My dog is dying and my heart is breaking

My dog has cancer. It took $1343 and 5 days of sitting in various vets' offices to find out what's wrong with him and that there is nothing I can do for him. That's not counting the $250 I spent on our first visit last month. I was given a weeks worth of pain medication for him that I can refill anytime, so all I can do now is try to keep him comfortable and happy in the short time he has left. He hasn't been eating much for a while and previous trips to the vet were "inconclusive". Then on Thursday night I noticed he was breathing shallow and quick, like someone who has asthma. I spent all day Friday and Saturday morning trying to get him in to a vet with no luck. By sheer luck I stumbled upon an amazing and caring vet on Saturday evening just before closing and they saw us for xrays and bloodwork right away. (Banfield Vets located in some PetSmarts are awesome!!) The xrays showed some fluid built up outside of one of his lungs that was preventing him from inhaling completely. They drained 90cc (approximately 3oz) and sent it off for testing. We returned for a follow up on Monday and I had them drain his lung again and this time they drained 330cc. We got the test results yesterday and went for a sonogram and consultation with a specialist today. There is only one mass but because of the size and location it is not likely that Chili would survive the surgery. Even if he did, the surgery would be extremely hard on him and because the fluid contains cancer cells, it is essentially seeding his lungs and the cancer will most likely reappear pretty quickly. So I don't really have many options. I'm trying to put together a farewell party ASAP as he could last a week or two, maybe a month or two. I don't want to wait until he is hurting and too sick to enjoy his party, and I know there are alot of people who will want to say goodbye to the best dog that ever lived. My heart is breaking, I am so not prepared for this.



So much for the universe smiling on me...