Recently we found it necessary to take our 13 yr. old Akita mix dog to the Animal Farm because he had been coughing and did not seem like himself. The first visit that he had the vet found a large mass on his under side and also after taking x-rays realized that he had another tumor which was wrapped around his windpipe. It was hard for us to decide what would be in Gus' best interest. Dr. Stroh was going to be out of town for a week so we had time to decide. In the meantime when we would take him for a walk he was becoming incontinent. I called for an appointment for Gus and did not realize that the vet had returned. When I got to the Animal Farm thinking about only having him checked out, Dr. Stroh and I looked at each other as Gus was breathing very hard and he usually did after a short walk of 4 blocks and usually was running a fever, asked me if I wanted to put Gus to sleep, I told him that I needed to call my daughter first. We decided to put him down. The staff at Animal Hospital was very compassionate. I decided to be with Gus when he was put down and was allowed to stay afterwards for the time that I needed to be with him.
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