Saying goodbye to Toby

We had a very sad weekend as we had to say good bye to our friend Toby. He was 14 years old. My Mom & Step Dad had him since he was a pup and then when they divorced we took him. He has only been here just over two years but we have grown so attached to him. I know the years here were the best years of his life. He loved being with the boys and our other dog Abby. They just roamed the fields and laid on my front porch.
We knew over a month ago that this time was coming. He had a large growth in the front of his chest. It became very difficult for him to breath. He sounded like a chain smoker…he was not in any pain…yet. The Vet told us that as the weather became warmer it would become uncomfortable for him because he could not pant to keep his body cool. With the warmer weather I could see he was more uncomfortable and had less energy. I came home Friday and he could barely walk from the barn to the house with me. By Saturday he could not move and the growth on his neck had grown to the size of a cantaloupe. So we took him to the Vet to find out that he was suffering and we made the choice that we need to put him down.
There were some hard choices I had to make as a mother. Some now I wonder if were the right ones. Like if the boys should see him put to sleep (which they didn’t), if they should have buried him. It is something we have never been through before and it was harder on the boys than I thought. They are now 14, 13 & 10 their grandpa let them pick a spot in the pasture that will now be our pet cemetery. We have cried for days…it is hard to think that Abby & Zoe our other dogs are getting old too. We will miss him and I am so thankful that my boys had the chance to have a good old dog who was so loyal to spend these years with. He brought them so much happiness and love.