hi all i am after some advice, i feel i know what i should do or should i  give things a try...
we have a 14 year old springer bitch, she has been troubled recently with a vaginal discharge... more of a bitch in season look to it, we took her along to the vets as she seemed a little off colour at the time..... was thinking some sort of infection...possible pyo...... no smell to it, no sickness, no excessive drinking no signs really to say it was a pyo...  vet gave her a good examination & sent her home with antibiotics of which she responded too great....... yesterday we noticed it again, this time it is thicker & not just red blood coloured but no smell..... i am now assuming a pyo as 1st thought......she looks her normal happy self no temp either at all, eating ok & no obvious pyo signs apart from discharge..... here is the tricky bits... she has an enlarged heart,& a grade 2 heart murmor, vet has gave her a thorough examination yesterday & said bring her to be spayed. my heart is tearing me apart, i basically have 2 options... 1 put her to sleep making it kinder for her & 2 let her have the op..... please dont jump on my case shouting have her put to sleep & that i should not consider the op......i am asking for help & will take on board everyones advice.....she is going to see vet again tomorrow...... i am thinking i should let her go... anyone else suffered the agony of what to do for the best, do i sound such an awful person for asking
     advice greatly recieved

      shirley

What have your vets said about the op?  None of us know the true state of your bitch but the vets will know what rough chances she has of surviving the operation.  I think you need to ask them what the chances are and make your decission on that.  If they think the op could be successful then go for it but if they say she doesn't have much chance maybe it's worth letting her go.

It's a hard decission (((hugs)))

Hi Spaniel mad,I to had this dilemma a few years ago with a bitch of mine she to was 14 with an enlarged heart and a grade 2 murmour she needed to have here eye removed and it was a case of put her to sleep or have it done,I decided in the end to have it done and was glad that I did the op was a great success and she lived another 2 1/2 years.You must go with your own instinct coz after all whatever you decide will be the right decision for you and your dog.

Personally I wouldn't worry at all about a grade 2 heart murmur -that's nothing. I have a cavalier with a bad grade 6. (I.e. if there was a higher grade than 6, he'd be it!) I had cause to consider something similar the other day. A friend had a 14 year old cavalier (same age as mine) with a grade 5, and he needed surgery as he had some abscessed teeth and was in a lot of pain. She went through with it and the dog is fine. My own dog has terrible teeth and we have always said we won't touch them, but now I thought that what if the same happened to him? I came to the conclusion that the worst that can happen is that we tried and he died during the op -so then would not know and would be no worse off than having been pts to start with. I'd do it. There's nothing to lose but everything to gain.

thanks everyone for your very supportive replys.... BB as we name her is still looking bright for her age although a bit slow getting up on a morning & up & down the stairs, our vet says he wants to have her operated on, he knows my concerns & said she will be in the best of care with the team in there, he personally has said he will do the op if we go down that route & yes at least if we try then i could have done no more were we to loose her under the anethetic, it still dont make things any easier for me.......... he told me it has to be my decision in the end but he will stand by whatever we chose, he also said he would not have considered the op option if he did'nt think she was up to it,.....infact i made a mistake... she has a grade 3 heart murmur not a 2
  shirley

Spaniel mad, it is agonising knowing what to do for the best.  But you know your own bitch best and you sound a very thoughtful and caring person. Probably your own instincts are right. 
Still if your vet is an experienced practitioner who you trust, and is optimistic about her prospects then I personally would be willing to be guided by the vet.  Especially as you say she > looks her normal happy self.
Good luck tomorrow, hoping for a happy outcome for you both.

> he also said he would not have considered the op option if he did'nt think she was up to it

That is a good sign.

I can understand you thinking about the option to have her PTS - it is something you are thinking about for BB, not for you.
I had my 14&half year old dog PTS 4 months ago, the vet wouldn't even consider doing any tests to find out what was wrong with him as age had taken it's toll badly and he had no quality of life, treating him for anything revealed on the tests would have only dragged out a an existance for him - not acceptable by the vets or my standards :(

However, if BB is enjoying her life and the only thing standing in the way of a decent quality of life for an oldie is this infection that can be treated with the op, then putting her through the op seems like the best thing to do.

Thinking of you and BB
xx

will keep you all updated as to the outcome of what is decided with BB after another heart to heart with vet...i need to ask him a couple more questions

thanks again
shirley