But is the vet a dream in return? I was willing to spend anything to help my dog who has lung cancer - with two important caveats - the benefits of the treatment had to be worth the trauma and pain of the treatment.

I made this very clear and asked the surgeon (not my normal vet) very specific questions and she obfuscated and chose not to inform me about the research, of which she was familiar because she's a teaching vet in oncology/surgery.

Turns out, the surgery she pushed me into only bought my dog a very little time and a minimal improvement in quality of life, along with a TON of trauma. That surgery will be the most painful memory of her life (other than, perhaps, the days leading to death, but I'm trying to recognize when it's time to let her go so she doesn't feel much pain)

Why, when I asked the vet the "right" questions (what's the mean and median lifespan of a dog after this surgery? How much will it improve the quality of her life? How likely is it that the cancer has spread?) did she give me the vague estimates for ALL dogs who had the surgery (a year) instead of saying, "based on all the evidence we have, your dog has stage 3 or 4 cancer, and she's unlikely to live past 6 months, but if we get a CT we'll know for sure. If the CT shows the cancer has spread, the surgery won't be worth it."

Instead, she discouraged me from getting the CT (that's what the appointment was FOR - my regular vet had recommended it) and pushed me toward surgery that day.

So, my dog suffered horribly after surgery (she wouldn't let any of the techs touch her for 2 days) and had some serious trauma (when any stranger put their hand near where her incision was, she'd freak out and snap - not a normal thing for her- and this was after the incision was healed - that surgery made her not trust people besides me and a few others. Before that she loved everyone) AND I'll be paying off the surgery long after she's dead.

Seriously, I hate to swear, but fuck that vet. She gave my dog memories and fears and sadness she shouldn't have had, and barely bought her any time. Why? It can't have been the money, could it? I seriously don't get it.

Oh and PS, I haven't said any of this to the vet. I wanted to wait until I calmed down before I said anything to her as I recognize that she's a human with feelings. But I'm probably going to write a review warning other pet owners.

And I'm sorry, this response is not directed at you or your article - you sound lovely. But there are some unscrupulous vets out there, and this is one reason people are wary.