Reno

Reno found himself in a shelter at age 13 when his lifetime family fell on hard times; he had clearly been loved and valued.   He adapted as best he could to a much larger pack and a bunch of loud little dogs, and attached himself to his new people like a good dog.   Checking chest xrays before removing a mast cell tumor, we discovered to our horror both a mass in his lungs and extensive bone cancer in his ribs.   There were already microfractures – any blow or wrong movement could have resulted in severe breaks and even more severe pain.

Two days before he’d taken a long walk – closer to a jog – with a young granddaughter who was proud to have walked the big dog.    How he did that without pain, we’ll never know.

So we said goodbye, sad for him that he had lost his family but glad that we knew him and could give him a gentle passing.