He's old. He has a hazy eye. It's hard to see the white in his already gray muzzle. His hips are riddled with arthritis from his hip dysplasia. He doesn't like men, especially in uniforms.
He loves burgers and this magical talent of eating one whole and spitting the pickles out. He'll also suck up just about anything left out.
He'll be 10 in March, which in human years leaves him pushing 70. His breed, Weimaraner, has a life span of 10-12 years. He is still spunky and eager, but he is definitely calming down from the energetic and lively dog he once was. He can definitely play the part of grouchy old man when the younger pup is around.
He's great at lying around most days, and love to sleep not only with us, but with his head on the pillows. (DH is such a fan of this.)
He has two recently repaired ears.
He's also the proud owner of a recently fractured femur head and dislocated hip.
That, by itself, is easily repairable. The vet assures me he can handle the surgery. I worry about putting a ten year old dog through anesthesia and invasive surgery on already damaged and arthritic and dysplastic hips, and expecting him to bounce back. That will be a long recovery, and in theory he only has two years left. And what will those two years be like? If 6 months is spent healing and learning how to comfortably move and exist, is it worth it? How much more arthritic will he become?
Wait, there's more!
It's suspected that this all occurred not because he slipped and fell, stupid hardwood floors, but because he slipped and fell on a hip harboring bone cancer.
That is what sank my heart.
The brought in his x-ray and books of x-rays to show me and make it all crystal clear.
You can fix a hip, you can't fix bone cancer. You also can't conclusively conclude it is bone cancer without the aforemention surgery. Surgery that will be rough, and tough to recover from given your age. Even more so if it is cancer.
I can hear my father now, booming if I were to even mention it to him.
It's wrong to let an animal suffer.
Agreed.
But what is suffering?
Is hobbling around on 3.5 legs suffering? Is dancing at the door when we come home suffering? Is running up the stairs and jumping in bed the signs of a suffering dog??
Do you know he is down right pissed he hasn't gone out for a walk in a week!
He sulks on the couch while our other dog is out. He is still eating, still drinking, still moving, still cuddling. He is happy. He is not whining. I'm sure he isn't without pain, but his pain is being managed.
I feel so weird having not decided how to help him, or maybe I have in deciding not to intervene. The way I see it, anything we decide to do will only bring more pain or possibly death. Assuming the worst, he is already dying. Without a doubt, he is in the last season of his life and for that I am indescribably sad. He has been with me for all of my adult firsts. My first apartment, my first bad break up, my first house, my first marriage, my children. He has a special place in my heart, just after my children but before the hubs.
I just wish he would tell me what to do, I don't want to be the one to decide.
