days with Arlie and no longer medicate him or change chemos. We have tried so hard and Arlie has fought so valiantly. M told us that right now Arlie doesn't know he's sick (he didn't tell him and neither have we) and to "live it up".

I sat in M's office and said, "We've done this for nothing. We've mutilated our baby by taking off his leg. Given him 6 rounds of chemotherapy....for nothing." M told me that it definitely was not for nothing as we would've had only a couple months with Arlie if that. We have bought Arlie another 8 months.   We have given him 8 extra months in which he has seen his sister complete her first year of preschool, he has seen us through another move and met our neighbors and their kids and furbabies (and he approves greatly BTW), another holiday season, another trip to the beach, endless amounts of cuddles and snuggles, romps, tug of wars, affection, free babysitting (of his brother and sister), and lastly, he has taught Greg and me that the love of a dog is unending and unconditional.

So....here we are. Today I bought a huge amount of freeze dried chicken. I will get some rotisserie (he's a sucker for it), he will hit the beach one final time with his girl Bella (neighbor's golden) and we will throw that tennis ball and walk him until he's decided he's had enough. At the first sign of trouble, we will go to M for a second opinion and then give him the same dignity in the end as he has had in life. He deserves this. We are so lucky to have had him for this long.

I circled the tumor that has invaded Arlie's lung. It's hard to see but it is that shadow.

We went on Amazon and found this dog. It is Arlie as a puppy EXACTLY. We have decided to cut off the front right leg and sew it back together and keep that in memory of our boy. We want to remember him as the fighter he is.