Oof, that's harsh... They know pets are treated as family members these days so they have you over a barrel. I wonder if it's fair to the animal in some cases to pursue these expensive, stressful surgeries just to buy a few more months of life. Not sure what we'll do with our 10-year old* when the time comes. A bloke on the farm offered to do it with a spade, but that seemed unnecessarily brutal! Hopefully it's something quick... Meh, more downers. That's life, eh? Plenty of mice to catch in the meantime, perhaps we should take a lesson from the felines & just focus on that?

cheers,
I

* - cat, not child!