My brother's dog
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Can we pray for pets too?
My brother just told me that his dog, Marley has cancer. They can't spend the money to give the dog treatment or anything like that so they are going to do what they can to make him comfortable and spoil him for the rest of the time he is with them.
He is such a cool, good, smart dog. He loves to play fetch with frisbees, balls, whatever you give him. He can pick up a frisbee and ball with his mouth at the same time.
Here is my favorite story about Marley:
My brother was playing fetch with the dog in the back yard and somehow the ball got on the roof. Instead of getting the ball, my brother just decided that the game of fetch was over.
A week or 2 later: They were in the back yard again. The dog kept looking at the roof. My brother didn't think anything of it. But he just kept looking at the roof and then Marly would run into the garage, he did this a few times so my brother followed him into the garage. Marley looked at my brother, then looked at the ladder a few times. YEP you guess it, my brother got the ladder and carried it to the house. Stepped up on the ladder and the ball was there right in front of him.
My brother had totally forgotten about the ball on the roof, but Marley did not, and he knew how to get it off the roof! SMART dog.
Say a prayer that Marley won't be in much pain and that he has a good rest of his little doggie life.
btw, Marley is probably around 10 years old and is a mutt.
Poor thing, that's so sad!! I hope Marley is comfortable and enjoys his time with his family.
Bellajoe, I have made exactly the same decision, three times. The Dobie my parents brought out from Chicago was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in his nose at about age 10, and about 8 months later it had traveled to his brain, causing convulsions. When medication did not keep his pain or the convulsions under control, we had him put to sleep. We then got a beautiful 4 year old Chestnut Dobie, who was diagnosed with cancer in her right front shoulder about a year later, and when the pain meds stopped working and her leg collapsed under her about 8 months later when she stood up, we had her put to sleep. One of my mom's aging cats developed Lympoma, and again I opted for pain meds and when they stopped working, he was put to sleep.
It's a quality of life issue for me. If you were talking about a small tumor that could easily be removed intact with little or no likelihood of recurring, and a young dog, I would probably opt for surgery. But I'd never put an animal through chemo or radiation therapy.
Cost isn't the issue for me. I have too many human friends who have gone through chemo and/or radiation therapy (often with complete recovery) and have heard them describe the discomfort, pain and physical distress they experienced. They knew what was happening and why, and they still found the pain very hard to bear and were often in tears and dispair. A friend recently had both chemo and radiation therapy for breast cancer, and her skin was burned black (and very painful) from the radiation therapy. Your dog would never understand what was happening, or why. All he'd know is that people are doing something to him that is painful.
I support your brother's decision entirely. As long as Marley is eating, able to enjoy life and wag his tail when his people pet him, he's OK. When life is more pain than pleasure to him, then it's time to hug him and hold him and let him go - with tears, but no regrets for the decision, which is the right decision.
Oh, and I forgot. Prayers for your brother and his family, who are distressed and probably feeling guilty. Marley doesn't need my prayers because, as we know, all good dogs go to heaven (and a lot of the not so good ones too.)
Your all in my thoughts..
I'm so sorry. It's a hard time when you have to face the end of your dog's life. It was hard with Honey will be hard with Jasmine some day. I loved the story that you told and I'm in tears right now! The dog could probably smell where the ball was. How funny that he kept going by the ladder!
Tears here, too...Prayers for Marley and his family.
I don't think that I mentioned that my brother has 8 yr old and 5 yr old boys. I believe Marley has been in the family longer than the boys have which means the boys don't know life with out Marley.
They have had cats that died, but I think it will be harder for them when Marley dies. Marley is the one that goes outside with them, plays fetch with them, etc. I think it's going to be very hard on the boys and also on my brother and his wife because it's such a hard thing to do.
I remember when my mom put my dog to sleep. I was at work (but i did know she was going to do it) when i got home from work she was just sitting at the kitchen table waiting for me. When i walked in she burst into tears and said "Oh Patti, that was the hardest thing i've ever had to do!" My mom was sobbing, i was sort of shocked. (i was about 18 at the time)
I'll never forget that. Up until that moment, i wasn't sure she really ever liked the dog!
What a tough decision! I'm sure they have his best interests at heart. I truly hope that he enjoys every moment of his time with your brother and his family. All of them will be in my prayers.
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