Squamous cell carcinoma in dogs (vet, aggressive, adopted, puppy)

[AguaDulce]

My 13-year old Weimaraner, Zoli, just had a toe amputated last week, and although the incision is healing just fine, the vet told us today that the pathology report indicates that it was cancerous--squamous cell carcinoma. She thinks she got it all, but she wants us to be prepared for the worst.

Back story:
This toe used to have an ugly thick monstrous nail that would grow twice as fast as the other nails. One day I accidentally stepped on her foot (she had snuck up behind me) and the nail just came off by itself the next day. Over the next couple of months we tried to get it to heal up but she kept licking it obsessively and it just gradually became infected.

I have posted before about her. I adopted her when she was 18 months old. She turned out to be a real challenge. For many years she displayed extreme separation anxiety and violent territorial aggressiveness toward other dogs. She has injured several dogs. Many times over the years I reached out to various community groups to see if I could find her another home. But I was never successful, and now I'm glad I wasn't. She's always been really attached to me. And even though I have complained about her for years and made jokes about how I wish she would die (peacefully and painlessly, of course), I love her very much, and I will miss her terribly when she's gone.

Incidentally, I can't imagine that she doesn't have several good years left. Zoli, who'll be 14 in August, is still super energetic--like a puppy. She has an enormous appetite and can jump up on the bed, even though it's about three feet off the ground.

[TFW46]

Having had a doberman whose toe was amputated for the same cancer, which then spread to other parts of his body (lungs, eye and liver), I can empathize. Praying that your Weimaraner's cancer was caught in time.