the Cost of Non-Routine Pet Care

My dog received chemotherapy and surgery for a particularly fast growing and spreading cancer. The treatment consisted of an intravenous treatment one week, an oral medication the next week, and nothing the third week. This went on for 4 months. This began about 2 weeks after the surgery to remove the original tumor from her spleen.

In spite of the horrendous expense, I can't say enough good things about this service. The doctors and technicians were kind and sympathetic and absolutely wonderful with my dog. Even though they told me at the beginning that this was not going to cure her, that it was only going to buy time, they never gave the impression that they weren't doing everything possible and a little more for my dog. The treatment caused very minor side effects, and generally the dog felt great through the whole thing. And when the dog died, after a year that she wouldn't otherwise have had, the staff sill sends me "Thinking of you and your dog" notes.

Due to the tremendous expense involved, this has to be a personal decision. I can only say that you should not rush into a decision (follow your veterinarian's advice about how much time you have to decide). This is a decision you're going to have to live with. I took the attitude that it's only money, and don't regret it now.