Hello all,

My husband and I got Cotton from local Humane society shortly after our wedding.  He was 'on special' for St Patrick's Day.  He was the only boy in his litter of fluffy, soft, white lab/husky puppies.  He was the only puppy not jumping at the gate.  He was sitting just looking at us, and my husband said, 'He is the one!'

Now almost 9 years later, in June 2013, he was diagnosed with Soft Tissue Sarcoma on his left hind paw.  We first saw it when we noticed he was leaving bloody paw prints on the tile floors.  We bandaged his foot and took him to the vet.  Doctor removed the tumor that was near the pad of his foot, but doctor was very positive about that he got clean margins.  The pathology came back as high grade STS, with 7-15% chance of recurrance.

We were ready to be tumor & bloodly paw print free.  But then in less than 2 months, it was growing back and bleeding again.  In September, doctor did laser treatment to remove new growth, but it was closer to pad than before, and he couldn't get it all this time.

And just this past Sunday, the bleeding started again in earnest!  We discovered the sarcoma was the size of a flattened hacky-sack, and bleeding won't stop unless pressure bandaged.  Doctor said, there is no way to remove it this time, there isn't enough skin to close, and it will come back.

He did chest and abdominal x-rays, and they didn't see any growths or areas of mets, so that is great!! But now we have to decide it amputation is what he needs.

He is my first dog!  We have another dog, Radar, who is 3, but Cotton is my first.  I am on the fence about the whole thing.  My husband and I both work full time, and are living paycheck to paycheck.  I will have to cash out a 401K in order to pay for any treatment for him.

You may think I am being selfish, but we have to think of our daugther and our lives too, and will this be too much of an expense?  Will I have to miss work?

I hate this, and am scared to make the wrong decision.