Please be kind, this is an outpouring of a whole bundle of worry that I can't share
We have an older dog who is 12, lovely easy going boy that's plodded through his life with us
Unfortunately he's developed a health condition which is a sign of possible cancer which is obviously devastating. He is well in himself but has odd bouts of worrying symptoms. Im sad that he has been unwell, and that it seems we may loose him in the not too distant future. The vets say nothing is immediate though and he's not at any imminent risk of dying, and he is at the start of treatment for the symptoms so vets are as optimistic as they can be for a 12 year old dog but agree it doesn't make sense do to invasive treatment and investigation of nature of the tumor.
I'm really sad about this
However this is the slightly unreasonable side, I'm also worried about the implications for my family.
He is a massive part of our family and it feels like we are on a countdown to a time where we all fall apart, and I'll have to hold everyone together. I know it doesn't make sense to pre worry about that because it doesn't change it but the idea of how my teens and Dp will cope is massively stressing me out
We've had old pets before and it feels like the start of the time where we will always be slightly worried all the time, where your just watching a bit harder all the time.
Theres also all the other things that come with it.
The cost is considerable. Currently he is on just over £150 worth of meds a month, regular blood tests to monitor etc we are currently look at £800 of vet bills in less than a month and a half.
I'm also sad for the loss of freedom for us. The meds are 3 times a day so it means structuring our time around that. It's unlikely we will feel comfortable leaving him with dog sitters now and they probably might feel uncomfortable incase he has a turn so it means things like any longer days out aren't going to be possible.
We are supposed to be taking my neice to the zoo, but can't see how we can manage it now, even things like the nearest home base or IKEA is too far that we would miss med times, and we normally rely on dog care during them.
DP doesn't seem to have registered that we will have to cancel our family holiday abroad because theres no way we would risk not being here. He's come on every single holiday before with us, the abroad trip is an anniversary treat as we've not been abroad since we had him. Even holidays with him seem tricky because of the constant worry, and he obviously can't walk all day at his age but not sure we would want to leave him somewhere new
I'm worried about the idea of losing him, but also worried about that this kind of life could go on for 2 years according to the vet.
Dp is obviously worried about dog so we talk about that a lot but it's impossible to voice that I'm also worried about practical implications. It just feels like such an awful thing to even think of practicalities
I wish they could stay healthy and young forever