browser life

Was awakened this morning by a call from the vet. She said the specialist analyzed the x-rays, and the lumps on Chip's head are one of two things: either a rare condition whose technical name I forget that basically means uncontrolled calcium growths, or a tumor. Either one requires surgery if he is to get better.

The specialist is inclined to believe it is the calcium condition but noted it is usually only seen in young dogs. Normally, it is harmless, but this is an extreme case, and the growths are now so large they could be pressing on Chip's brain, which would explain his confusion and running into things. If nothing is done, it will continue to grow, and if he were to have surgery, if they didn't get all of it removed, it would grow back.

The specialist also checked out the x-rays of Chip's hips and said he really needs a complete hip replacement. If he does not have the surgery, he will eventually get to the point where he cannot walk at all. He's already at the highest safe daily dose of pain medication, so we cannot increase it if it is no longer enough.

Aside from the tremendous cost of two surgeries versus one, there is the issue of who would even do it. No one in South Dakota does this stuff. He can't even get a CT scan in this state, which would be crucial to determining whether his brain and/or optic nerves are being impinged upon.

I don't even know how we would get Chip to Ames, Iowa or Minneapolis. I can't drive that far, and Dan wouldn't be able to take a weekday off without risking losing his job (it was quite a gamble for him to take me to the Mayo Clinic last December and January). But even if we were to get the logistics figured out, we are probably talking thousands of dollars that we don't have for invasive surgeries that may not make him permanently better.

Which brings us back to Chip's quality of life if we can't do the surgeries. Sunday, he was in such bad shape that he showed absolutely no interest in going for a walk, which has never happened before. He no longer plays with his toys or plays games with us.

But wouldn't you know that just as I'm deciding Chip's reached his limit, today he seemed to be feeling better. He had some energy, ate all his food, followed me around wagging his tail and asked for tummy rubs. It's like he was saying he wasn't done with this world yet.

So Dan and I discussed it and agreed that although we'll do our best to make Chip comfy, we'll just have to play it by ear as far as how much worse we'll let him get. For now, he's getting around reasonably all right, especially since we have completely prohibited him from using the stairs the past three days. But when he gets to the point, whether it be in days, weeks, or months, that he is no longer able to engage in his favorite activity, which is sniffing every square inch of the back yard, it will be time to euthanize him.

I wasn't foolish enough to expect Chip to live forever. But I was hoping we'd have a couple of years left. I just hope that somehow Chip is able to let us know when to let him go.