New Addition to the Family?

My mother decided the house is too empty and dead without Ruger. She wants another dog, which means I will happily be taking care of him or her. 2 weeks ago she saw one in an SPCA add and fell in love with him. He is a 2 year old Shepherd-Husky named Grizzly. What a face! He has one brown Shepherd eye and one crystal blue Husky eye! He was found running loose in Cape Breton after being hit by a car. :( Last Weds we went to see him and initiate adoption.

While there we took him for a walk. That is when I noticed a lump on his left front paw. My heart sank. As soon as I saw the lump I thought cancer. Ruger's death from cancer Victoria Day and the time leading up to that still hurt's. It is something I don't think my mother could handle again so soon, and I know I couldn't handle it.

The SPCA was having him sent to a vet to have a lumpectomy and a biopsy done on it. They called today. He came through surgery well and the vet THINKS it is benign but it will be 2-3 weeks until the biopsy results are in. What do we want to do?

They suggested fostering him for adoption after the results. I don't know about that. We are already getting attached to him and he hasn't even lived with us yet. Plus it wouldn't be fair to him to have him for a few weeks and send him back. That just seems wrong on so many levels. They can keep him until the biopsy results are in but would have to make him available for adoption in the meantime. Which means he could go to someone else.

I just don't know what the hell to advise my mother to do. The thought of adopting him just to lose him to cancer is just tearing at my heart. But if he has cancer then he needs a loving home even more.

The best I can think of is to drive to the SPCA and talk in person. Find out what the vet thinks. Did they get all of the tumour? If they did what are the chances of it coming back? I just can't see bringing him home and not having him stay. Hopefully it works out but to quote Han Solo "I have a bad feeling about this." A feeling I have had ever since I first saw the lump.

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Updated 5PM same day.

We went to the SPCA and talked with them. They showed us the Vet's report on the surgery and tumour. It does seem benign. It wasn't attached to anything. They will do the biopsy and we may bring him home tomorrow. There is one last hurdle he has to pass. He has to get along with the Shitsus a friend of my Mom owns. They are over here a lot and she dog sits them too. He should pass that hurdle and could be with us tomorrow afternoon. :)