Sad news about Matti

Since I have been out of the hospital, Matti's condition has gotten worse. He is to the point where he can barely walk on his front leg. It breaks my heart to see him in pain and not acting like himself.

We took him into the vet this afternoon and I didn't care if I was on bed rest, I was going to see what the vet had to say. The news isn't good. He does have bone cancer and it has progressed significantly in the last 5 weeks. It is hard to tell how fast it will spread in his body. There really isn't any kind of treatment for a dog this big because he ages faster than most dogs. A Great Dane's life expectancy is only about 8 years and Matti is 5 1/2.

The vet gave us some better pain meds and a steroid to help improve his quality of life until we decide to put him down. Dh and I both cried in the treatment room and Matti was just lying there staring at us with his goofy smile. He has been a fantastic dog and even though his size sometimes gets in the way, we love him dearly. I just hope he isn't suffering too badly and we can get a little more time with him. Thanks for all of your help, support, and well wishes.

On a good note, Sara arrived today and she is in the process of moving all her things in and getting settled. I really didn't think about how things would change with a "roommate" in the house. We already thought we were out of space and now we have even more stuff along with Sara's cat. All of that aside, we are so glad to have her here to help while I am on bed rest and then to help raise the girls.