Please be assured... I say these words with all Christian love and respect my heart can summon. I know they may hurt you, but I hope they do not.
It is time to consider your dog’s best interests. He can’t understand what will befall him in the days to come. He will know fear and pain and the strangeness of his condition, but can’t know the why.
The Time has come for more than one of my Friends in years past, and hard as it was, and cry like I did, with time I saw the proper stewardship role thrust on me merely by my taking them into my life, and loving them.
I insisted on being with them and in physical contact with them as they crossed the Rainbow Bridge. For the last one, the vet gave us a comfortable chair in a quiet room, and a towel across my lap, as one mild shot for sleeping was given, and then a bit later, the other shot was administered. For all he knew, he fell asleep in my lap with me gently scratching the back of his neck. He was purring. And then he wasn’t.
I went directly to the shelter and got “Little Bo,” who partly filled the gap the same day.
God has given us dominion over the animals, and we owe them respect more than we do a long and difficult life.
This is my opinion. I’m sure others will disagree.
Yep - I disagree in this case. I think there are certainly times when we need to make that hard decision. Dave has stated that his dog does NOT have cancer, the vet and the rescue where he got him agree that the amputation is the best course, and he came here asking for feedback from others who may have had such a procedure with their dogs. I am frankly surprised at those that are counseling that the dog be put down.
I agree there are situations where that is the kind thing to do - in fact, I had to do that 3 years ago with our 15 year old Springer Spaniel. But this scenario does not seem hopeless at all!
There will certainly be a period of a few days of recovery from surgery and a few weeks of adjustment - but then he will have potentially years left with his beloved pet.