When your dog gets cancer...

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About 2 years ago our 7 year old Lab, Godiva, was diagnosed with Lymphona. She was a healthy dog prior to this. It all happened rather suddenly. I began noticing she wasn't eating as much (This dog was food obsessed) So I knew something was wrong but thought maybe she got something out of the trash and was just experiencing an upset stomach. 2 days later we woke to find she developed a bad fever and was so weak she wouldn't even stand up. We raced to our Vet. After some tests we were told Godiva had Lymphoma. We were also told that it had spread to her liver and without treatment she would pass within 2weeks to 2 months!! We were shocked.. How could something like this happen so fast! I felt guilty.. Was it somehow my fault? The food I was feeding her? Did I miss something that maybe would have brought me to the vets earlier and given her a better chance of fighting this disease. Then the hard question.. Should we treat her with Chemo. This could add up to a year to her life.. But what kind of life would this be? She could have a reaction to the treatment. After thinking on everything we decided not to do chemo. Instead we just wanted to make her feel comfortable. What was really strange was just one week after her diagnosis she woke up and was acting like a puppy again! I couldnt believe it as she went room to room, finding each of her human family members and giving big kisses. The energy lasted the whole day and then by night far she was back to being lethargic.. It suddenly occurred to me that it was almost like she was saying goodbye. This turned out to be true as the next day brought sheer pain. On this morning she was so sick she would not even get up to go to the bathroom outside. She was breathing rather shallow and began just whimpering. We knew it was time to let her go,. To help her pass and avoid suffering any longer. We brought her into the vet to have her put down. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do but I loved her so much and knew it was the best for her. We got to hold her while she passed. She looked so peaceful and licked my hand before her eyes closed for the final time. I still miss her so much. I never expected things could happen this fast. One week she appeared fine and a little over a week later she is ...gone... I still have two labs..One is her sister the other is a 1 year old we adopted from a shelter 5 months ago,. Making the decision to bring another dog into our home was tough. We know we will get attached...and we know more often than not, we will watch our pets pass before us. But we had the room and she needed a home. I made a donation to the shelter in Godivas name. Have you ever had a dog with cancer or had to put your dog down? It's a nightmare.. but we always have the great memories of thier entire life up to this point.