It was six months ago this morning that I made a decision so many pet owners have to make. I let Sloan go. She had a tumor in her spleen called an hemangiosarcoma (HSA.) I had not even heard of this but it is fairly common in older, large dogs and Sloan was 12. I knew something was wrong even before her diagnosis so there was some comfort in at least knowing what was wrong. Unfortunately what was wrong had no viable treatment options.
The prognosis with this cancer is not good. The only treatment option is surgery to remove the spleen and the tumor. This tumor is a bleeder and easily spreads and we suspected that it had spread. I didn't have a hard time making the decision not to opt for surgery. I didn't want to put Sloan through that when her chances for a quality life after where not very good. (Less than 10% of dogs survive 1 year.)
6 months ago today was the worst day of my life. I still think about Sloan everyday. I'm not sure why but when I think of her, it is those last few days that I always think of first. I am ready for the day when I think of the healthy, happy Sloan first.
Our yellow lab Sam is starting to show his age too. It makes me sad to think of the day when Sam won't be here either. We've had Buddy for 5 months now and he is a perfect addition to our house. He and Sam get along well but we've started discussing whether or not we should get a 3rd dog. Sam did just fine when we lost Sloan but if something happens to Sam, I'm not sure that Buddy would do well.
If we decide to get another dog, we will rescue again and most likely from NC Lab Rescue which is where we found Buddy. I'm thinking we will get a female and I'd love to get a chocolate lab, I'd love to have all 3 colors :) but I don't think I'm ready for a female that is chocolate. We shall see....