We're still here!

Yes, we are all still alive! Things have been busy lately: Steve is working late three nights a week, my work days are jam-packed, too, and then we both get to come home and chase a 2-year-old. Not much time left for blogging, I'm afraid! I hope you understand. :)

There are a few things to report, one item not so good. Should I start with that first just to get it out of the way? Yeah, probably.

You may remember that last year our dog, Skeeter, had his right eye removed because of a malignant eye tumor. He quickly recovered from that surgery and went right back to his usual, silly self. Earlier this summer I started noticing some on-and-off lameness with his right front leg, but just about the time I'd get ready to call the vet to have it checked out, he'd recover and start putting normal weight on it. He went in for his regular check-up in late June and all was well. He was overweight, which is normal for him, but otherwise healthy. The vet was happy to see that he was still doing so well after his bout with cancer last year.

In less than a week after that check-up, a lump appeared on his right front-leg "wrist," and he'd begun favoring that leg so much he wasn't putting any weight on it at all. We also noticed that he wasn't eating much or at all, which was HIGHLY unusual. Skeeter had never met a food item he didn't like. We took him back to the vet, and the first thing we noticed was that he'd dropped 4 pounds--in less than two weeks. Yikes. The vet brought up the possibility that the lump could be a tumor, which was a thought that had crossed my mind, too. He put him on some anti-inflammatory medication to see if that would reduce the swelling and we waited a week to see how he fared. Unfortunately, there was little to no change to the size of the lump and his appetite never increased. Back to the vet yesterday for x-rays--he'd lost ANOTHER 4 pounds in that week and a half. The results from the x-rays were not what we were hoping for: A significant chance that there is a tumor growing there (probably osteosarcoma (bone cancer), since it's unlikely that it's metasticized melanoma from his eye cancer) with a slight possibility of a bone fungal infection (this would be extremely rare considering where we live).

So, now we're faced with the high possibility that Mr. McWheeter has yet ANOTHER form of cancer, this time a very aggressive form that is generally incurable. In most cases, by the time a lump has formed and is obvious to the naked eye, the cancer has already spread to other areas. Our options at this point are 1) A biopsy of some sort to rule out the fungal infection or to diagnose that it is really cancer (and what kind) or 2) to skip that entirely and assume it's cancer (since the odds are in our "favor") and just let him be. The vet himself said he doesn't have much hope that it's NOT cancer.

We're really wrestling with what to do in regards to a biopsy. It would be nice to know for sure what we're dealing with, but the most accurate biopsy is a fairly invasive procedure (requiring full sedation) and can cause weakening of the already compromised bone, which in turn could cause a fracture or some other injury to that leg. We had already decided that if it WAS cancer, we would not be doing treatments of any sort. With me losing my job in a month, there's just no way we could afford ongoing chemo treatments. I hate to automatically assume the worst, and I would HATE it if it really was a treatable infection of some sort and we didn't even try to fight it, but let's be honest here--we're not made of money, and this guy has already survived malignant cancer once in his 9 years. Is it really practical or humane to drag this on any longer than necessary?

So yeah, Steve and I have a lot of tough decisions to make. Our vet is fantastic and let us know in no uncertain terms that we have already done more for him than a lot of pet owners would and that our concerns (financial and otherwise) are valid and we would NOT be bad people if we chose to stop the fight. Right now, Skeeter is on some pain/anti-inflammatory medicine while we decide the next course of action. I bought some canned food that he will eat a bit of (enough to get his medicine down, thankfully), but I can tell he's not the same Skeeter he used to be. It's just hard to have to decide if/when the right time is. Do we wait until it's obvious that his body is failing or do we do it sooner, before he suffers any more? This is one of the times I wish Skeeter could speak in words, so that we knew what HE wanted. We want to do what is right for him, so that he has the best life possible, as long as possible. But Steve and I are struggling with the guilt that comes along with making a decision that may seem (to others) based on inconvenience or cost alone. You know? It's hard. I knew this decision would come someday--it's one that every pet owner has to face at one time or another--we just weren't ready to have to make it now.

Wow. That turned into a much longer post than I'd planned. I guess I have a lot on my mind today! I'll be back later with a happier, less Debbie Downer, Adele-centric post. :)