Rascal has gone to the Rainbow Bridge.  About 2 months ago, he really began to struggle to get up from lying down.  No problem, we just gave him some help, and I made him a sling for those times....then a couple weeks ago, he no longer wagged his tail, ever....and he couldn't stand or walk without help.  He kept having a great appetite so we hung in there and just helped him with a Kong handle harness and the sling I made.  This past Friday, Jan 2, he could not even stand without me holding all of his weight and I had to press on his bladder to stimulate him to pee, and that evening he did not want to eat and could not get comfortable to sleep without a dose of Tramadol.  We decided that it was time, made the appointment with our Vet for euthanasia for the next morning.  He did eat a little Saturday am, but no his usual whole-hearted effort.  The Vet suggested that he probably had some sort of impingement on his cervical spine, most likely a tumor growing near or on the spine.  He thought we could try steroid treatment, and maybe he would regain control of his limbs, but he obviously had some sort of neurological issue.  Was it cancer returning? maybe, probably.  Did we want to push him to go farther after watching him struggle for the last 24 hours, no.  He'd been through enough.  He was the best dog ever in my eyes.  I wanted to leave him with some sense of dignity.  I know it was the right thing to do, but I can't stop thinking about him, and how I miss him. He made it 1 year and 6 months past amputation and no chemo. He was a couple weeks shy of his 16th birthday.  Happy Birthday to you at Rainbow Bridge, my golden boy.  Love you and miss you always.

Jillybean