Chloe's been my roommate for almost 12 years -- which means she's roughly 14 or 15. I love her more than I can express, though all dog people know that already.

On Friday, she suddenly started coughing uncontrollably. The vet said she had a mass pressing on her trachea.

We have her on steroids to hopefully reduce the inflammation.

But we are not looking at years. I'm just hoping we're looking at months rather than weeks.

I want her to stay with me until she's visibly unhappy or painfully uncomfortable. I.e., keeping up the steroids as long as they're working.

I live on Social Security, and just yesterday's vet bill has put me in a hole.

Please help me keep her comfortable as long as possible.