Colleen came out with Edward, the new vet joining the clinic and together they helped Cooper pass peacefully away. Colleen said coop was stuck in a vicious circle, escalating pain causing him to restlessly and relentessly wander which put even further stress on his arthritic joints. she also found a hard mass just above the shoulder that was pressing on the nerves. she thinks this was the real source of his suddenly increased pain. she felt there really wasn't anything left to add to his pain control meds that would significantly help him to feel better.
coop was pretty healthy in most other ways, but the pain was consuming him and his quality of life had really deteriorated to the point that his life was revolving around his pain.
I think until the past week or so, until we started losing control of his pain, that he was happy here. and I think it was nice for him to have a comfortable and stress-free home death. he was safe at home and he was not afraid.
rest in peace coop, we will all miss you, you were a very good dog!
so sorry to hear about Cooper-sad news.