In April we adopted our friend's service dog. Gilly had been trained by Paws-with-A-Cause and had assisted our wheelchair bound friend for 10 years. He's an 85 pound black lab. He's gentle and friendly and very well behaved. He's a great friend to our daughters (age 5 and 7).
Sadly we've discovered that has has a mast cell tumor. It's large and in a location where complete removal is pretty much impossible. Treatment will probably involve chemotherapy and radiation.
I'm torn about how agressively to pursue treatment. I'm not sure how I feel about this level of care for a dog when it is not always available for people. I'm also concerned about the stress and detriment to his quality of life. He's already got a big weepy wound from the biopsy and he's had to spend two full days at the animal hospital and endure four car rides. I'm heard from other people at the clinical that their pets begin to hate coming in. There's also the issue of cost. We don't have pet health insurance and it's already cost $2000 just for all the work-up.
I guess I'm looking for other people's insights and experiences. I feel so sad that this lovely dog is coming to the end of his days. His former owner btw has since passed away. A sad story in itself.