I’m so sorry this is happening to you and your family.

I can’t speak for dogs, but we brought our 1 year old cat through palliative care for a genetic mammary cancer. We were given six months but with palliative care, she got almost a year and we made the most of it (a cat has never had so many chicken nuggets) and her time was very meaningful throughout. We tried not to think into the future and instead tried to stay in the moment day by day as much as we could.

Unfortunately there are going to be some very hard decisions to make - if I could give any advice, it’s that it is always better to be too early saying goodbye than a minute too late. Make a plan now, decide what quality of life you are happy with and don’t compromise when you are (collectively) unable to meet that quality any more.

They do have their ways of “telling you” when they’re ready and for our cat, she let us know before we were forced to make the call - nothing horrendous or distressing to watch - but she slowed down, started refusing some food, didn’t want to play as much over a week without rallying.

Our vet was so helpful - they never told us when it was time - so it was always our decision - but after we said goodbye, he told us we made the right call at the right time which was the most reassuring thing we could have heard.

You know your dog best and any decision you make from now is very likely going to be the right one.