Our bullmastiff Brutus and his brother and littermate Bear came into our lives in July 1996. If you don;t know bullmastiffs they are the best, loving to everyone, sweet, gentle teddy bears, great with children, I could go on and on. A bullmastiff lives an average of 8 to 10 years. November 7, 2005 he started limping, November 8 we took him too the emergency vet thinking he had sprained his leg. After a xray the vet came in and told us he had bone cancer and would be gone within a week! We were devastated, spoke to several oncologists who said the same thing. Options are awful, amputation, radiation etc. Because Brutus was almost 9 1/2 we spoke to his personal vet and she agreed that the best thing to do was pain management and bring our big dog home. After much crying we decided that was the best for him! I must tell you that Brutus is still with us on March 24, 2006. He is on Tramadol (9 pills a day,) and medicam at night. We are letting him eat as much dog food as he wants and lots of his favorite doggie cookies(they look like oreos!), new toys and most importantly love! The vets say he is a miracle and can't believe he is still here! I want to tell you all to weigh carefully what you choose to do when your children are diagnosed with cancer! Love is a strong healer! I know Brutus is hanging on because of the love of his family and when he is ready to go over the bridge he will let us know! We are dreaming that he will be here for our anniversary on April 11th as he and Bear were best men at our wedding. Thank you for letting me share our story! Mike, Kelley, Brutus, Bear, Oliver, Cruiser, and Mo Mo.