Each Day Is Special

Last Friday we were given the news that Skol also had cancer. The tumor on his leg that was biopsied and diagnosed as a fatty tumor turned out, upon removal, to be soft tissue sarcoma. What does this mean? Well I have learned a lot about cancer over the past month, so basically this means that Skol has cancer, but it is a cancer that does not spread, but will continue to come back again and again, as there is no cure for it. Long-term prognosis is that eventually it will grow to a point that it compromises his quality of life, but that should be at least a year away.

When you are told that one of your dogs has cancer, you think how sad it is, but when both your dogs are diagnosed with cancer within weeks of one another, you wonder if it is something that you did, or if it was the environment which they live, or some other factor that you could have controlled. This way of thinking has kept me in a very dark place over the last week.

Friday, we had another visit with the vet and after much explanation from the vet, I have learned that sometimes it is just the course of an animal's life. Both my dear pups are considered "elderly" and as such run the risk of developing illness based on their age. Tasha has a form of cancer that is common in older female German Shepherds. Skol has a very different form of cancer that is common in older large breed dogs. Two different types of cancer, in two different dogs, who just happen to be my babies. Heartbreaking, yes; but unfortunately a reality of having animals and watching them get older.

I am doing everything I can for them. The best diet, the best herbs and medicine, the best care, and all the love that I can give them. We never know how much time we will have with a loved one and being given a diagnosis that puts a timestamp on it, makes you realize even more how precious each moment is.