Cherishing Every Moment With Tucker
I'm writing this post with a heavy heart.
On the 10th, we found out from the vet that Tucker's lungs are full of nodules. The vet won't say with certainty that it's cancer, but what we saw on his X-rays looked just like Dexter's did when we found out that he had lung cancer.
We were told that with dogs, lung cancer generally forms somewhere else in the body before it takes over the lungs. So, more than likely, if this is cancer, it could be somewhere else in Tucker's body as well.
The only way we would know for certain would be to do an ultrasound, but those are very expensive. For now, we've decided to wait a month and have another set of X-rays done to see if there have been any changes.
After going through this once before with Dexter, we've made the decision to keep Tucker as comfortable and happy as possible for as long as we can. When the time comes that his suffering outweighs his quality of life, we'll have to make that incredibly difficult decision to let him go.
It's never easy having to make that kind of decision. We love our pets so much that they really aren't just pets—they're family.
Tucker has been the most amazing dog. We cherish every moment we've had with him, and right now, we're cherishing the moments ahead because we simply don't know when one of them will be our last.
Dexter went downhill very quickly. He was good one day, and the next, he wasn't. He couldn't walk and was floundering all over the floor. Tucker, thankfully, is still doing fairly well other than having some sick spells and bouts of dehydration. He's still acting pretty normal. We can tell that he's slowed down some and wants to rest more, but he's 10 now, so that's to be expected.
Right now, our focus is simply on keeping Tucker as happy and comfortable as possible. We're going to spoil him, love on him, and enjoy every moment we have with him.
Tucker turned 10 this past March, and honestly, that just seems so young to me to be facing something like this. But in dog years, he's still lived a good life, and we are incredibly thankful for every year, every memory, and every moment God has given us with him.
I'm sure there will come a day when I'll write another post about Tucker—the day when we've had to make the hard call that I already know is coming.
But that's not today.
Today, Tucker is here. He's still enjoying life. And we're going to cherish him for as long as God allows us to have him.
For now, enjoy a couple of pictures of Tucker—one from when he was younger and one from more recently.
And if you have a pet you love, don't take those moments for granted. Love them a little harder. Take the pictures. Make the memories. Because sometimes, the moments we think we'll have forever are the very moments we later wish we could have back.
