Knee deep in dog hair

Unfortunately I have to give ol' Norman a bath tonight because he has a Vet appointment tomorrow. And he stinks. Bad.
Norman has another tumor, this time on his front shoulder, and he has licked it raw. That makes me think that it's more than just another fatty tumor. He beat cancer over 2 years ago in his hind leg (it was a very aggressive rare form, and it looked like a third testicle, it was gross). And he has been progressively getting slower since he was diagnosed with a paralyzed larynx this summer.
So tomorrow at 4:30 (anybody want to watch my kids?) I take him in for a consult. Larry and I have already agreed that no life-saving action will be taken, as his larynx is terminal, there really isn't a point in fighting cancer too.
I'm just bummed, he's my baby (really, you should see him around me) and he is still so full of energy. And his birthday is this week, he'll be 11.
This will also be our children's first real experience with death. All of our other animals died when they were much younger, but we talk about them, and our neighbors and in-laws have lost pets that our children knew.
Ugh.