Spiritus, I’ll take your emotional garbage out any time. Besides, Tom Hanks is never around for slapping when you need him, is he?
What an incredible story. We lost my husband’s big yellow Lab a couple of years ago, and it was so hard. Tumors, he couldn’t walk or eat. The vet drained about 1/2 liter of fluid from around his heart one day, and a week later it was back. It came down to a similar choice- longer life with less quality, or shorter life with better quality. No question, if you look at it from the dog’s perspective. Caesar always had the best life a dog could want, and his last days weren’t going to be shitty & painful.
Hug him for me, I’m crying again.
Our Newf will have problems later (we already know this, but it won’t make it easier), so I know how you feel.