Calpurnia, that's excellent advice, thanks!

Photos:

Booger spooning with Starbuck, who is squishy and gets squozen by all of us:

Booger in a beam of sunshine:

Booger hangin' out on the side of the trail:

Booger's sister, Autumn:

Thanks, guys. Here is another photo of Booger with her sister, Autumn. You can see Booger's tumor better now since the vet shaved her leg. It's not horrendous, exactly. It looks like a burl on a tree trunk:

She is slow to get blood into that paw in the mornings, although after that she can still walk up to six miles! Autumn is also slowing down quite a bit over all due to her heart condition. On good days, she can walk two miles. On bad ones, barely past the end of our driveway.

Both of these ladies have had wonderful lives, beloved by their musher from the day they were born. They were raised indoors as pups (rare for Alaskan mushing dogs) among the family and children. And when they came to me, their charmed lives continued. We've had so much fun running and hiking and skiing... I just calculated we've covered some 17,000 miles together over nine years! I also know what their ends will be (Autumn's will be due to her heart/kidneys, and Booger's will be due to this leg), and neither will be in pain,  nor suffer. They have never known a day in their long lives that was not full of love. And yet... and yet... How come even under the BEST of circumstances, it seems like it's not enough? It still sucks at the end, and there's not a dang thing we can do about it. 🙁