Time to Start Letting Go

My parents dog, Zeus, was just diagnosed with a tumor on his thyroid. It is causing high levels of calcium, which is leading to other problems, including stones in his bladder. He is 12 years old and we have made the difficult decision that when this starts to cause him pain (it's not causing him any right now), we will let him go. To fix the problem would require surgery on his throat and his bladder. He has arthritis already and putting him through 2 surgeries at once would be cruel. Our vet also says that he has had dogs with the same issue go through surgery only to have the problem reoccur 6 months to a year later. Our vet has given us all of the signs to watch for, but right now Zeus is happy and enjoying life, so we are going to just enjoy the rest of his time with us. Zeus is the dog I begged for for years as a child, and when I finally got him, I was immediately in love. I will miss him so much. If anyone has had a dog go through this and has any advice on what to watch for or how to make him as comfortable as possible please let me know.
Here is my sweet boy:

My thoughts and prayers are with Zeus and you & your family. He's such a handsome boy.

What a sweetie !!! I'm sure that you will do the best for him ....it's so hard to let go . I pain for you .

Im so sorry about Zeus. It is a very painful decision to make, especially when you dont know how much longer he has, and when the pain will start setting in for him. I just lost my Emma two weeks ago from a tumor in her throat that caused her to stop eating and her kidneys to fail, and we could not put her to sleep because we kept trying to help her and kept hoping she would get better. She died a painful death in my arms and I wish I had ended it before that happened. I've learned from that experience that when the situation is too difficult to remedy we must do what is right for the animal, even though it hurts us. Be strong and don't be afraid to do what is best. Make him as comfortable as possible and show him lots of love and enjoy your time with him. Again, Im very sorry.

It's never easy ..... I've learned over many years when it's a month or less to let them go . Keeping our loved ones for our pain ... isn't worth their pain . They know and try to hang on for us ,,,,, I still hurt to this day that I couldn't let my Rufus go sooner ....I was so selfish !!! That's why I let Chip go ... the vet said 2 to 3 weeks at the most . I let him go before he suffered ,

Several years ago I had a Dobie mix that was diagnosed with late-stage lymph cancer. My vet recommended against aggressive treatment due to her advanced age and the severity of the cancer. He put her on prednisone, which helped AMAZINGLY with her comfort level. She had been having breathing trouble and was having a hard time eating, but after we started the pred, she had a few months (4, I think) of acting like her old self!

You might want to ask your vet if this would be helpful for Zeus.

Just savor every moment of every day you have together, Maya. This isn't when you let go; this is the time when you hold tightly onto every minute, every second, every memory.

When she wants to go, you'll know. You'll see it in her eyes.

(((((((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))))))

^^^^ agree ! They do let you know !!! With Rufus I thought his eyes said ' let me hang on" ....I was so selfish !