Re: [ihc] Cancer has struck

[John Hofstetter <hofs@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Aug 16, 2004, at 2:29 PM, John Fleck wrote:

> The Vet says he could last
> 2-6 months left untreated. The only option is Kemo thearpy. The 
> cheapest
> level is $1500 and the most is $4500. If it guarenteed him living i 
> would
> pay it in a heartbeat. I am lost right now..
I'm so sorry about Larp, John.

I have some thoughts that you should consider.

A big dog like Larp has a relatively short life span. Probably 10 years 
is about it.

You have no assurance that the Chemotherapy will work, and if it does 
it will take some time. So, you drop $4500 into his treatment and in a 
year he is lymphoma free. But, he has only a few more years to live 
regardless.

As you may already know, nobody on Earth loves their dogs more than 
Wanda and me. But trying to be realistic, I suspect that you need to 
skip the Chemo, keep Larp as comfortable as possible, and when he can't 
be kept pain free, be merciful for his sake.

And, I would get a pup right now and start letting Larp train it. When 
our Yorkie was obviously not too long for this world, we got the black 
Cairn that we have now, and he and the Yorkie spent a year together 
before we had to put her down. He's a much better dog because of what 
he learned from her.  And we feel that when we love him, we are also 
loving her.

FWIW

John

John Hofstetter
Ol' Saline
www.goldrush.com/~hofs