My baby only has a week or two

I am so, so sorry that you are having to go through this.  I really don't know that I can say anything to ease your pain, but it is obvious that he is a lucky boy who has been given SO much love and care......

I will keep both of you in my thoughts and prayers.....

I don't have much to say, becasue everytime I come to read in this thread, I get teary eyes.Just thinking about it also depresses me. After looking at the pic you posted of you lil one, it unexaplainable feeling that someone who you love, who was there for you to cheer you up and everything is leaving.
 I'm sorry to hear that you're lil one is going to leave you, but just wanted to say best wishes to you and your lil one, and I hope he get to stay longer than the vet estimate. Please keep us inform and undated.

Im sorry for what you are going through.  I agree that you should talk to him and tell him he can leave you if he needs to and to let you know when its time.  Just try to enjoy the time you do have left with him, and stay as positive as possible for him.  He is beautiful.

I am so sorry for what you are going through. I know it is so very heart wrenching. My beloved Tzu, Mopsie, went to the bridge two years ago this coming June. He lived to be 16 years old and had a great life. But I still have huge pangs of guilt for not being able to save him. He had a lot of health issues when he got older. He had benign tumors on his butt that had to be removed twice, then he had a huge bladder stone, surgery for that. Then, what ended up killing him. Malignant melanoma in his mouth. First time around surgery got most of it. Vet was hopeful.
A year later, it came back so fast it was amazing. In May of that year, he was making a trip to Ohio with all of us to visit his boy, our son. ( And thank God we took him, that was the last time our son saw him). Mopsie seemed just fine. Starting at the beginning of June, he started going downhill. The tumor in his mouth was back and spreading like wildfire. Vet said there was nothing he could do unless radical surgery was performed to remove his jaw. That just was not an option. Plus it had spread to his lymph nodes. So dh, son and I made the painful decision to have him euthanized. My son was going to drive from Ohio 13 hours to our house on Saturday, and that Monday was the appt. That Sunday morning, Mopsie let out a little cry and we knew it was time. He died peacefully in my dhs arms. Thank God he died at home.
My point here is that I did everything I could to save him, from feeding him from a syringe as he could not eat that well anymore, to putting him on a cancer diet, medications, holistic treatments, etc and I had such guilt. But if I look back, I know I did all I could, AND that is what you are doing and I hope you know that you are a good parent. It is going to be devasting, we all know that. My advice is what I did. I knew the end was near, I held Mopsie and talked to him in his ear, reminding him of all that we had done and the good times, how much we loved him, etc. It was heartwrenching and I cried all the time. I could barely go to work, or do my work, and was in a state of depression for a while. My point here is that you have to go through the natural state of grieving for your baby.
Please feel free to email me if you want, I am so sorry for your pain. Take lots of pictures of your baby and feed him all the great stuff he likes, give him massages, whatever makes him happy. Mopsie loved McDonalds cheeseburgers, so every day I stopped and got him a few.
I will be praying for you, hon.
--Debbi

Hey Everyone,
   Cole is doing fine. I went to the store today and passed through the pet aisle and got him a toy. He was so excited. I don't think I can thank ya'll enough for your thoughts and prayers and great advice. When I come home from work or before I go to bed I come check the forum. It is uplifting as well as a little sad when I hear from other people. I am sorry for the loss of your fur children, I can honestly say I know what you went through. Our fur children truly teach us more than we know. My boys have taught me the true meaning of unconditional love. They love you when you stink, when your sad, when your broke, and even when you get mad at them (which you can't stay mad long because they are so cute).
 
All of my boys were adopted. Cole was rescued after we had two hurricanes back to back 4 years ago, Cosmo was given to us from friends who were moving, Jasper was our neighbors dog who go hit by a car and had a broken leg. They wouldn't take him to the doctor for a week so I scooped him up and took him. They didn't want to pay the bill or take care of him so he is ours. (believe it or not he will still run over there when they are outside thinking they would be excited to see him but he realizes they aren't and comes back home) Then the three cats - Tigger and Rascal we adopted from the pet store on a spur of the moment and Sebastian was taken from his mom too early and the people who had him couldn't take care of him. So we took him. So that is my family of 6 who despite what they have been through love me and my husband no matter what. They are awesome!!
 
I am going to go get a paw print kit tomorrow for Cole. Once my new camera comes in I will post some new pics of Cole and the other boys.
Here are some of the pics we took at Christmas. We knew it would be the last one with Cole so we had professional pics done. In the picture of the three boys, starting on the left, is Cole, Jasper and Cosmo

Aww! That is a beautiful picture! They all look so sweet. 

What a gorgeous group!  The "professional" shot is just beatiful of all 3 and the first solo pic you posted of Cole, well, that happy face has stolen my heart just a little.
 
I'm glad you found this place, because we do understand and I'm glad you are finding the strength to make the time he has left special for him and for all of you. 
 
I also want to echo what Callie said about talking to him and give him permission to go. Let him know you love him so much, and you know he wants to stay with you as much as you wish he could stay with you, but you don't want him to suffer just to stay a little longer.  Let him know he'll always be in your heart.
 
Again, wishing you peace, strength and comfort...

I am so sorry that you are having to go through this.
When I read your first post, it brought back so many memories. Years ago, my dog Courtney had the exact same thing. One day he started to cough and as I ran my hands over him, I felt two golf ball sized lumps on each side of his neck, turned out to be lymphoma. I as you opted to do chemo, 6 months exactly, and within 1 week after we stopped the chemo, the lumps came back. The oncologist said that about 1% of the cancer would not die and that we had run out of options. I had put him through so much with the chemo that I was not going to let him suffer any longer. I can still remember how his water bowl was always red after he drank from it and how he would suddenly fall over when we went for our walks. My most vivid memory was when he was sitting on the floor in the kitchen, waiting for a treat when all of a sudden he threw himself backwards. I'm not certain why this happened, the oncologist said it was a result of the chemo drugs and I knew at this point that it was coming time to free him from all of the pain.
As everyone has said, talk to him about how he doesn't have to hang on for your sake, that the most important thing is that he doesn't hurt and that he will let you know when the time is right.
I had let Courtney know how much I loved him and that it was okay for him to leave. I sent him to the bridge the day I found out that the chemo failed his weary body. I figured he had been though enough and that it was his time to be set free. I know how much it hurts and how much we miss them but it hurts more to see them suffer.
Enjoy each moment as if it is a lifetime.
Hugs to you

I am sorry for your loss of your fur child. i know exactly what you went through. The chemo is costly and does but a lot on our children. The second round of chemo Cole had was a rescue protocol because it came back and I think it made him feel worse rather than better. It didn't work for long. Hoever. Cole is doing fine today. We have increased his prednisone but I checked his lymphnodes on the back of his legs this morning and they seem to be bigger. But I am taking each day at a time and the love and prayers from you and the other wonderful people on this forum help me be positive about this sad and painful situation. But everytime I see him wag his tail, or play with the other dogs even if it is for a minute or two, I know he is ok right now. I am just dreading that day when he doesn't eat. That is when we know he only has a few days left.
Have a great day!!

How I hat that watching and waiting.  When my 12 1/2 year old Irish Setter was diagnosed with a very, very aggressive type of bone cancer 9 years ago our vet told us the day the tests, etc were complete tha we needed to make a decision that day--repove that rear leg THAT DAY or withing a week he would not be able to get up, would not be eating, etc.  Our hearts said amputate, but our common sense told us he was 12 1/2, he already had arthritis in his shoulders and hips, tho not to bad considering his age.  There was no way of knowing if it had spread to other parts of his body or not. 
 
We elected to give him a few good days and then let him go.By the way, he had started to limp on Friday and I thought it was his arthritis acting up.  By the time we could get him to the vet on Monday he was dragging that leg.
 
Well, Boots LOVED to go to the beach and it didn't have to be the actual beach.  The water in the bay was just fine.  Over the next three days i took him fishing with me every day.  He would chase the crabs in the shallow water, try to catch shore bird, swim, swim, swim.  On the Friday I took him in for his "last visit", ony my vet checked him over and said "We don't have to do it yet."  He had actually developed a bunny hop and was no longer dragging that rear leg.
 
Well, long story short, I had him exactly 10 weeks to the day from diagnosis.  During that 10 weeks I took him fishing every day. He was a true fruit and veggie lover, and we let him have all the tossed salad, cantaloupe, watermelon, and other veggies he wanted.  What we had for dessert, he had, be it banana split, strawbrry shortcake, chocolate cream pie.  He had do-nuts, popcorn, some chocolate candy, lots of ice cream, etc.  He never did stop eating as he should have, and he actually gained weight.  Every week I took him in twice a week and my vet would just shake his head and say he just didn't understand it.  Same with one of the receptionists he had.  Her lab developed a little knot on his "wrist" and she got him right in, he was diagnosed with the same cancer as Boots, but in 4 days he would not eat and could not get up and she had to have to PTS.  And here was Boots still going strong.
 
But the day came when he was not quite as active when we were fishing.  I was worn out by them myself and hoped he was just tired.  But the next day he went to get on the sofa and fell.  He had a lump in his shoulder, same side as the rear leg with cancer.  I knew it would only be a day or so before he would not be able to get around.  It was hard, but I decided to let him go THAT DAY before he got bad.  I fed him a big dish of buttered pecan ice cream and my son and his wife came by and got him.  I ALMOST called my vet to say I changed my mind, I wanted to keep him a few days longer, but decided that would not be fair.  My son stayed with him til the end (I just couldn't force myself to watch him die) and he is buried out near our duck blind where his "spirit" can hear and chase the shore birds, he can swim and chase crabs, etc.
 
Oh, I have to say, I  hung onto my first irish Setter to long and he was in misery for days and when it reached the point he threw up foam and couldn't even lift his head out of it, I let him go and i swore never to do that to another dog. 

I'm sitting here crying my eyes out reading this post, my heart aches for you and everyone else who has lost their babies.
 
Cole is one happy looking boy, and he has you to thank for those 3 wonderful years you have given him. He makes me want to kiss him right on the top of his head.. ( I have thing about doing that to my boy with his big block head!).
 
I showed Cole's picture to Boss and told him why I was crying. He wants me to tell you that he thinks it would be cool if you took Cole for a burger and some ice cream. And he said to remember that Cole loves you and will always watch out for you.
 
My prayers are with you all.. your dogs are awesome by the way!

My thoughts and prayers are with you.We went through the same situation 4 months ago when our 18 year old Shedra left us.The pictures you have are beautiful.It is so good that you are having such special times together.
Take care.
 

Cole is so very handsome, and he's such an incredibly lucky boy to have such a loving family, you are true angels for rescuing all your furbabies. They're all gorgeous.

I'm so glad you found us, we really do understand and we're always here to offer strength when you are feeling low. Our hearts do ache with yours.

You all are in my thoughts and prayers.

I'm glad I checked back here today, I almost missed the picture you posted of the three kids.....beautiful!
Its great Cole got a new toy!  Its so wonderful that you are getting a chance to give him love and happiness!  I agree with Boss, and hope Cole gets to go for a burger and ice cream too!!!
I will be thinking of you and praying for strength for you and Cole and the rest of your family!

Cole is doing ok today. He seems a little tired. He will play with the boys for a minute or two and then he has to rest. The other day when I first found out he was sick again I popped him a bag of popcorn. He LOVES popcorn. You would have thought he was a kid in the candy store he was so excited. He aslo loves whipped cream. I will have to take him for a burger and ice cream. He desirves it. He should get waht ever he wants. The only thing is the other dogs start to get a little jealous when I give Cole more than them. But if they ate everything he is eating they would blow up into big fat blobs. Beacuse of the steroids Cole is on he doesn't gain weight even though he eats like he has ate in a week. He usually does a little dance, it's cute. 
I hope everyone is having a great day. Thanks for your love and support.