TinselTown Trash

Today was a very emotional day.

It all started at 6:30 when the alarm went off and I quickly woke up the entire family. There was never any doubt that we would all go together to take Flash to this very important appointment today.

We arrived about 20 minutes early, which was amazing seeing how the Atlanta traffic was. After completing the new patient registration form, they took us all into a small 10×15 room. I have to admire the kids for sitting there, listening to things they could not understand, keeping quiet so we could comprehend what the veterinarian was telling us.

Flash’s prognosis is not good. The deterioration in the bone is so bad that he is now at the point that just walking could cause hairline fractures and more pain. The veterinarian explained everything to us, he covered all the options. I am so glad he did.

The first thing Flash needs is an immediate amputation of his right front leg. They will have to take the shoulder and the shoulder blade too. His recovery from the amputation will be rather quick, but he will never recover from the cancer.

The veterinarian explained that there is no doubt the cancer has spread and Flash has at best 6 months to 1 year left with us. He discussed the options for chemotherapy, but even with the treatment that shows the best results, the most Flash gains is an additional 6 months to 1 year.

We will never know what Flash is thinking, or what he wants. I do know that if it were me, I would choose the quality of life over the quantity. It just seems more logical to me to allow him to live as a happy 3 legged dog for 6 months to a year, rather than have him laying around listless, drooling, in a heap of fur on the floor, too sick to notice whether or not we were even in the room.

So for now, we are planning on the amputation. He has pain pills to get him through til we can get that done in the next week or so, and after that is done, we will take it from there.

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