Hi Kathy,

We're so glad to see you here, thank you so much for the update.

It's wonderful to hear that Maya has been doing so well all these months. That's the gift of amputation; more time! But, we also understand how it's so hard to see our fur kids having health issues again that we think are related to the cancer. Since dogs can't speak English and can't tell you exactly what's wrong, we think it's best to talk about Maya's health situation with your vet.

I'll share my own situation with you . . . When my lung mets started to be too much for me, we went to see my oncologist. We held out hope that my shortness of breath was related to something else, like a cold, but x-rays showed that it wasn't. But, my oncologist did adjust my medications accordingly, which helped improve my quality of life tremendously over the next few weeks.

But as far as what "the end" looks like; well, it can be different for everyone. Some dogs decline in a matter of days. In my case, my health declined gradually over the course of about two months, and then things got really bad during the last two weeks or so. Yes, there were ups and downs, and false alarms. Many times my pawrents walked the line of wondering if I had had enough of this earth, or if my current health issue was just temporary. When I started only going outside to go potty and couldn't play the way I wanted to, it became clear that my time was at hand.

You can read more about it my blog post: "Saying Goodbye: How We Knew."

We dogs have a hard time showing when we are ready to move on. We do our best not to let the pack know that we are weak, so it's up to pawrents to make that call for us, as hard as it is. It is the difficult, but final gift that you can give to us, and trust me, we are forever grateful that you humans are able to have that kind of compassion and judgement.

It's good to ask yourself: what will be "the sign" that Maya gives you? Making a decision about that before you actually have to, in a frantic rush, is so important. You know Maya well enough to know what she wants her own quality of life to be like. What she will tolerate (like the types/numbers of meds), versus what will make her totally miserable.

The best advice my pawrents got was; ask yourself; when are the bad days outnumbering the good? When the bad days are too much, then perhaps it's Maya's time.

But until then, just take it day by day, just as you did right after her surgery. Look for signs that something might require a vet visit, but overall, when the cancer starts to become more agressive, all you can really do is provide loving, compassionate hospice care, pain management , and walk the rest of this journey with us.

It's so hard, we know. But after what you and Maya have been through together, we know that your bond is strong enough to get through this with spirits and souls intact.

Please keep us posted. We send our love and are thinking of you both.

Many hugs,

Rene, Jim & Spirit Dog Jerry