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Steve my bother I know exactly where you are....lost Belle in May to cancer and Sam has it too.....

Your friend til the end....

Keith

The last week has been a whirl.

We saw Portland's finest doggie oncologist. She was totally convinced, because of the ultrasounds, that Lib has bladder cancer. Dr. Freeman suggested a change in anti-inflamatory/pain killer and that we have Libby checked endoscopically.

In PDX, we are pretty lucky; a world-class vet who specializes in minimally-invasive endoscopic surgery is right here! So, we have an appointment for this coming Friday. Dr. Tim McCarthy will run his tiny endoscope up and into Libby's bladder. He will photograph while he is there and he will snip lots of the tumors away. The samples will give us a clue as to what "stage" of cancer Libby has.

No matter what, Libby would get the finest care possible. After all, unconditional love can only be answered by the finest help we can give.

Also, and happily, we've covered the last several decades of Scotty dogs with VPI Pet insurance. And in Libby's case we also bought the Cancer Supplement. VPI has been absolutely fabulous over the years.

And when it comes time to say good-bye, our vet, Dr, Kristen Shaw, does home calls. When the bad time comes, Kristen and our favourite vet tech, Dona, will come to our home.

Libby will be in famiar surroundings and in the arms of folks who love her totally. We'll have a little cuddle-time and love all around. Then, when we have to do the bad-thing, I will hold her in my arms and tell her, "It's alright, Lib, we all love you and it wil be just fine."

Then, Kristen will carefully insert the IV and ask me to nod when the time is right.

Minutes later, I'll nod and Libby the Wonderdog will begin her journey to the Rainbow Bridge. She will be stroked and loved and whispered to all along the journey. Libby will slowly and gently leave us.

She will always be in our hearts, but we will have to wait until we see Libby the Wonderdog on the other side.

But in the meanwhile, we will fight for Libby's life with everything we have. And when she is not having fun being a dog, then it will be the time to say good-bye.

Tears are coming, and some now ... and Lib will leave a dog-sized hole in our hearts.

May God Bless All of You,

Steve

Steve,

I sincerely hope that Libby is able to spend a few more months with you, Karen and Stowie. We've gone through this many times and it is never easy, nor should it be. Two of mine were gracious enough to go in their sleep which is much preferred. You share our committment to afford them the best possible care in the short time they give us, but the time to say "goodbye" eventually comes.

Sincere regards, Rick

I am so sorry to hear about your pups Malanoma. I had a Black dog one time, I had an Irish Setter, a White German Shepard and him. A black dog. His lineage was unknow as I found him wandering a dirt road hige in the hills surrounding Tucson years ago. He had no particular breeding, nothing to distinguish him other than his love for us and our love for him.
I first noticed a red "scratch"? in his eye. It didn't hear after a week or so, so I took him to the Vet where I found he had Melanoma. The Vet said it is always fatal in dogs and to operate would be very expensive and he would probably still die in the end.
I paid the Vet to operate and dig the cancer out of our pup.
He still got worse in spite of the surgery and a few weeks later I had to put him down. His right eyeball was pushing out of the socket and I could not stand to see him there ,, in pain,, silently suffering.
He was my buddy,my best friend and he loved our entire family. He was a "special person" to all of us. I still get tears almost 20 years later thinking about him. It is funny how a simple dog can endear itself to you so deeply for so long.
My Vet gave me the needle to send him on his way to the "Brigdge". I couldn't muster up the wherewithall to do it to him. I had to ask my Son in Law to do it for me. I cried like a child, but I did in fact bury my old friend in a place he would never be bothered and that only I and my wife knew.

We always miss them and mourn them in proportion to the amount that we love them.

And DAMN do we love them.

Right now, Libby is still doing well. She is sooo excited about being fed her very soecial goodies. One difference is that she is not eating her regular kibble well ... which does not bode well.

For right now, we will enjoy every single day we are allowed to spend together. She is such a total and complete joy!

Blessings,

Steve