I want to thank everyone so much for the responses. I cannot tell you how much you help my heartache! I will answer some of your questions, and give a bit more info concerning my special, special Buster. Back in March of 2005 we found Buster tossed away in the open desert. (I live in Palm Springs, CA) Buster was very young, but already large for his size. We figured him to be 6 mo. old, but doctor said more like 12 weeks, due to him still having baby teeth. Anyway, we found him in dire straights. He had been attacked by coyotes and on his last breath. He had puncture wounds all over his belly and testicles. (Very sad, I know!) His eyes were rolling back, and clearly on his way out, but very scared to come out from under a bush. Eventually, after bringing a blanket out, and me lying on it in front of the bush, this little dog stumbled out and laid on my chest, and collapsed.  

We gave him to the local shelter for medical care, and went back to check on him 1 month later. The hospital aids all fell in love with him and dubbed him "Tilt" because of the fact that his head was tilted over toward his right shoulder, and he was unable to hold it upright. (Due to neurological problems from his coyote attack). Anyway, when he saw us walking through the hospital, he jumped up and ran straight to me! I was hooked, and knew that noone was going to adopt a Pitt Bull with what appeard to be a physical deformity with his head, so I did what I had to do. I adopted him myself. A true rescue dog.

He gained 10 lbs. per month, topping the scale at 98 lbs. He has had other problems since then: He had been diagnosed with degenerative spinal disease at 2 years, and we were given pain meds and told he would be on them the rest of his life, which the vet predicted 3-5 years max. He was off the meds within 3-6 months and up and running again. Then 6 months later he suffered a knee injury putting him back on Rymadol for another 6 months. Since then, Buster has been a lot less active, but very excited to see any human, jumping and licking anyone who will let him. He gets tired quickly, and then sleeps a lot.

Fast forward to 1 month ago, when we noticed Buster limping. We and the vet thought he had just re injured his knee and put him back on meds, but the limping got increasingly worse, and he began to cry through the night 1 week ago. We took him to a second vet immediately, who did some xrays that looked like he had some inflamation around his shoulder joint, but no apparent bone spotting or decay. The vet said it was either an infection, or possibly cancer. We put him on antibiotics, and Tramidol that day, which was Friday, and made an appointment for a bone test next Friday. Meanwhile, the hospital called on Saturday, with the bad news. The radiologist suspects cancer but could not be sure without the test.

My concern is that with all the problems he has had with his skelital system, he will be unable to handle the stress of the surgery. We will talk to the vet again and see wat he thinks, but I just want my baby to be out of pain, NOW! I cant stand it. I cry all day and night watching him suffer, and coax him outside to do his duty by luring him with his leash. He is hesitant to get up, unless he sees his leash, and then jumps up, and pulls me toward the car (which is odd since the only place he goes in the car is the vet)

Thank you so much for listening to me. This has been the only source of confort for me right now. My heart is heavy with pain and grief, and I am just lost right now. I think I may have to just release him from his pain, and not make him endure further, much greater pain.

I will keep this post updated. I am new to the blog world, and am not even sure if this is going to post correctly.  

Thank you again, and God Bless You All! 

dukez said
Oh dear. What an awesome person you are! You clearly saved your dog's life not once, but twice - in the desert and at the shelter!

You also have a lot of complicating factors and I hope the surgeon, taking all of those into consideration, can give you some good advice. Duke has a bad disc in his back and I was concerned about that if I did the amp, but the surgeon didn't see that it would cause any issues and so far no problems because of it. But your Buster has a lot more complicating issues so I can certainly understand you thinking it may be best for him to release him from his pain. Good luck with your exceedingly difficult decision.

Thank you for your posts! I dont feel so awesome right now though. What you said about Buster's chest is so true. I had purchased a nice leather harness for Buster, cost of $85, but had to have it custom made because of his chest size. That is my concern, as you said, the balance of weight seems like a barrier. What I am hoping for right now, and maybe its a long shot but I want to believe in miracles, is that the antibotics start to work, meaning that it is truley just infected, rather than cancer. Putting the test off a week is giving us that window with a ray of hope left for some slight improvement in his mobility and discomfort. That would be very welcomed news right now. 

Thanks again for your nice words. Please know that you have lifted my spirits a bit, in what I feel is one of my darkest moments!