Walter has been my constant companion since college. He has done more for me than I could even go into here. I literally owe my life to this dog and would do whatever I could for him.
On a Sunday evening I let both of my dogs out to play while I finished up the dishes. About an hour later I let them both back inside. Walter was acting a little tired, but I didn't think anything of it, since he is getting older. Then I saw that his back leg was severely swollen. I panicked and immediately called the vet and brought him it, thinking it was a snake bite or something like that. The vet treated him for an allergic reaction, said he should be fine and sent us home. About a week later, both of his legs were swollen and he was having a very hard time getting around. I took him back to the vet and they ran some tests and nothing came back conclusive. It was then that the vet decided to check his lymph nodes and they discovered the cancer. I was horrified and felt like my world was ending. I asked what my options were and the vet said chemotherapy or I can just try and manage his pain and comfort as long as he wasn't suffering. I had always said that chemo is something I would never do for any of my pets, but I had always thought that they would be much older when I had to make that decision. Walter is only 9 and I just wasn't ready to let him go. He saved my life, and I owed it to him to try and save his. After doing some research on my own, I decided to go ahead with the chemo treatment. I think I cried the whole time I drove him there to drop him off and the whole way there to pick him up. I had this vision in my head of what chemo does to people, and I didn't know that I could handle seeing my dog go through that. When I got to the vet to pick him up, and the girl brought him out to me, I almost died laughing. My big doofus dog dragged this poor little girl around the corner and proceeded to knock me over and cover me with kisses. The treatment didn't slow him down one bit. His legs were still swollen and he was obviously still uncomfortable, but he was not sick, he was not lethargic, and he was not in any more pain than he was in before. The next day after his treatment he was a little more tired than usual, and he didn't have an appetite, but that got better with each day. I was amazed at how quickly the treatment seemed to be working. By the time he went in for his second treatment, one week later, his legs were completely back to their normal size and he was happier than I had seen him in months. The vet said that his lymph nodes had decreased in size by almost 75%. After his second treatment, they were completely back to normal.
Walters treatment has not been all great news, but for the most part he has responded amazingly well. He was not able to handle the initial dosage of once a week for 8 weeks, so they had to change it to every 2 weeks. The biggest battle has been getting him to eat, but I have found the Hill's n/d food works the best for him. A friend of mine who had gone through chemo told me that when he had it everything tasted like metal. That makes sense because Walter will eat almost nothing for the first few days after treatment, but as it goes through his system he will eat more. We are about 2-3 months into his treatment, and I believe that I made the right decision. He has responded very well and continues to get better. I know that even with treatment he may not have that much longer to live, but I feel like this was the right decision for me and for him and I am just cherishing every day that I have left with him.

Don't think that a diagnosis of cancer is an immediate death sentence. When I found out about Walter's cancer, I was devastated and I didn't know what to do. All I could think about was losing my best friend. My vet gave me the best advice and helped me focus my grief into making a decision. The first thing he told me was that Walter doesn't know that he is dying. He knows that he doesn't feel good, but he doesn't know what is happening to him. It isn't like when a person is told they have cancer, and they have to come to grips with the fact that they may die. With our pets, the emotional burden is completely on us, so it is our job to treat them the same as we always have and make their last days happy ones. The second thing he told me is to take it one week at a time. Try one round of chemo and see what happens. If he doesn't respond, then at least you know that you did everything you could and that you didn't just give up. For me, I don't know that I could have dealt with him dying and me not knowing if there had been something I could have done to give him longer. I also feel that it should be your decision completely though. Everyone has their limits one what they will do. Don't ever let anyone make you feel bad for the decision that you made.