Dude, your breaking my heart.
Best wishes for you both.
If you have to put her down, get the vet to
do it outside under the open sky.
Nothing worse than leaving with an empty collar.
I know, I’ve done it many times.
But oh, the love we’ve had and the good times and laughs.
“He guards the sleep of his pauper master as though
he were a prince...”
It's incredibly sad.
Like others have mentioned, I probably waited too long with our Black Lab, Claudius. He had bad hips and in the end, was "knuckling under," I guess they call it; basically dragging his feet behind him.
Chemo is awful, although it does keep your loved one around; both my mom and nephew died of cancer.
As for holistic/natural methods, at some point my sister and brother-in-law decided to stop the chemo (the boy was taking 40 pills (!!) a day and hated it). They ate organic food, stopped all white sugar and processed food, gave him supplements, etc.; he seemed happier and healthier, though it didn't cure him and he died just shy of his 10th birthday.
In short, follow your instincts about how your dog feels. You might try the chemo for a while, while continuing the new diet, and see how your dog feels.
In any case, I'm praying for you.
When the time comes, I will ask if that is possible. I live in an urban area so not sure if this is normally done in these parts but I do think I'd prefer it that way.