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I took my dog to the vet yesterday concerned that he might have a bowel obstruction and after inconclusive Xrays and worrisome blood work, we transferred him to the specialty vet hospital. An ultrasound guided aspiration last night revealed bloody fluid in his abdomen and the vet last night suspects some sort of malignancy. He is scheduled for a full abdominal ultrasound this morning and we will know more then.
I just have such a bad feeling about all of this and am already grieving. I can't stop crying. My husband (who loves me and our dog very much) can't find the right thing to say so is not helping the situation at all right now.
I dread having to make tough decisions and I want to turn the clock back to a week ago when he was running around like a crazy pup who didn't know that he was 10 years old!
More than anything in the world, I don't want him to suffer and I want to be strong enough to make the very best decisions for him.
Thanks for listening. It helps to "talk" to people who understand.
After having two dogs with cancer, two and a half years apart, make each decision for your dog clearly. Ask all the tough questions you believe you need to ask directed to the specialist. Such as type of cancer, treatments, surgery, re-occurrence rates and cost. If you feel compelled to learn more about the specialist's diagnoses, then do so via the library or net and ask more questions.
Believe it or not, "Chin Up" only because your dog will sense this and it won't help his situation. Spend time with him and make him comfortable. Otherwise, don't break routine. It will help him (if you take him for walks and he is capable, then by all means stay the course - If you feed him at a certain time, stay the course).
My hopes for the best outcome and prayers to him and his owners!
Sorry you are going through this with your beloved dog. I think many of us have walked that road at least once and for some of us more then once so if you need to just rant or ask questions there are many here to listen.
Keeping my fingers crossed that it turns out to not be as bad as you imagine. One of my late dogs had a fast growing tumor on the front of her chest which turned out to be nerve sheath sarcoma and I had to leave her for surgery with my vet while I took my other dog out of town to see his oncologist as he had nasal cancer. The whole time I was imagining the worst or maybe preparing myself thinking I would be loosing both dogs in the next few months. Well the vet was able to get the whole tumor out and she recovered fine except the hair never grew back so the front of her chest was bald. She was 12 at the time and had another good 2.5 yrs before a tumor in her salivary gland forced me to make the tough decision to put her down as the surgery would have been too brutal for an old dog. Hang in there and let us know what you find out.
The pathology report was "carcinomatosis" and the vet says that they could not find a primary tumor but that the prognosis would be very poor even if they could identify the primary site as it has metastasized throughout his abdomen. We picked him up and he is resting at home right now. He is very lethargic, but does not appear to be in pain when he is snuggling on the bed though is very slow moving and unsteady on his feet.
I will take him to his regular vet tomorrow to be put to sleep. I am sad beyond words, but am glad that I have him at home for a few more hours.
I took my dog to the vet yesterday concerned that he might have a bowel obstruction and after inconclusive Xrays and worrisome blood work, we transferred him to the specialty vet hospital. An ultrasound guided aspiration last night revealed bloody fluid in his abdomen and the vet last night suspects some sort of malignancy. He is scheduled for a full abdominal ultrasound this morning and we will know more then.
I just have such a bad feeling about all of this and am already grieving. I can't stop crying. My husband (who loves me and our dog very much) can't find the right thing to say so is not helping the situation at all right now.
I dread having to make tough decisions and I want to turn the clock back to a week ago when he was running around like a crazy pup who didn't know that he was 10 years old!
More than anything in the world, I don't want him to suffer and I want to be strong enough to make the very best decisions for him.
Thanks for listening. It helps to "talk" to people who understand.
Booger Jean, a 10 year old poodle mix who for some reason took to me from the start (my friend's dog who really had no use for anyone else except the basenji she lived with, my friend, and me) began suddenly to isolate herself. A week and a half later I commented that Booger Jean looked like she lost a lot of weight. Then, she got terribly ill a couple days later, so, we took her to the vet, and she was diagnosed with cancer.
I had to carefully talk my friend into the euthanasia thing because I knew what this meant, but hillbillies always have a sense of hope. As much as I hated to do it, finally, at his behest, I signed the papers. He went out to the car in tears. I volunteered to hold my little friend in my arms, lovingly, socializing with her as usual, just another day, another visit, just another chat ...as the drug was injected. She went peacefully to sleep in my arms
I wanted her last thought to be a pleasant one. That was my main concern. I still feel good about that to this very day.
Last edited by TwinbrookNine; 04-25-2015 at 01:57 PM..
I am sorry you have such bad news but glad he gets to spend one more night with you. When Phoenix went into renal failure after the drugs to treat pneumonia were too much for her kidneys, I spent a week of dropping her off at the vets for treatment to try to reverse it and bringing her home in the evening being very mindful of the IV in her leg. At the end of the week she had made no progress so I decided it was time to put her down but told the vet I needed to take her home for one last night. We spent one last sad night together but I am glad I had that.
It is never easy to say good bye and a piece of our heart leaves with each one.But I for one know the true sadness would be if they lived as long as I did. If they did I would not have gotten to know as many great dogs as I have and each has been so special in its own way and helped me deal with different parts of my own life and I am thankful for that and would have it no other way. I have learned things from each dog so while my heart has been broken many times the experiences I have had have been well worth it.
Hope you have a peaceful night loving your pup and have the strength to get through tomorrow.
I am so sorry for you and your pup. We can't turn the clock back, but we can honor our dogs' lives by keeping them alive in our memory and remembering how much they taught us. I wish you peace and strength in this difficult time.
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