Hi everyone, I'm looking for some advice. Our 14 year old baby Luka is a Lab mix, we think Chow and Border Collie. She has the normal old age slow down, but will still jump up and down at the back door barking when you don't get there right away to let her in, and she still has a pep in her step. About a week and a half ago I noticed she wouldn't go up just one small step. At first I thought it was just old age, but then I realized her foot looked a bit swollen. When I checked it out, I saw what I originally thought was an abcess between her toes on her rear leg. 

I took her to the vet the next day where they confirmed it was in fact a tumor, which the vet thinks is benign. She recommended toe amputation because it was large and was actually pushing her outside toe out of place. They did all the requisite X-rays and blood work to confirm she was healthy enough for surgery, and other than elevated liver enzymes, she is extremely healthy for her age. 

Even so, I left the vet in tears, thinking that putting her through this type of surgery at her age would be a terrible idea. After speaking with my husband and mother in law, they were both like are you kidding me, look at her she will be just fine, we should do the surgery. So we scheduled for about a week out. Unfortunately she got ahold of her foot and chewed it open a couple days before surgery, so when I dropped her off, the vet informed me it was infected and swelling up her leg. 

They were unable to operate and we have additional antibiotics and pain pills. The vet explained that if the swelling doesn't go down they will need to amputate her rear leg this Monday. We have been doing the betadine soaks the vet recommended and the swelling has been going up and down, but she is more herself than she has been since this began. 

The problem I am having is that even though my husband is still very supportive, my mother in law is not convinced that doing an amputation is a good idea. I know she is 14, but she is so happy and full of life that I can't imagine putting her down because of this. I know that recovery will be rough, but I feel it would be selfish of me not to try because it may be difficult for us humans. 

I am looking for advice, specifically in regards to older dogs with rear leg amputations. I have read and researched for hours and hours over the last couple of days, but I'm looking for personal experience. While I feel it would be selfish to end her life because it may be hard, the feedback I'm getting is the opposite. Any help or stories anyone can provide would be so helpful.