First of all, I'm sorry you had to go through that. I know how difficult it can be to make these decisions. This is a timely question. Recently my dog Hemingway started limping. We took him to the vet to find out that he has bone cancer in his rear right leg. It's metastasized. Still, we had to amputate his leg because he was in pain. We have him on chemotherapy in the hopes to extend his life, not save it. Thankfully, the chemo has very minimal side effects and doesn't make him feel too badly. He could live for another couple of years but statistically he will die within the year. How much would I pay? A good amount. Here he is the day after the surgery:
If I were in your situation, I honestly don't think I could do it. Not because I wouldn't love the animal and want to keep them alive, but because I already saw my father pass away from cancer. I know I couldn't do it again with anyone again, human or animal, at least not for a long time. It's incredibly difficult to go through, and after hearing what my father had to say about it all, I realized he hated how much money we spent on him just to extend his life by the smallest bit. I understand the situation is different for animals, but I know it would be way too hard for me to try and get through. I'm happy you're doing all you can though. That dog is incredibly lucky to have you.
Sorry to hear about your father. When Hemingway (my dog) gets to a point when he is in pain, we will put him down. Till then it's about smothering him with affection. He hasn't been surrounded by this much attention since he was a puppy. Thanks for your kind words and welcome to Hubski.
All said it will be between $3-4k. When he was a puppy he had reconstructive surgery on his rear leg after being hit by a car. That one was over $5k. He's been an extremely costly dog, but I really love him a lot. He's a great, cuddly, friendly and emotionally in-tune friend.
They're part of the family. Like Kafke said, why get a pet if you're not willing to care for them? Unfortunately just about anyone can get one. -what's even worse is when these types of people have children. Edit: sad post I wrote about my childhood dog. -unfortunately, sometimes no amount of money will cure what ails them.