Losing My Baby, Afraid My dog Murphy is dying Options

[jim]

First off, thanks for listening. I am so glad I found this forum.

My baby, Murphy, is a 9 year old German Shepard/Rottweiller mix. My wife and I cannot have children and he is our baby. We have had him since he was 7 weeks old. In January he lost a toe on his front foot to a tumor, it wasn't cancer, but still had to be removed. He also developed a lump on his right rear haunch. It was the size of a baseball when he had the toe removed and is now the size of a softball. The doctor did a tissue and fluid sample and says it isn't cancer, but we need to keep and eye on it. She also said it is too deep in the tissue to remove, if it does develop into cancer there's nothing she can do. He has also lost some muscle in his face in the last few months, she said this is due to his age, muscle attrophy. I cannot shake the feeling that he is slipping away from us. I have had several dogs in my life, but none like my Murphy. He is truly my baby.

I am scared to death that I am losing him. I really don't know what I will do when I lose him.

thanks for letting me vent.

[Hslesgirl]

Dear Jim,

You were kind enough to offer your condolences on the loss of my Dobeman Austin in one of the other forums here and I thank you for it. I am so very, very sorry about Murphy. I know how you are hurting. The first dog I ever bought with my husband was a wonderful little irish terrier whom we aadored for the 11 years we had her. Unfortunately several months before we found out how sick she was we also found out she was going blind. My heart was broken and yes, we were forced to face what you are now facing with Murphy. Love him as hard as you can and hopefully at some point you will be able to realize what a wonderful life you've given him. I can't lie and tell you you'll be over it in no time because it's just not true. Each of us grives in our way and in our own time. And as much as our hearts have the ability to love beyond measure they also have the ability to hurt so much you can't even breathe. On those days when you feel lost and are struggling to breathe, please take a moment and write in and let us help you in whatever capacity we can. I'll keep you and Murphy in my thoughts and prayers. Until we talk again, be strong when you can and cry when you can't. No one is expected to be a super-hero when a loved one is so sick.

Sincerely,
Austin's Mom