DOG-GONE IT - HE'S SUCH A SWEET POOCH

As some of you may already know, we have some problems going on with our 7 1/2 year old chocolate lab named Roper. Lately, he's just been having some health issues. Started out as his arthritis, and hip dysplasia (which is common in lab breeds). Lately he has been doing some things that warranted us taking him to the vet.

So, upon seeing the vet, we were told that both of Roper's back knees are shot. He has 5 lumps on his torso that the vet speculates are fatty deposits. He has enzymes in his liver, which means that there is probably something going on with that. He did have an abnormal thyroid level, but upon rechecking that, it seems stable. Herein lies the problems....

The knee surgery is about $2,000.00 per knee. We can't do both at one time and the recovery is about 1-3 months long and quite painful. Also, we have to spend a lot of money now on testing him for other ailments. The primary problems with the enzymes in his liver can range from anything from Hepatisis, an inflamatory disease in his liver, or the dreaded "C" word. There are also about 100 secondary issues that could be causing it. We are not sure what we need to do with him. We don't want to spend thousands on his knees if he might have cancer. We basically have to do another panel on his blood in 4-6 weeks to see what's going on. It's so hard. A lot of people will spend as much as they have to for their dog. It's not that it's so much about the money... it's about the quality of life he might have. If he has something wrong with his liver; we have to seriously think about how much we want him to suffer. The plan is to talk to the vet together later on in the week. We want to go through what all the options are and what we need to do. I can't imagine not having him around. Jarrett bought him for me our first Valentine's Day as a married couple. He's been there through a lot. He was my fuzzy friend that helped me through my infertility struggles with lots of big slobber kisses. He was there through my pregnancies, lying in bed eatting cheese when I was expecting the twins. He's been there bringing 3 babies home, giving each one big lick on the top of the head and a good thorough sniff in accepting them to our family. He's been a great furry friend. This sucks.